A new home for the Vagina Museum

*Update: We've found it! But we need to extend our goal to make this happen. We have one shot at this. It's a now-or-never situation: we need to raise £85,000 by the beginning of June in order to pull this off. Otherwise, we're not going to be able to survive beyond a few months, and all activities will cease. Help us to reach our goal!*

The Vagina Museum is the world’s first bricks-and-mortar museum dedicated to vaginas, vulvas and the gynaecological anatomy. 200,000 people have visited the Vagina Museum’s educational exhibitions since it opened to the public in 2019. In February 2023 the Museum was made homeless, and is currently seeking new premises to bring its exhibitions and events back into the world.

The Vagina Museum exists because we want to end the stigma and shame about vaginas and vulvas. 65% of women aged 16-25 say they have a problem using the words vagina or vulva. This embarrassment to talk about the gynaecological anatomy can literally kill: nearly a third of women aged 16-35 say they have avoided going to the doctors altogether with gynaecological issues due to embarrassment (Eve Appeal 2016, 2019). Almost half of women (and more than half of men) cannot correctly label a diagram of the vulva (YouGov 2019). We exist to break these taboos, to educate people and empower people to talk with confidence about anatomy which half of the world shares.

“I work in education and am relatively self educated on vaginas but I still learned about the clitoris and confirmed some fact vs myth. As someone who has had a fraught relationship with my vagina and genitalia in general I found the museum cathartic. Also, my girlfriend is trans and many close friends are trans/non-binary so it's excellent to see an example of inclusive language in science. I will use your language as a guideline to talking to my nieces about their bodies when they have questions (which they do)” - A Vagina Museum visitor.

The Vagina Museum’s first exhibition, Muff Busters: Vagina Myths and How to Fight Them opened in November 2019. This exhibition addressed common myths and misconceptions about vaginas and vulvas. Our second exhibition, Periods: A Brief History, opened in summer 2021, with an expanded version opening in a new, larger Bethnal Green premises in March 2022. When we expanded, we also opened a permanent exhibition, From A to V, an exploration of activism, health, vulva diversity and anatomy. All exhibitions have received warm praise from the public and the press. We have plans for new exhibitions in the near future, but we need a premises to make these happen.

“I didn’t realise [vulvas] were so varied and I'm now more confident about my own vulva and my large inner labia! I’m much less self conscious in the gym changing room and relax more when receiving oral sex. I keep touching and pulling at them now I’m proud of my body and don’t feel different! Thank you!” - A Vagina Museum visitor

The Vagina Museum aims to move into new London premises and reopen its doors to the public soon. To do this, we need your help. There are a lot of expenses associated with moving, as well as existing between homes.Every little helps, and what we raise from this campaign will go a long way to securing our dream home. If we raise less than £85,000 we’ll still be able to use these funds to help with our running costs, and if you’re generous enough that we raise more then that will go even further in helping us fit out our new home and exist whilst we do that.

“So happy to have this museum in the world! I learnt a lot.” - A Vagina Museum visitor.

Our new home needs to be in London, and must be wheelchair accessible as well as being affordable to a small, grassroots organisation. Such sites are rare, which is why we need all the help that we can get. Any excess funds from this campaign will be spent on making the most of our new space and programmes!

“What you do is so important and should be visited by everyone.” - A Vagina Museum visitor