The World’s First Vagina Museum Needs Your Help
London’s Vagina Museum may have to shut her doors.
The world’s first Vagina museum dedicated to gynecological anatomy and health is under threat.
Founded by Florence Schechter, what started as a pop-up featuring just vagina-themed art later turned into a traveling pop-up exhibition called “Is Your Vagina Normal?” in 2017. Vulva arts and crafts, along with other activities, games, and quizzes, were open to anyone who wanted to learn about vaginas and vulvas. The traveling exhibition challenged the notion of what society deems to be a “normal” vagina by instead focusing on having discussions about the anatomy and health of the vagina.
With enough funding and support, the Vagina Museum later found its physical home in 2023 in Bethnal Green, London. According to their website, the museum “was founded with the intention of busting the stigma of the [gynecological] anatomy and be part of a societal shift from bodily shame to celebration.”
Related: Queer Creators Collection: Introducing Brooke Finegold
Since then, the museum has featured many exhibitions dedicated to educating and provoking conversations about gynecological anatomy and health. Whether it was “Endometriosis: Into The Unknown,” an exhibition that explored the basics and myths of living with endometriosis, “Periods: A Brief History,” another exhibition that highlighted the historical account of ongoing issues surrounding periods, or their most current exhibition about a fact of life most people go through, “Menopause: What’s Changed?”— the Vagina Museum has always been a safe space spreading awareness on vaginal health.
Today, the museum announced they are one month away from possibly closing forever and have launched an emergency crowdfunding appeal of £60,000 to help with the building’s rent.
Zoe Williams, director of the museum, said “The situation is dire. At the end of March, we face an insurmountable rent payment, which our landlords have refused to negotiate, despite knowing our circumstances. Unlike most organizations, we are required to pay rent quarterly rather than monthly—pushing us below our minimum reserves limit and leaving us no choice but to close if we cannot secure funding.”
The museum has created a GoFundMe campaign for donations. They’ve also made a series of posts on how to help out on Instagram, asking to spread the word on social media and visit the museum if you haven’t already.
Help out if you can to save this historic space and keep conversations dedicated to educating, empowering, and breaking taboos surrounding vaginal health alive!
