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They may not stick around forever, but these three “P” words are helping me to think through the exhibition concept and zoning. I want to start imagining how we will divide up our 3600 square foot gallery space into zones that will focus on key ideas. It definitely helped to fuel conversations at the meeting last week with the Sex Talk in the City advisory committee:

• Pleasure: Everybody agrees (at least in our committee) that sex is good, fun and healthy and that sexual pleasure will mean different things to different people. As Scarlett Lake suggested at one of our meetings: “Sex should be understood like a buffet at a restaurant: you pick and choose what you want. Some people will have adventurous tastes whereas others will come back for  the same thing every time!

• Politics: This is really about how power is acquired and applied by groups of people to make collective decisions. And there are plenty of examples where groups in position of power make decisions that affect the way we express our sexuality publically and privately. The committee wants to further explore the private/public nature of sexuality.

• Pedagogy: It may not be the most fitting term to capture my idea but I really wanted to stay with the “P”! This theme has to do with identifying ways in which we talk about sexuality to people of all ages in ways that enable and empower them to critically engage with the mass of information (good and bad) that’s out there and make educated decisions about their sexuality.

These are interconnected themes that could be emphasized or intersected in different areas of the exhibition. Take sex toys for instance: they accessorize our sex lives to support sexual exploration and pleasure; they can increase our understanding of our own sexuality – real teaching moments— and they have recently been at the centre of heated debates over legislations (or lack thereof) surrounding the manufacturing and distribution of sex toys.

I’m in the process of negotiating the loans of some interesting “antique” artefacts with other museums and local stores. I‘ll let you guess what they are . . .

A huge MERCI to Andrea, Janna and Otter co-founders/owners of Womyns’Ware for a most inspiring afternoon conversation about the poetics and politics of locally designed and manufactured sex toys.

Read more on the  Sex Talk in the City Project

Join in the conversation on Twitter: @xtalkinthecity #xtalkMOV