Sexual, Erotic or Otherwise Salacious Museums

What really needs to be said? It’s the Museum of Sex. Some of the displays are graphic though most exhibits take a thoughtful look at the sexual revolution and how erotica affects our society. Those who come to the Museum of Sex are more about anthropology than pornography, but surely many a discussion here revolves around making that distinction. And when the exhibit in question is about, say, the world's first internet controlled sex machine there's a lot to talk about.

Visiting tip: Come on Saturday evening when you can wander next door to the Gallery Lounge. There the sex theme continues with fruity, suggestively-named cocktails and a less than subtle floral décor that emphasizes on the reproductive parts.

This self-described "Academy of Sex & Relationships" is like an erotic theme park (without the rides). Find the erogenous zones on an interactive sculpture or try out the spank-o-meter — this place is full of exhibits that are interactive and, um, hands on. Visitors can also talk with a sex therapist, learn how to play erotic food games and get tips on enhancing their flirtation skills. All of which makes Amora the most practical museum on this list. Or possibly anywhere.

Visiting tip: Getting into the Amora exhibits can be difficult — they are often closed for updates and tickets must be purchased well in advance. (See their website for the latest). For a touch of the Amora experience without the need to plan in advance check out their lounge, which specializes in aphrodisiac cocktails.

This is where Freud would go were he to tour northern Iceland. The Icelandic Phallological Museum contains a collection of preserved phallic specimens of every mammal species found in and around this Scandinavian island country including one from a bear, reindeer and whale as well as a Changeling, Merman and Elf. (Yes, Elf. Really). The variety of shapes and textures of the male members on display is disturbingly mesmerizing. The museum’s curator often personally gives a tour to guests and is rather passionate — maybe a little too passionate — about his exhibits.

Visiting tip: The museum is easy to miss. Look of it along the town's main road in a white-stucco, small (not that size matters) building. It's open mid-May through mid-September.

Somehow we didn’t get to The World Erotic Art Museum when we took that junior high school field trip to Miami. Don’t you make the same mistake the next time you are in the south Florida. The Museum is the fascinating creation of erotic art enthusiast Naomi Wilzig who stocked 12,000 square feet in the middle of South Beach with $100 million worth of art from her personal collection. For your perusal are paintings, sculptures and artifacts, both modern and historic. What is so interesting about visiting WEAM is that the art itself is erotic, a testament to human lust and sexuality. But the environment the art is displayed in is that of a regular straitlaced museum, like those we did visit on our junior high school field trips. After an hour here the juxtaposition of it was a little unnerving.

Visiting tip: For those who saw A Clockwork Orange keep an eye out around WEAM for the art statues that were sprinkled through Stanley Kubrick’s film. For those (adults) who didn't see A Clockwork Orange, you should.

• Asia Eros Museum - Seoul
• Beate Uhse Erotikmuseum - Berlin
• Erotic Heritage Museum - Las Vegas
• Musée de l'Érotisme - Paris
• The Museum of Ancient Chinese Sex Culture - Shanghai

Know of another museum that should be on this lis? Let us know in a comment . . .

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