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So apparently "Sex: A Tell-all Exhibition" is a little too racy for Ottawa audiences. It's already travelled to Montreal and Regina, where it barely evoked a murmur of protest but here in Ottawa, the minimum age for attending it solo was raised from 12 to 16 - this before the exhibition even opened! Heritage Minister James Moore considers it an insult to taxpayers that our money is being used in this way (though he later very carefully said he respected the independence of the museum) - heaven forbid that our young people should be better informed and maybe even get the impression that ordinary people are engaging in sexual acts! But then, it's pretty much what I've come to expect from him. He objected to the Sixties exhibit at the art gallery a couple of years ago and has yet to respond to the letter sent back in February by the president of Ex Libris (a group of retired librarians) protesting the recent drastic cuts to the Library and Archives Canada and other government libraries. I think the only kind of culture he understands is the variety you get in a pot of yogurt. Or maybe real men don't eat yogurt.
I do recall many, many years ago, when the mosaic of a moose (definitely a bull-moose) on the floor of the Museum of Nature (then known, ironically enough, as the Museum of Man, and encompassing the exhibits now housed in the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau), was covered over with a large carpet, because it was deemed just a wee bit too educational for all those school groups that regularly took field trips to the museum. But that was a couple of generations ago. I find it disturbing to see that mentality persisting to this day. Most evidence seems to suggest that the better informed our young people are, the less likely they are to suffer from unwarranted guilt, loneliness and despair, or to find themselves surprised by an unanticipated pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease.
Are there legitimate objections to this exhibition? To be honest, I don't know. I haven't yet seen it myself, and can only go on the basis of second- and third-hand anecdotal evidence. I do find it interesting that a few parents who've commented in the media actually said they were all set to petition against it until they went and saw it for themselves - whereupon they promptly changed their minds! I suppose some adults who were there to explore the exhibition might find it off-putting to find prepubescent young people making sarcastic comments and giggling or snickering over particular exhibits, or taunting those who seemed to be genuinely interested. Teachers, clergy and people who were just plain shy, I suppose, might hesitate to go to the exhibition because, well, what if their neighbours saw them? What if they were reported to their bosses as being dirty old men and women? If that were to become a problem, though, surely there are some measures that could be taken. For example, they could perhaps have specific hours when it was to be viewed only by school groups or only by adults.
In today's Citizen, long-time columnist Dave Brown lamented the modern-day tendency to separate sex and love. It's an age-old argument, of course, and one which I believe has some merit. But does the exhibition do this? The abovementioned parents who changed their minds seemed to do so partly on the basis that it seemed to present all sides of the issues and inform young people that they have options (amongst others, presumably, that the right to say yes does not preclude the right to say no). Mind you, this is the Museum of Science and Technology that is hosting the exhibit - so isn't it only to be expected that it would be the scientific and medical aspects of sex that would be the focus, rather than the emotional, commercial, spiritual, or artistic ones?
It will be interesting to see what unfolds as more people view the exhibition - as they no doubt will in droves now that it has given birth to so much controversy! I plan to be among those going to see it, and may devote a future blog to my first-hand impressions.
I do recall many, many years ago, when the mosaic of a moose (definitely a bull-moose) on the floor of the Museum of Nature (then known, ironically enough, as the Museum of Man, and encompassing the exhibits now housed in the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau), was covered over with a large carpet, because it was deemed just a wee bit too educational for all those school groups that regularly took field trips to the museum. But that was a couple of generations ago. I find it disturbing to see that mentality persisting to this day. Most evidence seems to suggest that the better informed our young people are, the less likely they are to suffer from unwarranted guilt, loneliness and despair, or to find themselves surprised by an unanticipated pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease.
Are there legitimate objections to this exhibition? To be honest, I don't know. I haven't yet seen it myself, and can only go on the basis of second- and third-hand anecdotal evidence. I do find it interesting that a few parents who've commented in the media actually said they were all set to petition against it until they went and saw it for themselves - whereupon they promptly changed their minds! I suppose some adults who were there to explore the exhibition might find it off-putting to find prepubescent young people making sarcastic comments and giggling or snickering over particular exhibits, or taunting those who seemed to be genuinely interested. Teachers, clergy and people who were just plain shy, I suppose, might hesitate to go to the exhibition because, well, what if their neighbours saw them? What if they were reported to their bosses as being dirty old men and women? If that were to become a problem, though, surely there are some measures that could be taken. For example, they could perhaps have specific hours when it was to be viewed only by school groups or only by adults.
In today's Citizen, long-time columnist Dave Brown lamented the modern-day tendency to separate sex and love. It's an age-old argument, of course, and one which I believe has some merit. But does the exhibition do this? The abovementioned parents who changed their minds seemed to do so partly on the basis that it seemed to present all sides of the issues and inform young people that they have options (amongst others, presumably, that the right to say yes does not preclude the right to say no). Mind you, this is the Museum of Science and Technology that is hosting the exhibit - so isn't it only to be expected that it would be the scientific and medical aspects of sex that would be the focus, rather than the emotional, commercial, spiritual, or artistic ones?
It will be interesting to see what unfolds as more people view the exhibition - as they no doubt will in droves now that it has given birth to so much controversy! I plan to be among those going to see it, and may devote a future blog to my first-hand impressions.
