No! In 2021, our lease ended in our premises in Camden Market. We moved to a property guardianship, which came to an end in early 2023. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, the Vagina Museum reopened in November 2023. The Vagina Museum is open to the world, and free to visit.

We understand the frustration about the frequent misuse of the word "vagina" when people mean "vulva". If you're annoyed by this, you're in the minority of people who are familiar with the word "vulva" and what it means. That's the level of awareness we're working with.

The truth is there's no single appropriate word we could use which describes vaginas, vulvas and the internal gynaecological anatomy, and encompassing everything we do. We're not just about one single part of the anatomy, or one single function of the anatomy. The closest word is "cunt", and we're already struggling with spam filters! Plus, if we were the Cunt Museum, we'd get mixed up with German art museums.

Vagina Museum isn't the perfect name which captures our entire area of interest either, and we recognise that. But we chose it because we want to meet people where they are. Even though there's an awful lot of people who can't label it on a diagram, most people are familiar with the word "vagina". They know roughly what a vagina is, and where it is, and in knowing that, have an idea about what we're a museum of. And once you've engaged with us, coming for the word they know and staying to learn more, our visitors emerge knowing more about vaginas, vulvas and the gynaecological anatomy. And that equips them with the ability to be pedantic about the name Vagina Museum. We embrace that.

The aim of the Vagina Museum is to destigmatise the vagina, vulva and gynaecological anatomy. Through destigmatisation comes empowerment for all people with vulvas.

Perhaps the reason you are asking this is because feminism has fought very hard to have women viewed as something other than sex objects or baby vessels but rather as people. Objectification of women is wrong. But for many people, their vagina is a part of their identity and directly affects their lives. It is one part of a greater whole that makes the person. By shutting down discussions about vaginas, it makes it difficult to address issues that are directly related to them like FGM and sexual violence. That must end and the first step is by acknowledging that vaginas exist and they deserve respect.

We believe that defining women by anatomy, as so many patriarchal institutions have done before, would be trans-exclusionary. When we're talking about women, we say "women", and when we're talking about vaginas, we say "vaginas".

We are committed to being gender-inclusive and if you think we've slipped up please contact us so we can correct it as best we can.

If you are interested in hosting a travelling exhibition or would like to take part in one of our outreach projects, please don't hesitate to contact us. We also have a range of activities, talks and workshops which we can facilitate at your location.

Our three galleries are named after the Mothers of Gynaecology: Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy. 

The history of gynaecology is a history of racism and violence. Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy were enslaved Black women living in 19th century Alabama, which is now part of The United States of America. All three women had injuries following childbirth. They were subjected to multiple experimental surgeries, all performed without anaesthesia by a white physician who is lauded as the “Father of Modern Gynaecology”. The use of enslaved Black women for human experimentation was normal in the Antebellum South. This man later became rich and famous, using the techniques he developed using human experimentation on white women, which he performed with anaesthesia. 

In total, twelve women that we know of were subjected to experimental operations undertaken without their consent, without anaesthesia, and in front of an audience. Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy are the only ones whose names were recorded. 

In recent years, anti-racist activism has drawn attention to the experience of the Mothers of Gynaecology. Plaques and statues celebrating the man who tortured them are being removed, and in their place, monuments to the Mothers of Gynaecology are being built. 

In naming our galleries after Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy, we are ushering them into public discourse about racism in medicine. We are acknowledging the horrific violence that they suffered. We are reckoning with the racism and injustice still faced by Black women and women of colour in gynaecological care.