Join Missile Mum on a tour of the Vagina Museum’s latest exhibition, Periods: A Brief History

The main event: the glittering tampon! 

Tampon and menstrual cups created by Sam Dawood

Image: Mollie Marshall

Nothing screams “Gen Z feminism” more than a Vagina Museum in East London. The world’s first bricks and mortar museum, dedicated to all things vulva and clitoris, opened its doors again in March after the original location closed in 2021. The museum started out as a string of pop-up events at locations including the Green Man Festival in Wales and the Freud Museum in London and finally opened as a museum in Camden Market in 2019. During its time in Camden, director Florence Schechter and her vagina-obsessed team birthed two exhibitions, Muff Busters: Vagina Myths and How To Fight Them and Periods: A Brief History. The latter is now on display in its new home, along with a permanent exhibition named From A to V, that acts as a science lesson, cultural teaching, and art gallery all in one.

My 52-year-old mum and I made our way to Bethnal Green station from our home in Essex. When I asked my mum to join me on the trip, she was eager to find out what could possibly go into a museum about vaginas. For many years I have tried to educate my family on my strong, feminist views, but they seem to get lost when I begin to explain the difference between the vagina and the vulva and insist on nicknaming me Miss Pankhurst.

A selection of the 16 posters created to advertise the Vagina Museum in its new neighbourhood

Campain by Nathalie Gordon, Amy Fasey, Jacob Hellstrom and The Or London

Upon arrival we were greeted by Duty Manager Jay. The first thing I noticed was another member of staff’s necklace that read “f*ck the patriarchy” and she pointed me in the direction of the vagina-themed gift shop at the back of the building where I could purchase one for myself, as well as vulva-adorned tote bags, mugs and bookmarks. I spoke to Zoe Williams, the museum’s Marketing Manager, about how we can explain the exhibition to those questioning its importance. She said, “museums reflect what we, as a society, cherish. Half the world has one and almost all of us came out of one, yet the vagina is constantly overlooked or stigmatised. We aim to celebrate and educate about this part of the anatomy.”

My mum and I began making our way around the exhibition that takes you on a journey through time. It starts by looking at prehistoric ideas of menstruation, through to 16^th century myths about the dangers of period blood and finally landing us in the present day where we are provoked to consider what we want the future of periods to look like. Neither of us were sure if we could take photographs so we were sneakily capturing images until we overheard a member of stuff telling a visitor to “feel free”. That sent my mum in a frenzy; she was recreating the exhibition in her camera roll because she didn’t want to forget anything she had learnt, including the attempted assassination of the Jiajing Emperor in 1542 by the young women he held captive (read the rest of the story below.)

The brutal tale of the Jiajing Emperor and his female hostages from 1542

Image: Mollie Marshall

An art installation ornamented with red-tipped tampons and scribbled-on card invites visitors to jot down their opinions on periods. Some comments that sparked interest included “I want paid sick leave for all menstruating people” and another pointed out that “the 9 to 5, five-day working week was made for the male hormonal cycle.” We stood reading the opinions of other visitors and I could see the cogs going round in my mum’s brain. “I’d never thought about any of this, it never occurred to me that I hadn’t been taught about the menstrual cycle,” she said. My mum has now been through the menopause and had a pretty rough time of it, the only support and education she received was from Davina McCall’s Channel 4 documentary, Sex, Myths and the Menopause.

The future of periods as told by museum visitors. One comment reads "we are not OVARYacting"

Image: Mollie Marshall

Below the surface of the kitsch art installations and gigantic, crimson glittering tampon are the missing pages of history and science textbooks. The exhibition made my mum and I gasp, giggle and frown. Here’s five facts the Vagina Museum taught us:

By the time we reached the end of the exhibition, I was desperate to get my hands on what the gift shop had to offer. We sorted through post cards, books, pin badges and jewellery. My mum spotted the vagina-themed gift wrap and called me over to take a closer look. She politely whispered: “See, this is where I don’t quite get it. What is the point of having a bloody period pad printed onto wrapping paper? Who wants that for their birthday?” I explained that this was the whole point, that sharing illustrations and imagery of menstruation can free us from taboo and stigma. For the entirety of the trip, my mum was texting pictures to her friends and updating her WhatsApp groups about her day out in London. I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t slightly insulted by a text she had sent to friend Sally saying: “Typical Mollie!”

My mum's text to her friend Sally, featuring the controversial wrapping paper

The visit benefited the pair of us in different ways. I was expanding my knowledge and mum was opening herself up to a brand new world in which periods are at the forefront. She insisted on buying me the “f*ck the patriarchy” gold necklace but I declined and told her she could buy me it for my birthday. My mum had truly immersed herself in feminist culture and made sure to gloat to the staff about Missile as we left the exhibition.

Visit the exhibition for yourself. Entry is free, and the experience is priceless. It’s a short walk from Bethnal Green station and you can secure your free ticket here. Periods: A Brief History closes 19^th September 2022. Take your boyfriend, dad, partner, or mum with you. Let’s change the way we talk about periods.

A whistlestop tour of the exhibtion, it's much better in IRL!