There is a place in New York City where you can learn that a genital massage to orgasm was a standard treatment for female hysteria in the Western medical tradition of the 19th century. There, you discover how doctors, tired of giving orgasms with their fingers to calm their patients, invented electrical devices. Those first vibrators exposed behind a small display case intrigue and fascinate.

The Museum of Sex in New York is not a sex museum where you would see peep shows. It is dedicated to the exploration of the history, the evolution and the cultural significance of human sexuality. “Our mission is to educate, to entertain, and to enlighten the public,” public relations Noelle Daidone explains.

Daniel Gluck, a New Yorker with a computer science background, founded the first and only Museum of Sex in 2002. “People often think he is a pervert. But he is a totally sane father of two [children],” Daidone says, her words almost matching the rhythm of the techno music played in the lobby of the museum.

Indeed, if you expect to meet eccentric multicolored-hair people wearing skin-tight leather clothing, stiletto heeled shoes, and corsets, you pushed the wrong door.

At the Museum of Sex, you’ll meet “common” people and mostly couples walking side by side in the galleries, holding hands or crossing their arms over their chests. “We came because we found a $5-reduction coupon in a hotel brochure,” says Eddy Kelley, 21, of Chicago. Some make taut smiles or laugh out loud nervously; other make shocked faces or just raise their eyes to the ceiling.

“No, I don’t want to touch it. It’s disgusting!” a woman shouts, shaking her head and hiding her hands inside her grey and red striped jacket. She stands in front of a display case where you can read in pink capital letters: “PLEASE TOUCH GENTLY.” What that woman doesn’t want to touch are the breast and the vagina of a plastic doll that is said to be the most realistic on the market.

A selection of items from the Museum of Sex permanent collection retraces the history of sexual education, presents the burlesque show, and shows pieces of erotic art. The major piece stands in the middle of the third gallery: a shinny blue gynecological chair with a dildo controlled through the Internet attached to it.

“What freaked me out the most was the first gallery,” Wendy L., 41, visitor at the museum and from Connecticut confesses. “Well, it also gives ideas [...] on different things you want to try but never dare asking for at home. It opens taboo conversations,” Raphael R., 46 and Wendy’s boyfriend of two years explains. They both declined to give their last names.

A small corridor wallpapered with white padded vinyl on which silk-colored ribbons form pink, brown and black soft rhombus, leads to the first gallery. The escaping air hissing from plastic balloons breaks the silence of the pink and white room. Here, the interactive exhibition “KINK: Geography of the Erotic Imagination” explores the world of fetish and fantasy. Visitors can freely touch and smell everything from animals’ masks to birches and hunting crops used to reach sexual ecstasy.

“I found the exhibition educative. I learned stuff I’d never heard about like the fetishism [practices],” S.Scott, 26 and from Texas, explains.

The second gallery hosts a preview from the exhibition “Action: sex and the moving image” that will open in March 2007. Under a softened purple light, a selection of film clips retraces the history of sex in cinematography, from the first kiss to the porn industry. But this gallery also hides a memento from the past: an authentic archway of red bricks.

At the corner of Fifth Avenue and 27th street, the Museum of Sex is located at the heart of what used to be the “Tenderloin” district in the late 1870’s. The neighborhood made its reputation through vice and corruption. “[Daniel] couldn’t find a better location,” Daidone says. The museum was built over an ancient whorehouse.

“I mostly enjoyed the historical parts. I passed the ones that left me uncomfortable. I’ve realized that sex is an important piece of our social culture,” Rob Boyte, 49, of Houston, Texas, explains, entering the museum shop.

Photos are allowed in every gallery, but if visitors need more souvenirs the shop offers an eclectic assortment of publications, clothing, and a selection of sex toys. “People feel more comfortable here than in sex shops. They don’t hesitate to ask questions,” Daidone says.

According to Daidone, the museum attracts visitors from 18 to 45 years old, and those under-18 can’t enter without a guardian. Most of the younger visitors seem disappointed. “I expected more for what I paid. I didn’t learn that much. The Museum of Natural History is free and much more interesting!” Tanya Holzmann, 19, and from Australia says. An adult-ticket for $14.50—a dollar less for students and seniors—gives you free condoms at the cashier. Daidone didn’t know when the exhibitions would end. “They usually last six to nine months,” she explains.

Besides the exhibitions, the Museum of Sex also hosts conferences and teaching classes held by sex educators and authors. The next rendezvous is scheduled on March 27, 2007 for an introductive workshop on masochism. The discussion will address safety and basics techniques.

As the doors of the museum are closing, Daidone divulges a secret to the last visitor: in two years, the Museum of Sex should open a new spot. But the location is still confidential!

The Museum of Sex 223 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016 http://www.museumofsex.com

Hours: Sunday to Friday: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day