‘Virtue, Vice, and Contraband: A History of Contraception in America’
Some of you may remember Jim Edmonson’s talk here in Copenhagen three years ago about the plans for a new exhibition at the Dittrick Medical History Center and Museum, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, on the history of contraception.
Jim/Dittrick eventually secured funding for it. So tomorrow the new exhibit — ‘Virtue, Vice, and Contraband: A History of Contraception in America’ — opens, at last. Examining 200 years of the history of contraception in the US, it depicts the social and cultural climate that influenced birth control decisions.
The major strength of the exhibition is the vast collection of contraception devices, like the cervical caps above and many others, donated to Case in 2005 by Percy Skuy. Over the course of forty years, Mr. Skuy had amassed the world’s largest collections of such devices.
Judged from the pics I’ve seen, the exhibit design seems pretty traditional. But that is more than compensated for by the richness of the material and the historical and political importance of displaying such artefacts. Hopefully, Case will not become nervous if the anti-abortionist religious right begins to make noises. It would be absurd, but so much in US university politics today is absurd, like Yale University Press’ recent decision to censor a book about the Danish Muhammed drawings.
By the way, here are some devices for vaginal douching (courtesy Jim Edmonson and Laura Travis):
16 Sep 2009 Thomas
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Thanks for the posting about the exhibition, Virtue, Vice, and Contraband: a History of Contraception in America.
Yes, the exhibit is conventional or traditional rather than daringly innovative from the standpoint of design or conceptualization. Having said that, there is something strong to be said by the objects themselves. These are seldom-seen things, and to some in our society, things that they’d rather not confront or acknowledge. Just witness the vitriol spewed in the current healthcare debate…
Within the exhibition a close attention to details will re-pay the visitor with some unanticipated nuggets and gems. In the opening panel, on Aristotle’s Masterpiece, one finds early 18th century advice on lovemaking, while in a later section on the Civl War (1860s) era the viewer is treated to broadsides listing the sex toys and porn available to the red-blooded Union soldiers. And there are some surprising a-ha moments. Did you know that the U.S. army regulated brothels in 1865 Memphis and Nashville, or that medical science didn’t really understand ovulation and time of fertility until Ogino/Knauss, c.1930 (pretty late in the scheme of things to not understand that fact of life!).
In any event, it’s the great artifacts and graphics that arrest and intrigue. A companion book will follow, as will a project to digitize rare pamphlets on contraception.
Looking forward to welcoming one and all to Cleveland to see the collection and exhibition.
And the dedicated website will be further developed: http://www.case.edu/affil/skuyhistcontraception/index.html
Cheers,
Jim Edmonson
james.edmonson@case.edu
It’s a fantastic collection indeed! Did you have a good opening reception? No pro-life demonstrations outside the entrance?
Thomas,
The opening was well attended (about 120) and a great success. No protesters, but many new constituencies and adherents. We were asked to host the next annual meeting of Planned Parenthood of Northern Ohio, and the coordinator of comprehensive sex ed programming (which has supplanted abstinence only programs in the past year) in the Cleveland Municipal Schools wants to bring her educators to see the exhibition and even talked about bringing classes to the Dittrick. All for the good. Post opening plans include: a companion catalogue/book; creating an online library of early pamphlet literature on contraception; and looking into cell-phone based audio guide system. More later…
That’s wonderful to hear — also that the exhibit is already creating such an interest and will be used for regional educational purposes. Wish many more medical history museums in Europe has that goal.