Sex in the Museum

February 8, 2016
Forbes, curator of New York City’s Museum of Sex, reflects on her career in this fun and thought-provoking memoir. Fresh-faced and ready to dive into her graduate studies in anthropology at the New School for Social Research, Forbes happened to find an apartment not far from the museum. Her interest in a particular exhibit drew her in, and when her then-boyfriend joked she should apply for a job, Forbes submitted her resume. To her surprise, she quickly fell in love with museum work and studying sex academically. In 2006, Forbes became the museum’s curator, putting together informative and startling exhibits that include sex in film, animal sex, and historical brothel guides. As her career blossomed, so did the prestige of the museum. Along the way, Forbes struggled with the way her job affected her personal life, especially her romantic life and search for a committed relationship. Like the museum itself, this memoir simultaneously shocks, informs, and challenges myths about sex. Though the sections on Forbes’s work are more intriguing than those on her personal life, her approach enables these ideas to transcend the academic world. Agent: Adam Chromy, Movable Type Media.