In partnership with the Open University, the Vagina Museum is hosting a one-day conference in celebration of our (f)anniversary: a day dedicated to exploring the contemporary role of feminism and gender within law, theatre, and the wider humanities.
Since the opening of the Vagina Museum in 2019 – the first brick-and-mortar museum dedicated to vulvas, vaginas and the gynaecological anatomy – the body has continued to be a prevalent point of discussion and contention within public discourse. Thus our mission to build a world where no one is ashamed of their bodies, everyone has bodily autonomy and all of humanity works together to build a society that is free and equal continues to be relevant. We endeavour to contribute to meaningful conversations about the human body; particularly in pushing these conversations beyond, or to challenge, cisnormative and patriarchal frameworks.
In the UK, conversations surrounding mentrual health, menopause, endometriosis, sex work, LGBTQI+ rights remain taboo. Their association within a patriarchal society, with gendered bodies and with normative ideas of femininity and femaleness, whether or not they exclusively relate to women, means they have been systemically ignored, colonised, pathologised or politicised. This is not a historical phenomenon. In Northern Ireland, abortion was not decriminalised until 2019, and in 2022 Roe v. Wade was overturned, demonstrating how abortion rights are neither universal nor secure. Every day technological innovations continue to streamline and optimise reproductive surveillance. Gender based violence, largely against marginalised genders, has risen in recent years – in the form of both direct violence and structural violence within healthcare, policing and law enforcement, and access to essential services. The increased visibility of diverse gender and sexual identities in the 2010s was followed promptly by increased scrutiny within political and public spheres, putting lived experiences under constant observation and debate. Across institutions, whether governmental, educational, medical or employment, this scrutiny is reproduced through practices, policies, access and perceptions that have regulated expression and identity.
This conference brings together researchers, academics, performers and facilitators working across the contemporary landscape of queer, decolonial and feminist frameworks within law, theatre, humanities, and other related fields to reflect and interrogate how these intersections shape perspectives and practices today. Through panels, workshops and performances, attendees are invited to engage with the way bodies are discussed, cared for, legislated and experienced – throwing out a challenge to examine the shape of power, knowledge, identity, and access to rights and justice in 2026.
Full conference line up to be announced soon.
📅 Date: Tuesday 21st April
⏱️ Time: 10am - 7pm
📍 Location: The conference will take place as a hybrid event at the Vagina Museum, with the option to attend in person or online. Please note, there are limited spaces for in-person attendance.
For those attending online, all the events will run like-for-like, with the exception of a dedicated workshop for online attendees. The 30 minute round table/workshop (from 16.20-16.50) will also be available to everyone. However, as it will take place in person online participation to this will be limited.
Schedule
Conference Programme for in-person attendees
Conference Programme for online attendees
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The Vagina Museum is the world's first bricks and mortar museum dedicated to vaginas, vulvas and the gynaecological anatomy.
The project launched in 2017 with pop ups around the UK. The museum opened its first location in Camden Market in 2019 - 2021. In 2022, the museum was opened temporarily in a property guardianship in East London. In 2023, the museum opened in its new long-term location in Bethnal Green.