Interview with the Dr Victoria Hartmaan, the Director of the Las Vegas Erotic Heritage Museum

The Las Vegas Erotic Heritage Museum is the world's largest erotic museum and Las Vegas's Sexiest Landmark since 2008! The museum was voted Thrillist 'Top Museum in Vegas 2017' and voted Trip Expert's 'Experts Choice Award 2017'. You can follow them at @EroticMuseumLV.

The Executive Director of the Las Vegas Erotica Museum is Dr. Victoria Hartmann. Dr Hartmaan is also a Board Certified Clinical Sexologist in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her experience includes providing therapeutic and educational services at rape crisis centres, academic environments, medical centres, and in private practice. You can follow her at  @DoctorVictoria 

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1: The Erotic Heritage Museum was founded by a Preacher (the Rev. Ted McIlvenna) and a Pornographer (Harry Mohney). This seems like a very unlikely partnership. How did this happen and does their partnership still influence the museum today?

 In 1962, the United Methodist Church, in cooperation with the United Church of Christ, the United Presbyterian Church, the American Baptist Church and the Southern Presbyterian Church, commissioned a study of the nature and needs of persons in early adulthood. Four cities were chosen to field the study, and The Rev. Ted Mcllvenna, a United Methodist minister with considerable social research background, was chosen to direct the San Francisco arm of the project. The issue of sexual identity, especially homosexuality, was a primary area of the project's research. The main conclusion of the findings was that one cannot understand homosexuality without understanding human sexuality. Further consultations were held at the Institute for Sex Research in Bloomington, Indiana; at the headquarters of the United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee; at the National Institutes of Mental Health in Washington, D.C.; and in London, England, with representatives from the Dutch Ministry of Culture, World Council of Churches, the British Department of Health, a representative from the Vatican, a Bishop of the Church of England, a representative of the French Ministry of Health and five delegates from the United States. At the London meeting, it was decided that persons in the helping professions were woefully lacking in knowledge about human sexuality and that a center specifically designed for training professionals should be initiated.

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In the spring of 1967, a meeting was held at the Institute for Sex Research in Bloomington, which included representatives from the original sponsoring church bodies, the National Institutes of Mental Health, the Glide Foundation (an operating foundation) and four other funding foundations. It was concluded that the Glide Foundation in San Francisco would be the home of the National Sex Forum (NSF). The Forum would have as its main tasks the study of what helping professionals needed to know about human sexuality and the development of effective educational methodologies and design of innovative training materials. The National Sex Forum began officially in October 1968, as part of the Glide Urban Center. This later became the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.

As for Harry -  as describes it to me, he and Dr. Ted met during an obscenity trial many many years ago. Dr. Ted was an expert witness in that trial. Harry and Dr. Ted discovered a mutual love of Wine and Women and became fast friends. They supported one another throughout the years when facing legal challenges related to adult material. Around 2006-2007 they decided to collaborate on the Museum. Harry had collected mountains of erotica dating back to the 60's, including his "Durand Dirties" and "Beaver Reels", not to mention he had funded and produced some of the biggest adult films of the 70's, and had discovered stars such as Hypatia Lee. Dr. Ted had collected erotic art and artefacts for the Institutes archives for the same length of time: preserving this material in a Museum seemed to make sense.
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The partnership ended in 2014 before I was appointed Executive Director. I had come to the Museum as an intern while working on my Masters and Doctorate at the Institute in 2009, and went to work for Harry in 2012. I had sporadic involvement with the Museum during those 18 months or so, but was not involved in the dissolution of that relationship. I would say the partnership lives primarily through me at this point as it relates to the Museum. Dr. Ted was a mentor and the chair of my dissertation committee. Harry and I have worked together now for 6 years and we have a great relationship. These are both complicated men, who I found myself vehemently and even angrily disagreeing with, but both respected my bull-headedness and passion for the work I do and did not hold me back. Both of them left an indelible mark on the Museum and I see every reason to make sure the spirit of their contributions continue to be a foundation of the Museum as it moves forward. 

2: I love that the museum not only exhibits the history of sex, but regularly hosts events that respond to current issues - how important do you feel history can bring to debates around sexuality today?

 Sexual art is an unfiltered view of sex across cultures and time. Social influences, biology, sexual orientation, taboos and fantasy are all represented in erotic art. Generally these expressions were done in private, or as a commissioned work for a secret collector and thus often free of external judgment or structure. We get to learn through sexual art many different feelings and thoughts around sex, and often find that while the expressions of fantasy are varied, and underlying influence of sexuality in our personal lives includes each one of us and unites us in our humanity. 

3: If you're anything like me, then your shock threshold is far higher than most people's, but what was the last thing in the museum that shocked you?

I'm hardly shockable at this point in my career as it relates to sexual expression. That said, what I have often found surprising is the pre-conceived ideas some folks have about sexuality. People sometimes come to the Museum with an idea of what they will find when they visit, only to exit quickly after entering. Comments range from 'there's too much to read and it's too academic; sex is sleazy and your Museum should be too", or "there's too much porn, where's the art and artefacts (we have an entire second floor of art and artefacts and only a few screens playing adult material) to just being offended and storming out. They don't often stop to ask questions or to share how what they saw affected them, despite us asking. I approach sexuality with such an open mind that I forget other people struggle with it.

4: In the UK, we often think of the USA as being a country of deep contrasts - on one hand, you have the Las Vegas Erotic Museum, but on the other hand, there are some extremely conservative voices in play. Have you encountered negative reactions to the museum?

Vegas is a playground of taboos, and it seems people come here already expecting the "wild side" of life. We have only had two incidences in recent memory of problems with the public; a man came in shortly after the 2016 election and yelled at the staff that Trump would "cleanse you social deviants off the face of the earth", and a parent who told us were were "corrupting children" by having the word "penis" on our building (referencing our show in residence "Puppetry of the Penis", a comedy show.) Generally speaking we have wide spread public support, as well as from local LGBTQIAA organisations to Planned Parenthood.

5: What would be your dream exhibition?

​I am utterly infatuated with Bosch's depiction of the "Garden of Earthly Delights" as retold and depicted by Studio Smack. We have approached them in order to create an interactive exhibit bringing their Garden to life. We are currently in talks. Their rendering of this pivotal masterpiece, at least from our perspective, is simultaneously titillating, beautiful and wonderfully deviant in the best possible way. I think it would be a marvellous addition to the experience here at the EHM.

​6: There seems to be a backlash against sexual expression and LGBTQ rights under the current US government - have you seen the museum's role changing in response to this? 

As we have been documenting sexuality since our inception, it's our belief we have been a force for social awareness and activism just by the very nature of what we do. What has changed is the political climate. Before the 2016 election we were just a fun oddity in "funky" Las Vegas; following the election the general public reclassified us as a space for social justice. We haven't changed; the view of us by the public has. We have hosted and supported organisations such as the Desiree Alliance, Gender Justice Nevada, SWOP, Planned Parenthood, the Green Party and countless other social and reproductive justice organisations over the years. In each instance we have been humbled by their interest in us.

7: What is your favourite piece in the museum?

That's a difficult question to answer! The Museum has been made and remade so many times and each exhibit is carefully thought out and attended to. I have a hand in them all and get attached to each one. That said, I think what matters more to me is which one each guest is the most drawn to. I love asking people about their experience here and why a particular exhibit affected them.

8: Pornography and erotica are often dismissed as not being subjects of academic merit, have you ever encountered this and what is your response?

Yes, often. It's a complicated issue. There is an entire section of people who believe pornography in particular is a negative force on society and should not exist, and others want to only study it in terms of human trafficking and exploitation. Commercialised sex as it is displayed in adult material has it's own set of dynamics, intricacies and rules. It has structure. It has changed over time. It's a phenomena. Science (academic inquiry) is about researching phenomena. To state it has no academic merit denies this phenomena it's existence, and thus stigmatises not only the people participating in it but, to a larger degree, some sections of sexual expression. 

I admit, I am biased. I am a researcher first. Even if I don't like the outcome of a particular study, as a scientist I must consider it even if it challenges my own beliefs. The great thing about science is we get to build knowledge with each effort to understand our world. We get to be wrong. I would be rather disappointed if there was nothing left to learn - I hope we never "have all the answers."

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9: I often get criticised by the radical feminist community for 'glamorising the sex industry'. Do you think that porn and erotica can be a positive force for feminism? 

Let's unpack "radical feminism" for a moment. Considering the high level of oppression and abuse of women, it makes sense to be radical - we are fighting an inter-sectional, systemic problem. That said, I take issue with sex-negative feminists. More often than not it seems they conflate sex work with abuse as a matter of course - women can ONLY be trafficked into sex work, women would never *chose* sex work. To my mind this position denies the agency of the women involved. It denies people ownership of their bodies. They might argue that it's the patriarchy that has mislead women into believing they are autonomous as sex workers. This statement in and of itself perpetuates victim hood. They decry a woman's lack of agency while telling them they are victims...and denying them the very self determination they lament women don't have. It's mindbogglingly frustrating.

​Women *can chose* sex work for any reason - because it pays better than a 9-5 job, because it allows them to experience a part of their sexuality, because they enjoy exhibition, because they have the power to chose their schedule, perhaps even because they fetishize their own version of femininity, or perhaps for them being a part of the sex industry is *their own form of being a radical woman*. Creating and holding space for a woman to decide for herself how she wishes to experience her sexuality and if she wishes to use it to empower herself economically is not for me or you to judge..we only need to respect each others decisions - that's being a feminist in my view. I think our energy is better used supporting lawmakers who will vote for and enact laws decriminalising sex work.

10: Ater years of studying, showcasing and immersing yourself in the study of sexuality throughout history - what's the one thing have you learnt about human sexuality?

With nearly 10 years at the Museum (in one form or another) and 25 years observing sexuality and the commercial sex industry, with a few years as a counsellor mixed in, a common thread I've discovered the craving for acceptance at the deepest levels. Making ourselves vulnerable, especially sexually, leaves us open to have the most sensitive parts of us judged and shamed. It's what nearly 100% of people I've worked with and studied have expressed - fear of sexual judgement and the unmet need to be accepted for who they are. While working as a sexological counsellor in private practice I was sometimes the only person they had encountered up to that point in their lives who passed no judgement on them for their desires. When I have worked along side surrogate partner therapists, the sexual and mental health improvements were even more profound than with the talk therapy I offered on it's own. The relief they felt would manifest in a flood of tears or sudden awareness of what that could feel like - being accepted. 
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The Museum is celebrating it's 10 year anniversary in 2018. I am so excited to see what the next 10 bring and so appreciate the support we've received and been allowed to give others over the years. As sexuality evolves so will we, and we look to the public and researches such as yourself to joyfully walk with us along the way.