Exhibit explores silliness of sex

Friday evening, the School of Fine Arts Gallery opened its doors to a new exhibit.\nThe crowd that had gathered outside moved past the wine and fruit tables and into the gallery. A low rumble began and soon grew into audible laughter.\nAn elderly lady chuckled as she looked through the display glass at a multi-colored condom with the caricature of a fiddler on its tip.\nThe condom collection, along with many other sexually humorous pieces, are the centerpiece of the new exhibit "Sex and Humor: Selections from the Kinsey Institute."\nThe new exhibit features many drawings, figurines, and photographs from the Kinsey Institute that show how people have treated sex as a humorous act throughout the years.\nJohn Bancroft, director of the Kinsey Institute, said that much of the humor in sex is derived from our feelings of superiority over other species.\n"The absurdity is mainly because it conflicts with us being dignified and in control," he said. "It's not how we like to see ourselves."\nBancroft said he hopes the exhibit will get people to think about the relationship between sex and humor. \n"(I hope) that we are all able to laugh at ourselves in this respect and adopt a more humble view of ourselves because this is a part of out human nature," he said.\nCatherine Johnson, curator for the Kinsey Institute, said that many of the pieces in the exhibit center around the penis.\nSuch pieces include "Wind-up Whackin' Willy" -- a figurine that masturbates, and a set of "Weenie Babies" -- plush toys with very exaggerated phalluses.\n"Several cultures have made a big deal about the male genitalia," Johnson said.\nAccording to one display, some ancient cultures would keep phallic symbols in their homes in belief that it would ward off evil spirits.\nBancroft's favorite piece, a drawing titled "Racing his snails" by Cyril Satorsky, depicts a bearded man with two snails crawling along his extremely large penis. When asked why this was his favorite, Bancroft replied, "I just like it. Don't ask me to get that analytical."\nBancroft feels that society has put too much emphasis on the male genitals.\n"(The penis) of course has become the focal point of a man's masculinity to an unfortunate degree," he said.\nAlthough most of the pieces highlight the male aspect of sex, women are also highlighted in a few displays.\nOne drawing depicts a woman in a sailor's uniform using a urinal next to another sailor while she asks, "Well, what the hell are you staring at?" This piece, along with others in the display, comments on the way society reacted when women first started serving in the military.\nThe Kinsey Institute has held two exhibits at the SoFA gallery in the past; "The Art of Desire: Erotic Treasures from the Kinsey Institute" in 1997 and "The Kiss" in 1998.\nBetsy Stirratt, director of the SoFA gallery, said the Kinsey exhibits usually draw larger crowds than other exhibits.\n"People are curious," she said. "It's always interesting to work with them because they have this material that very few people have seen. I think the exhibit is a very positive one."\nAlthough Bancroft said that he hopes this exhibit will be more light-hearted and more accessible than previous Kinsey exhibits, he hasn't forgotten the controversy that surrounded their first exhibit in 1997.\nBancroft said that the Concerned Women for America protested "The Art of Desire" exhibit and accused the institute of promoting rape. However, he said that he is still confident that "Sex and Humor" will be well received.\n"I think people that would be likely to be offended by (the exhibit) wouldn't go," he said.\nStirratt said she is aware of the nature of this exhibit and said there will be signs and greeters at the gallery to tell people what they are about to see.\n"You have to be very sensitive and aware when you present an exhibit like this," she said.\n"Sex and Humor" will continue through March 9, and Catherine Johnson will present a gallery talk about the exhibit Wednesday at noon.\nAlso available at the exhibit is a book by the same name, featuring essays by John Bancroft and Dr. Leonore Tiefer, professor of psychiatry at the New York School of Medicine.