In the heart of the city centre of Aarhus, Denmark’s historic gender museum is once again opening its doors to school students with a full week-long package dedicated to them. This year, interactive activities and discussions among young people focus on consent, gender and sexuality.
By Jessica Johnson and Camila Soumastre
Exhibition halls that are filled with youthful voices. Grated posters with messages about the body and sexuality. Tiny footsteps running between lights and cushions in front of large screens showing educational videos about gender and their role in society. While the KØN Museum’s goal is to educate year-round, this week is filled with students in grades three through ten.
“We are trying to be critical of norms”, says Simon Due Rasmussen, museum educator in the KØN school service. Adds that this week they held five classes a day for different educational establishments in order to promote safe spaces within the school environment.
While the 13th version of the Sex Week on the six week of the year was supposed to have a focus on consent, Due Rassmusen stresses that their interactive rooms and activities are during all the year on breaking down stereotypes around gender by seeking in the origins of the concepts as the vagina, LGTBQ community and in what consist consent viewed from the historical to the contemporary aspects.
The dynamics of this year’s event embodied a round of quizzes for the whole class of pupils, and then, in groups of five, they put what they have learned into practice in activities of making or playing. To close the activities, the courses meet and talk about their main analyses.
Although the Danish state includes sex education in the primary and secondary school curricula through some guidelines, there is no specific material on the subject. Through the museum’s exhibitions such as “Gender Blender” on the first floor, in order to delve into the role of gender in society, what means to be a girl, boy and/or non-binary.
Ester (15) and her friend Maggie (15) look curiously at the displays surrounding them. Ester says she is proud that Denmark has a museum that is specifically about gender and thinks that moments like this week allows her to engage and learn about topics like consent. “I think that it is okay that people talk about it. I understand that for some it can be overwhelming to talk about his kind of things because it is personal”, says the Danish girl.
Maggi reflects that there is a lack of instances outside the classroom that allow them to talk about issues such as gender: “I do not think it is talked that much at school. We only get sex education and we do not really talk about different genders identities. Is important to go out and see for yourself in the museums”.
Although the exhibition ends today, the KØN Museum will not cease its role in educating about sexuality, gender and breaking down stereotypes.
