Graphic sex exhibit for teens sparks controversy in Ottawa

Sex has long moved out of the bedroom, but that doesn't mean it deserves an exhibition, says Heritage Minister James Moore.

As the Montreal Gazette reports, an award-winning exhibition that seeks to educate young teens about sex in a detailed and scientific way has been labeled "insulting to taxpayers" by Moore, who emphasized that it had no place in Ottawa's Canada Science and Technology Museum.

Sex: A Tell-All Exhibition was created by the Montréal Science Centre in 2010 to address difficult questions teens and preteens may have about puberty, contraception and sexuality.

The exhibit, which ran in Montreal and Regina without protest, covers a host of subjects that range from biology to more complex societal issues like teen peer pressure to engage in sexual activity.

A tour of the space reveals a section on chromosomes, another on STIs, and a case stacked with condoms.

More explicit features include full, life-size colour photos of the naked human body, an animated video on masturbation and a booth on erections.

There's even an interactive microsite that allows young visitors to continue their education through a series of videos, photos and expert interviews online.

Co-creator Louise Julie Bertrand told the Gazette that the show was designed to fill in the gaps left by sex education curriculum, uncomfortable parental Q&A sessions and the unfiltered world of the Internet.

"We felt we had to give them the right information, because what they have access to is the web or the schoolyard," she said. "So the science centre is a safe place to learn about sex."

Safe, perhaps. But according to Moore, a science centre is not the right place to learn about graphic sex.

The purpose of the museum, his office said in a statement "is to foster scientific and technological literacy throughout Canada."

"It is clear this exhibit does not fit within that mandate. This content cannot be defended, and is insulting to taxpayers.

"We have expressed our strong concerns to the President of the Museum, and we encourage Canadians who are concerned to do the same."

As the Globe and Mail notes, more than 50 concerned Canadians have done just that, calling radio stations to complain and inundating the museum with angry emails.

In response, the museum has raised the entry age for unaccompanied adolescents from 12 to 16.

Museum spokesperson Olivier Bouffard told the Globe they have also agreed to remove the masturbation video, although, based on visitor feedback and research from the exhibition's past two stops, he finds the reaction from our nation's capital to be rather baffling.

"Of course we did our due diligence," he said. "Their experience was nothing like ours. … in a way it was a bit of a surprise, the kind of response that we're getting here in Ottawa."

Bouffard added that the museum plans to run the exhibition for six months at a cost of $60,000. While government funding (those aforementioned tax dollars) goes toward in-house production, costs are also met by revenue the museum generates itself.

Moore's actions have inspired a backlash from readers who mocked what they felt to be the minister's puritanical stance on sex.

A small but vocal minority applauded the minister's efforts, echoing that the exhibition was far too graphic for preteens.

Ottawa teens, on the other hand, are busy lining up outside the museum.