Comments on: Body Worlds Amsterdam: Museum or freak show?

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Sat, 26 Nov 2022 05:26:31 +0000

In reply to Zelda. Yep. Breasts on women are seen as part of their very identity, but not part of men's identity. So they could remove them on men to show the muscles underneath and still have us see them as men, while presumably, under the mammary glands, etc. the women's musculature is very similar. The implication is that women after mastectomies or even just women with small breasts are somehow not fully women. There was plenty that was problematic in this exhibit to me!

By: Zelda

Zelda — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 14:46:51 +0000

Why are all of the women’s breasts and nipples displayed when none of the men’s nipples are left intact on the muscular system plastinates? Has anyone else found this problematic?

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 14:11:45 +0000

In reply to Carolien. Yes, I suppose my initial response was prudish, but I did stay to see it all! I just wish I had more information about these people (okay, former people) and whether they agreed to this before they died. I mean, maybe they wouldn't care, like you, but what if they were prudish too?

By: Carolien

Carolien — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 16:38:34 +0000

We were all made through sex. Even when some of us were Made in a Petri dish, an ejaculation was needed at first. It’s as common as having breakfast. I think it’s very prude to judge that whilst visiting an exhibition about the human body in relation to happiness. One could skip the department/floor that’s dedicated to sex. If I would donate my body, which my soul would have left, I wouldn’t care. I would actually like to be in such a postition, rather then a boring one. But it wouldn’t be me anyway. I would be gone. It would be the structure of my cells, plasticised and coloured. For me it was very interesting to see the bodies because I’m studying to become a massage therapist and it’s very helpful to actually see how and where the muscles, tissue and bones are located in the body. A drawing can’t show this so well and visiting an anatomical laboratory each time costs much more bodies, work, time, and money.

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 20:24:19 +0000

In reply to Charlie.

I know they give permission, but does the form specify exactly how their bodies will be used? I was particularly wondering about the two posed having sex. Did they agree to how they’d be posed and with whom? I know you could say it doesn’t matter, since they’re dead, but it just seems so intimate!

You’re right about this staying with you; I doubt I’ll forget this one in a hurry!

By: Charlie

Charlie — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 16:17:23 +0000

Hi Rachel, Interesting coincidence – Myra and I went to see the show in Portland the day after you posted this, although I didn’t read it until a day or two later. The Body Worlds exhibit is the premier show at the newly opened Portland Science Center.
As your other commenters have noted, the showing we saw had the ‘plastinates’ posed mostly in athletic situations – a soccer player, a gymnast on the rings, a swimmer diving. Along with specific organs and systems – a brain with the spinal chord and nerves, a digestive tract, healthy lungs vs smokers lungs.There were also displays where the body was just standing, but had portions ‘exploded’ to display more detail.
We went on a Saturday afternoon, and there were a lot of people at the exhibit. I was surprised by the number of children. There was also a cruise ship docked in town, although I’m not sure any of the passengers wanted to spend a couple hours in a museum.
We both found the show fascinating, and as we had dropped an extra $5 on the audio guide, spent quite a bit of time working our way through. At the very end, just as you reach the exit doors, there was a panel on the process of plastination along with a sample release form for someone who wants to donate their body. A number of previous commenters asked whether those donating knew how their remains would be used, and I think the answer must be yes, as the donation is specifically to the Body Worlds institute.
One thing I found about this show is that it stuck with me over the following days. I found myself thinking back and reflecting on it, unlike a recent visit to the Trolley Museum.
Thanks for another interesting post.
Charlie

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 13:41:52 +0000

In reply to Michele {Malaysian Meanders}. A small comfort is that I'm sure that no one could recognize the people in this exhibit. I suppose under the skin we're all the same. The little they left of eyebrows and ears, etc. wouldn't be enough to identify anyone. You couldn't, for example, tell if the person died young or old.

By: Victoria@ The British Berliner

Victoria@ The British Berliner — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 06:32:20 +0000

In reply to Rachel Heller.

Probably!
I’d just say that on the Continent, topics are usually more open and that people should be prepared, and if they’re not up for the shock factor, it’s perfectly alright! 🙂

By: Michele {Malaysian Meanders}

Michele {Malaysian Meanders} — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 16:32:11 +0000

I’ve had the chance to visit Bodyworlds in a few cities that I’ve been in but never went because I’m too squeamish. I even had to avert my eyes while driving from the huge Bodyworlds billboards in Houston that loomed over the freeways. If I couldn’t even look at a sign, I figured the actual exhibit would do me in. From what my friends said, the ones in America focused more on the athletic poses. It’s very conservative here, so I imagine that the sexual or mildly provocative ones weren’t displayed. I completely agree with your take on it. I wonder what the families of the deceased thought when they finally saw what had been done.

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 05:33:54 +0000

In reply to Victoria@ The British Berliner. Children are allowed in this one as well. I guess the poses didn't strike you the way they did me (particularly the sex one and the woman on the swing). The fact that yours was in the Science Museum might also have affected your feelings about it. You expected it to be educational so it was. Or maybe they were just posed in simpler ways because it was for a Science Museum.