Florence Schechter is the founder and director of the

Vagina Museum The Vagina Museum is the world's first bricks and mortar museum about the female reproductive system. The project is based in the United Kingdom, and moved into its first fixed location in Camden Market, London, in October 2019. Its first exhib ...

. She is also a science communicator, comedian and public speaker. Her debut book, "''V: An Empowering Celebration of the Vulva and Vagina''", was published by

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase o ...

in March 2023.

Early life and education

Schechter graduated from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

in 2014 with a BSc in Biochemistry.

Vagina Museum

In 2017, Schechter founded the

after discovering that there was a penis museum in Iceland, but no vagina equivalent anywhere in the world. She is the Vagina Museum's current Director. The first ever fundraising event was held at Unit 5 Gallery, London in May 2017. The first pop up exhibition was held in August 2017 at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. The following year, it toured an exhibition around the UK called "''Is Your Vagina Normal?''". The Vagina Museum opened its first semi-permanent location in

Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead ...

with the inaugural exhibition "''Muff Busters: Vagina Myths And How To Fight Them''" opening on 16 November 2019. To open the museum, a fundraising campaign was held which raised almost £50,000. In 2021, the Vagina Museum closed its doors in

after the landlords refused to renew the lease in their unit. The Vagina Museum reopened in its second location in March 2022 in ENTER, a venue located in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By t ...

. The museum is dedicated to being trans-inclusive. Schechter has spoken at events and lectured around the UK about her work with the Vagina Museum, including the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

British Science Festival The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

Conway Hall The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United Kin ...

, and National Student Pride.

Writing

On 11 October 2022, it was announced that Penguin would be publishing Schechter's debut book ''V: An Empowering Celebration of the Vulva and Vagina''. The book was published in March 2023. The book is suitable for ages 14+. Schechter is currently signed with United Agents. She has also written articles for a number of publications including

DIVA Magazine Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban ...

, and

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

Comedy

Schechter has been performing comedy since 2016, mostly based around science and biology. She performed her debut hour "Queer By Nature" at Vaults Festival in 2019, all about same sex sexual behaviour in animals.

Honours and awards

Schechter came highly commended in the Women of the Future Awards in 2017. In 2019, she won Pioneer of the Year in the

Sexual Freedom Awards The Sexual Freedom Awards is an annual British event that honours achievement in the sexuality and erotica industries worldwide. Founded in 1994 by campaigner Tuppy Owens, the awards were first called the "Erotic Oscars", until the name had to b ...

. In 2020, she was nominated for the Rising Star of the Year Award with

. In 2023, she came highly commended in the Young Entrepreneur Category at the DIVA awards.

Personal life

Schechter identifies as bisexual.

References

External links

Official website

Vagina Museum website

Florence Schechter
on Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Schechter, Florence Year of birth missing (living people) Living people