Our Mission
as non-profit Organisation is to increase acceptance and understanding for BDSM culture in the public perception.
We pursue this with a permanent, publicly accessible facility in the service of society and its development, which procures and preserves material and immaterial testimonies from people and their environment to the cultural object BDSM for the purpose of study, education, encounter and experience, researches, makes known and exhibits.
Self-image
We started this project because we have made the experience that deviant sexual preferences can lead to misunderstanding, prejudice and rejection or even violence and abuse, and the public consciousness stereotypical or discriminatory views on BDSM from a lack of understanding what BDSM is what matters.
The abbreviation “BDSM” stands for “Bondage, Discipline, Domination, Submission, Sadism and Masochism”. For us, BDSM means that adults meet each other (sexually) with mutual consent, respect and esteem. BDSM is a personal and intimate form of expression and culture, the evidence of which goes back several centuries. Violence and abuse is not part of BDSM and associated practices.
We also pursue education and sensitization for a differentiated view of sexuality and the prevention of abuse through education.
values
Education:
We understand cultural education through BDSM as a way of dealing with people’s sexuality, society and the context in which it takes place, regardless of age, gender, origin, social reality and worldview.
Integration:
The BDSM Museum builds on Hamburg’s long tradition of open-mindedness and tolerance. We are open to new ideas, involve people and discuss with them on an equal footing. We are looking for cooperation with science, education and the media.
Knowledge-driven:
We are independent, neutral and feel committed to the principles of good educational and scientific practice. By dealing with the BDSM culture and changes in the present, we develop new impulses for the content at the museum as well as through our own and external research. A transparent handling of information about work, changes and processes in the museum is important to us.
The BDSM Museum strives for the greatest possible accessibility. We see personal development and further development through the education and support of employees, their skills and creativity as an essential core of the work of this museum.
Communal:
This museum is a project by the community for the general public. Regardless of formal structures and hierarchies, everyone who works with or in the museum encourages respectful and fair interaction. People of all origins, sexes, genders and ages work equally with one another, regardless of their way of life.