JK Rowling Accidentally Helps Fund Trans-Inclusive Vagina Museum

London’s Vagina Museum has not only met, but exceeded a vital fundraising goal, only days after it went live.

The museum, which is the world’s first brick and mortar museum “dedicated to vulvas, vaginas, and the gynae anatomy”, took to social media last Friday to announce that they were one month away from closing forever.

“This month is make-or-break,” the post read. “We have a large rent payment going out at the end of March which we are expected to pay quarterly rather than monthly. This will drive us below our minimum reserves limit.”

The museum said that although they had attempted to negotiate an arrangement with their landlords, they were refused.

A crowdfunder was posted with a goal of £60,000 to “continue operations” with the smallest possible budget.

Support for the museum was instant, with contributors from all over the world raising half the target in less than five hours.

As of Wednesday 19 March, more than £71,400 had been donated, with the Vagina Museum even extending their donation target to £100,000.

“But the real work starts now,” organisers wrote in an update on the crowdfunding platform. “We’ve been doing this for years on a shoestring budget with just about enough staff to keep functioning. There’s no room to grow. No room to thrive.”

“This is no longer about surviving, but about being able to thrive in a world with so many forces still against us.”

JK Rowling post backfired

Naturally, once the fundraising started to get a bit of traction, disgraced children’s author JK Rowling decided she would join the conversation, posting on X: “The Vagina Museum, which is currently begging for funds to remain open, has blocked me, so I can’t tell them directly why many former supporters’ reaction is ‘good riddance’,” alongside a screenshot of the Vagina Museum’s call for support.

Her post was viewed over half a million times, shortly after which, they met and exceeded their fundraising goal.

Although the Vagina Museum received some transphobic harassment online, they very quickly reiterated that their trans-inclusive approach wasn’t going anywhere.

“We realise that being a trans inclusive, LGBT+ affirmative space in this world is not the most lucrative choice,” they said. “We’re not going to drop that stance. We stand defiant of homophobia, transphobia and patriarchy, even in the face of a flood of abusive replies.”