Naomi Wilzig's friends and family joined her Sunday afternoon in South Beach as she received a doctorate of arts in erotology and sexology from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.
Wilzig, named 2011 Business Person of the Year by the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, received the doctorate at her World Erotic Art Museum at 1205 Washington Ave.
"Mr. Miami Beach" Michael Aller acted as master of ceremonies at the event, which included testimonials by Robert Theodore Mcllvenno of the The Institute For Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco; Dr. Joshua Hare of University of Miami/Miller School of Medicine's Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, the beneficiary of Sunday's event; and Wilzig's adult children, Sir Ivan Wilzig and Sherry Izak.
Izak said she and her brother (with Wilzig at the event, right) didn't grow up in a permissive household, and that it wasn't until Wilzig grew older that she loosened up and began collecting erotic art.
"When other people's mothers were taking up knitting, my mother was taking up buying penises," Izak told the crowd. "You can laugh because it's not your mother."
Click the photos to view a gallery from Sunday's investiture. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.
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