Sex Toy History

Many people assume that sex toys are Asian inventions. While it is true Asians have used sexual aides for more than 1,000 years and Ben-Wa Balls are clearly Asian, dildos and vibrators have surprisingly Western roots. Historians don’t know who invented the dildo, but its popularity is due to the ancient Greek port city, Miletus. Miletan traders sold “olisbos” around the Mediterranean. In Renaissance Italy, olisbo became “dildo,” probably from the Italian diletto, meaning “to delight.” Compared with today’s life-like models, early dildos were hardly delightful! They were made of wood or leather, and required liberal lubrication of olive oil for comfortable use. Modern rubber dildos did not appear until the mid-19th century.

Dildos have always had a frankly sexual purpose, but vibrators are another story. For most of their history, they have been camouflaged, their sexual purpose hidden behind “massage therapy.” The first vibrators were developed 130 years ago to treat an illness called “female hysteria.” Hysteria, from the Greek for “suffering uterus” (Yes, really) involved anxiety, irritability, sexual fantasies, “pelvic heaviness” and excessive vaginal lubrication – in other words, sexual arousal during the Victorian Era, when women were not considered sexual beings. Physicians treated hysteria by massaging their patient’s clitoris until they experienced a relief through “paroxysm” (orgasm). During the 1860’s, health spas offered high-tech alternatives to manual therapy such as water jets and steam-powered vibrating devices.

The first electric vibrators appeared in the late 19th century, still camouflaged as therapy for “hysteria” and sold only to doctors. Over time, magazine advertisements began offering vibrators to women for “self-treatment of hysteria at home.” In 1918, Sears and Roebuck touted one vibrator as a “very satisfactory…aid every woman appreciates.” Another advertisement in a 1921 issue of Heart’s Magazine urged men to buy the devices for their wives to keep them “young and pretty” and free from the scourge of hysteria.

During the 1920’s, early “blue” movies showed women using the devices for sexual stimulation, stripping vibrators of their social camouflage. By 1930, they were no longer openly advertised.

Today, of course, vibrators are popular sex aides sold for sexual purposes. Retail outlets continue to camouflage them as “massagers.” One large catalogue says its dual-speed massager is “perfect for those hard-to-reach places.”

True…and a few places within easy reach as well. ( ♥ (