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, to delight. Compared with today’s life-like models, early dildos were hardly
delightful…Made of wood or leather; they 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”, involved anxiety,
irritability, sexual fantasies, “pelvic heaviness” and excessive vaginal lubrication – in other
words, sexual arousal during the Victoria 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; 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 shoed 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. While mange
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.