The history of the vibrator
From electric devices to hand-cranked beaters
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Sex toys are far from new. Archaeologists identified a Paleolithic stone phallus that was from 28,000 BC! What else was there to do but hunt, gather, and be horny, right? There were dildos in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. In fact, Greeks had at least eight different words to refer to dildos. In Ancient India, there were sex dolls and strap-ons. Butt plugs in Ancient China.
But during Medieval times, the Catholic church branded sex toys as “instruments of diabolical operation,” and female masturbation was the “most horrible sin.” Sex toys didn’t disappear, though future iterations were more discreet. So it makes sense that the first vibrators had a “medical” purpose.
The Invention
The electric vibrator was invented in the late 19th century as a medical instrument to treat various ailments in men and women. The first patented vibrator was invented by Dr. Joseph Mortimer Granville, an English physician, who used the device for male aches and pains. In fact, he was really adamant that it should never be used on women, stating in his book, “I have avoided, and shall continue to avoid the treatment of women by percussion, simply because I do not wish to be hoodwinked, and help to mislead others, by the vagaries of the hysterical state.” He sounds as fun as a bloody hemorrhoid.
Cure for Hysteria?
What makes the quote from Granville interesting is that some historians hypothesized that the original vibrators were invented to treat hysteria. As I wrote about in last week’s newsletter, from Ancient Greece until the early 1900s any combination of symptoms could get a woman diagnosed with hysteria, including but not limited to anxiety, irritability, nervousness, having sexual thoughts, and vaginal lubrication.
The cure for hysteria was a doctor or midwife manually massaging the pelvis, providing paroxysms. The definition of paroxysm is any sudden, uncontrollable outburst; a fit of emotion or action. In other words, an orgasm. Historians debate how often doctors actually used vibrators to treat hysteria, but it certainly made pelvic massages more convenient!
Early Models & Marketing
Vibrators were marketed for home use starting in the early 1900s. At that point, there was no doubt that women were using them on themselves. The electric vibrator wasn’t the only style bringing women to orgasm. There were steam powered, foot pedal, and a terrifying hand cranked model that looked like an egg beater, called Dr. Macaura's Pulsocon Blood Circulator.
in 1902, Hamilton Beach (yes, the company that made your stand mixer) patented the first electric vibrator that patients could take home. Vibrators were marketed in magazines, just like other electrical household goods, for their supposed health and beauty benefits. In fact, they were the fifth electrified household item after the sewing machine, the fan, the teakettle and the toaster!
Here’s what some vintage vibrators looked like:
In the 1920s/30s, vibrators appeared in pornographic movies, so it became difficult for manufacturers to advertise them as though they were massagers for other body parts. In 1952, the American Medical Association officially declared that hysteria wasn’t a real ailment. Vibrators couldn’t hide from their true purpose any longer!
1960s-present
In the 1960s, women began to talk more about their own pleasure. Sex educators like Betty Dodson began teaching about masturbation using vibrators, popularizing the now ubiquitous magic wand in the process. Now, there are vibrators in all sizes and shapes that can be purchased discreetly online or worn as necklaces, whatever your preference. No longer as taboo as they once were, vibrators are being marketed as self care by sex experts and celebrities. So, bring the good vibes everywhere you go with a modern toy that doesn’t look like a medieval torture device…unless that’s your kink, of course.
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Fascinating insight into how women’s medical issues have been bizarrely viewed in the past 😔 The gadgets to cure us look like awesome fun 🤭
Loving all these historical facts! It's interesting because it's not something they'd teach us through med school (and that was 20 years ago when I studied). This has been a longtime taboo and I love reading interesting content like yours. Thanks for sharing this! 🙌🏼