Many people assume that sex toys are a fairly recent invention and were invented in Asian.  It's true that many sex aids today are made in Asia but the history of the dildo and the vibrator actually started in the west and they have been used as sexual aids for more than 1,000 years.

The History of the Dildo

The first use of a dildo is not completely clear although it is recorded that they were used by single or lonely women in Ancient Greece. Unlike modern dildo’s they were made of wood or leather and needed plenty of olive oil for comfortable use. Dildos have always had a sexual purpose.

The Vibrator's Humble Beginning

For hundreds of years it was believed that many 'conditions' women suffered from was due to ‘Hysteria’ and that the uterus was complaining of neglect. Plato, it seems believed that the Uterus was an animal within an animal and that you had to placate it if it got out of control.

Anything from tiredness, headaches, absent-mindedness, melancholia and insomnia, irregular breathing, and confusion was put down to ‘Hysteria’. In fact any type of behaviour by women that confused men were put down to hysteria. Passionate and very sexual women were thought to be worst affected as men obviously considered that abnormal.

It was decided - by men - that 'Hysteria' was caused by sexual frustration. It seemed clear that a women’s mental or emotional distress was an indication of a need for sexual release.

What Were They To Do?

It seemed the only way to help rid us poor women of this dreadful  affliction was for a physician or midwife to massage the women’s vulva –thought then to be part of the uterus. This manual manipulation continued until there were contractions and lubrication. This was known as the ‘hysterical paroxysm’ (now known as an orgasm).  The women would then feel much better for a while!  I should think so too!

This form of manual massage of the female genitalia until reaching orgasm appears to have been used as a treatment for sexual problems as early as the 4-5^th centuries to purge women of this mysterious illness.

At first midwives took care of all sexual and reproductive issues in women. But men became involved eventually and modern medicine got involved. Who better to sort us wayward women out than our doctors, who took the treatment very seriously.

Hysteria, it seems was a prevalent disease, second only to ‘fevers' - or the classic cold. It was also classed as a chronic disease that could not be cured.

Single women with 'hysteria' were often urged to marry energetic husbands and were told to make vigorous and frequent love ensuring sexual release for the women. Horse riding was also recommended - I ask you!

Other therapies were also recommended after a while, including massage with a jet of water (the cold water Douche).

Orgasm often occurred within about four minutes of such treatment. However, it became clear that some patients wanted more treatment than was ‘good for them’!!  Spoilsports.

No wonder in the 19^th century it was very common for women to visit their doctor’s surgery on a regular basis. Masturbation was still seen as a sin and was believed to cause insanity so what choice did they have?

The Vibrator Was About To Be Born.

A ‘breakthrough’ for the poor weary doctors came in 1869 when the steam powered massage and vibratory apparatus for treatment of female disorders was patented.  This apparatus was intended for supervised use only in case of over indulgence.

It was indeed a brilliant invention, saving doctors much time, therefore allowing them to see more patients. Many doctors had difficulty in treating patients using their own fingers and this new machine would be a godsend. They could start to perform in minutes, tasks that before could have taken up to an hour. A 17^th century doctor was to complain how tiring and time consuming the ‘massage therapy’ was for the doctor.

The steam engine was attached to the table

and the women placed her pelvis over the

vibrating ball on the table.

Other strange techniques were also sometimes used, such as air powered and gasoline powered vibrating tables, swinging chairs, jolting chairs and many others.

Women would not have realised it but they were getting their ‘treatment’ for the same reason women today use sexual aids – for releasing sexual tension.

What does seem strange to us now, is that it was deemed normal for women during Victorian times to visit their doctor in order to obtain the sexual pleasure and relief they weren’t getting at home.

Rachel Maines, historian and author of ‘The Technology of Orgasm’ says that because it was believed that women could only get sexual gratification through vaginal penetration, the therapy was not seen as a sexual act.

Since using the vibrator didn’t involve the vagina it wasn’t sexual contact, purely a medical encounter!

In the 16th century Gabriel Fallopius claimed to be the first person to find the clitoris.

"it is so hidden that I was the first to discover it, several years ago" He proclaimed.

However, at the same point in history, it seems that Pietro d'Abano was the only one who seemed to understand what the clitoris was for. 

"Women are driven to desire... by having the upper orifice near their pubis rubbed. The pleasure that can be obtained from this part of the body is comparable to that obtained from the tip of the penis." AT LAST!

Despite this, it seems both society, and the medical profession carried on denying it for four hundred years.

Even as recent as 1905 Freud said that the clitoral orgasm was an immature method of pleasure, and the fully developed woman should receive stimulation only from the vagina. 

Gynaecologists and sexologists alike, perpetuated this theory right up until the 80's, further debasing the clitoris in the process. 

The Modern Vibrator

Within 20 years of the steam powered vibrator being patented, a more portable battery vibrator was available, and by the turn of the 20^th century - 20 years after the first electromechanical vibrator there were at least two-dozen different types of vibrators available to the medical profession.

It wasn’t long before certain businessmen spotted the potential of producing vibrators and selling them directly to women. They were marketed as household appliances - although never as sexual massagers. They were advertised in respectable periodicals as ‘aids that every woman appreciates, with the delicious promise that "all the pleasures of youth will throb within you"….ah? 

Advertisements spoke of ‘health, vigour and beauty" promoting the vibrator as an aid to health. Men were encouraged to give their wives a massager as a gift as it gave them pink cheeks and bright eyes… I bet it did!

In fact, the vibrator (massager) was only the fifth electrical household appliance behind the kettle, toaster, sewing machine and fan.

!The idea of hysteria as a disease was debunked in the 1950’s!

During the 1920’s the first ‘blue movies’ and early pornography showed women using  ‘massagers’ for sexual pleasure and because of this by the 1930’s they were no longer openly advertised and medical use of them stopped.

And Now?

The 1960’s saw the vibrator emerge once again and this time in all it’s sexual glory. Masters and Johnson used vibrators in their research into sexuality in the late 1960’s, and penis shaped vibrators were starting to be sold in sex shops and mail order was becoming more popular.

In 1971 Feminist Author and sex therapist Betty Dodson started to teach masturbation workshops focusing on using vibrators.

She claims to be the first feminist to introduce electric vibrators solely to gain an orgasm. The story is her boyfriend was having his scalp massaged with one at the barbers and he thought it would be great for clitoral stimulation. 

In 1974 Joani Blank encouraged women to explore their sexuality and published ‘Good Vibrations’: The complete guide to vibrators.

Joani invented the Venus Butterfly Vibrator and in 1977 opened Good Vibrations the first sex shop devoted entirely to the vibrator.

Today, women everywhere see their vibrator as part of their sexual independence and freedom.

Sex Toys now come in all shapes and sizes are mostly quiet and discreet and many women use them regularly to sort out their ‘hysterical paroxysm’. .......