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A
Brief History of Vibrators
A woman walks into a sex shop and says she wants to buy a vibrator.
The man working in the shop waggles his finger and says" Come this
way." The woman replies, "If I could come that way I
wouldn't need a vibrator ,would I ?!"
Museum of Vibrators
Vibrator
FAQ
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Satire
Further
History Vibes
The
Real Education
Antique
Vibrators
The illustrious
history of the electric vibrator begins in 1869 with the invention of
the steam-powered massager, patented by an American doctor. This device
was designed as a labor-saving medical tool for use in the treatment of
"female disorders." Within twenty years, a British
doctor followed up with a more portable battery operated model, and by
1900, dozens of styles of electric vibrators were available to the
medical professional.
Treating
Hysteria
What, you must ask
were these esteemed physicians doing with their vibrators? They
were treating hysteria-the most common health complaint among women of
the day. While the existence of hysteria as a disease was debunked
in the 1950's, medical experts from the time of Hippocrates up to
the twentieth century believed that hysteria expressed the womb's revolt
against sexual deprivation. A woman's display of mental or
emotional distress was a clear indication of her need for sexual
release. Genital massage was a standard treatment for hysteria;
its objective was to induce "hysterical paroxysm" (better
known today as orgasm) in the patient.
Health,
Vigor and Beauty
Ours being a consumer
society, the vibrator was soon marketed as a home appliance in women's
magazines and mail-order catalogs. Ads proffering "health,
Vigor and beauty" promoted the vibrator as an aid to health.
By the 1920's, doctors had abandoned hands-on physical treatments for
hysteria in favor of psycho-therapeutic techniques. But Vibrators
continued to have an active commercial life in which they were marketed,
much like patent medicines, as cure-alls for illness ranging from
headaches and asthma to "fading beauty" and even tuberculosis.
The vibrator's usefulness for masturbation was never acknowledged;
however, as vibrators began appearing in stag films of the 1920's, it
became difficult to ignore their sexual function. Probably as a
result, advertisements for vibrators gradually disappeared from the
respectable publications.
Quoted from - http://www.wylde.com/history.htm
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