The vibrator has always been a source of controversy. They are actually banned in some states, and looked down upon by some religions. Vibrators have come a long way from their shameful beginnings, and today they are a source of female sexual liberation. The vibrator was the fifth electrical device invented in the 1880’s by Joseph Mortimer Granville (bless him). However, before the electrical device, there were steam-powered versions and even wind-up vibrators. While stigmatized as something dirty or deviant, it was originally used by doctors to treat women who were “afflicted” with hysteria. With greater awareness of sexuality, vibrators are becoming more accepted and enjoyed.Hysteria was defined in the 5th century by the Greeks meaning “wondering womb.” It was believed that a woman’s womb floated around her body leading to irritability, depression, desire for too much sex, no desire for sex, muscle spasms, and anxiety, just to name a few. By the Age of Enlightenment (and on through the 19th century) hysteria was categorized as a female nervous disorder. In the 1500’s Gabriel Fallopius (yup, Fallopian tubes, same guy) discovered a “magic button” which appeared to have no purpose, as it was believed that any sexual pleasure women might received was only vaginally. Around the same time, Italian Renaldo Columbus was imprisoned for coming across the female orgasm through noticing, “discovering”, and naming the clitoris (meaning “little-hill”). In 1653, Pieter van Foreest began advising midwives to massage the clitoris with various scented oils in order to treat female disorders. Please note that this is the only documentation of women being involved in treating or ascertaining proper treatment of women’s genitalia or sexuality. As the western medicine evolved, midwives were ousted from practice and the treatment of hysteria became a male dominated therapy. It never occurred to the male doctors that the primary reason why women were “hysterical” was due to social injustice and repression. By the beginning of the 1800’s, hysteria seemed to become an epidemic among middle class American women. So it was that doctors found themselves using vibrating tables, jolting chairs, and manual stimulation in order to aid women from their affliction. Doctors complained that their hands ached and it was taking too long- sometimes up to an hour to treat one patient. By the time the electric vibrator was introduced, doctors were pleased to see that they could treat up to six patients in an hour, thus increasing their profits. By the turn of the century, companies such as Sears and Roebuck were selling home vibrators in their catalogs for less than ten dollars. Vibrators and their use were not considered sexual, however, and by 1920 vibrators began to appear in Stag films (porno) thus creating a shift from treatment to deviance.In 1953, Dr. Alfred Kinsey stated that the “the locus for female stimulation was the clitoris, not the vagina” (Kinsey) in The Sexual Behavior of the Human Female which prompted the elimination of hysteria as previously defined from medical and psychological terminology. The sixties brought forth the sexual revolution and the vibrator was not forgotten. Phallus shaped vibrators began to appear in sex shops in the 1960’s, and sex therapists used vibrators to treat sexual dysfunction. It was also around this time that women began to take control of their orgasm and sexual development. In the early 1970’s, Betty Dodson began teaching women how to masturbate and how to use vibrators. She later went on to open the first sex store for women in 1975 named Eve’s Garden. In 1976, Joani Blank published Good Vibrations: The Complete Guide to Vibrators and subsequently opened Good Vibes; yielded as the first sex store dedicated to vibrators.
As women began taking control of female sexuality, sexual education, and sexual gratification, legislation put its foot down. In 1998 states such as Georgia, Texas, and Alabama passed obscenity laws deeming the production or sale of vibrators illegal. Several women paired with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed action in Williams v. Pryor. They contended that the law not only invaded privacy but also interfered with marital relationships. The Eleventh Circuit of Appeals ruled the law unconstitutional, saying that the law was intended to stop “auto-eroticism…unrelated to marriage” (www.law.emory.edu). The law had also included eroticism related to marriage and “the statute failed rationally to advance any legitimate state interest” (www.law.emory.edu).Also in 1998, Australian doctor Helen O’Connell discovered that the clitoris is actually twice as big as anatomy textbooks would have you think. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Association she said, “I think if you’re of the thought that the tip is the whole, well my idea is that it’s quite a bit bigger than that.” It looks like the “little hill” is just the tip of the iceberg!Dragons, rabbits, elephants, and dolphins oh my! Finding the right vibrator may not be as easy as it appears. The novice may want to take the time to explore educational minded websites (provided below) in order to find one to fit one’s purposes. For fans of Hello Kitty, you are in luck! While the Hello Kitty vibrator (“shoulder massager”) made in 1997 by Genyo had to be discontinued, the Hello Kitty Deluxe Massager is produced by Sanrio (the company currently owning the sole rights to Hello Kitty). While this may be a private matter, it is not to be heralded as shameful. Vibrators should be viewed as a safe and reserved manner in which to explore sexuality as well as a therapeutic tool to treat sexual dysfunctions. Sexuality isn’t lewd, ignorance is!
Sources: http://ark.cdlib.org; www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com; www.cakenyc.com; www.sexforwomen.net; www-rohan.sdsu.edu; www.goodvibes.com; www.bupipedream.com; http://www.jlist.com/ADULTTOYS; www.law.emory.edu/11circuit/jan2001/99-10798.ma2.html; http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/scripts98/9825/clitoris.html; The Technology of Orgasm: Hysteria, the Vibrator, and Women’s Sexual Satisfaction by Rachel P. Maines; Kinsey, Alfred. Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: W. B. Saunders Company, 1953