History of sex toys

Vibrators, dildos, butt plugs, ticklers, cock rings, masturbation sleeves: There’s something for everyone.

Not everyone likes to admit to what they do behind closed doors, but according to a 2009 study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, it’s safe to assume that more than half of Americans use sex toys.

One look at the history of personal pleasure objects throughout the world tells us this isn’t a new phenomenon. From prehistoric times through the age of female “hysteria” and into the hypersexual present, sex toys have had quite an interesting ride.

The world’s oldest dildo is thought to be a phallic stone sculpture that dates back some 28,000 years. The polished sculpture, discovered by scientists in Germany, looks a little rough when compared to today’s luxuriously soft toys, but you have to give those women a little bit of credit for making do with what they had.

Beyond the Upper Paleolithic period, the use of dildos for female masturbation can be seen in Greek art from the sixth century B.C., and around A.D. 500 Ben Wa balls came onto the scene. At first, Ben Wa balls were said to be used during intercourse to increase the man’s pleasure, but later the balls were repurposed as a tool to strengthen a woman’s vaginal muscles.

Another instance of a sex toy being used for something other than pure pleasure is the Manipulator, a steam-powered dildo machine invented by Dr. George Taylor in 1869.

Back in the late 1800s, women who were sexually dissatisfied were misdiagnosed with anxiety and hysteria. To alleviate the symptoms, male doctors were compelled to provide pelvic massages for female patients until they were brought to orgasm.

The Manipulator was invented as a form of hysteria treatment since, believe it or not, most doctors actually loathed giving pelvic massages.

Not too long after the invention of the Manipulator, the popularity of vibrators took off in the U.S. At one point, the plug-in home vibrator was one of the most popular household appliances.

Various models improved upon Taylor’s first-draft dildo, such as the electromechanical vibrator patented by Dr. Mortimer Granville, whose claim to fame was recently documented in the 2011 film Hysteria, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy.

Vibrator mania didn’t last for long, though. The 1930s through the 1960s were what some have referred to as the dark ages of sexuality. Sex toys were popularly used in pornographic films in the 1920s, which led to the American Medical Association’s shut-down of the pelvic-massager party by declaring that hysteria was not a medical ailment.

In the era of free love, sex toys made a comeback with the invention of well-known personal pleasure objects like the Hitachi Magic Wand, the Rabbit, the Fleshlight and vibrating cock rings.

“Some of the most positive changes in the sex toy industry have really happened just over the last 10 years or so,” said Evy Cowan, co-owner of SheBop, a female-owned, women-friendly sex toy shop in North Portland.

“There are more and more sex toy shops, like SheBop, that are committed to carrying quality, body-safe products and educating customers,” she added.

Generally speaking, a society’s lowered stigmatization of sex toys is held to be an indication of greater parity between the sexes. A person’s sexual desire is not a sickness to be cured with a visit to the doctor’s office or a do-it-yourself vibrating dildo. Still, assuming safety precautions have been taken, it can never hurt to try the latter.