Amazing History of the Vibrator

I know that a history lesson is the last thing on your mind when your libido exceeds your IQ by far!

But please bear with me. I found this to be most, most interesting. With due thanks to our kind friends at Wikipedia. I simply had to share it with you!

Did you know that for centuries, doctors had been treating women for a wide variety of illnesses by performing what is now recognized as masturbation?

The "pelvic massage" was especially common in the treatment of female hysteria during the Victorian Era, as the point of such manipulation was to cause "hysterical paroxysm" (orgasm) in the patient.

So my friends, do you have a hysterical female on your hands? Do NOT go and buy a gun - that will very likely get you into jailhouse for life.

Now you know exactly what to do! Get her a suitable vibrator and induce "hysterical paroxysm" in the "patient". Goodness but old folk had big words for an everyday thing hey?

However, not only did doctors regard the "vulvular stimulation" required as having nothing to do with sex, but reportedly found it time-consuming and hard work.
   
Well there you have it - and I am sure thousands will agree on this hard work issue. So, once again, now you know exactly what to do to get rid of time-consuming hard work, Simply buy a vibrator!

One of the first vibrators was a steam-powered device called the "Manipulator", which was created by American physician George Taylor, M.D. This machine was a rather awkward device, but was still heralded as some relief for the doctors who found themselves suffering from fatigued wrists and hands.

Shame man, imagine: poor doctors constantly having to do this time-consuming hard work of vulvular stimulation! Poor, poor people - no wonder they invented a vibritor.

Circa 1880, Dr. Joseph Mortimer Granville patented the first electromechanical vibrator. The historical fiction film Hysteria features a reworked history of the vibrator focused on Dr. Granville.

Between 1835 and 1920, Gustav Zander also designed a device that was often used to attain an orgasm, although it was primarily designed as an aid against eating disorders. It is still on display in the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden.

In 1902, the American company Hamilton Beach patented the first electric vibrator available for retail sale, making the vibrator the fifth domestic appliance to be electrified, after the sewing machine, fan, tea kettle, and toaster, and about a decade before the vacuum cleaner and electric iron.

A very interesting historical fact. Can we conclude therefore that the stimulation a vibrator can supply is regarded as much harder work than ironing? I mean if ironing was regarded as the harder work - surely they would have electrified ironing first? Hmm

The home versions of vibrators soon became extremely popular, with advertisements in periodicals such as Needlecraft, Woman's Home Companion, Modern Priscilla, and the Sears, Roebuck catalog.
Well done!

BUT these disappeared in the 1920s, apparently because their appearance in pornography made it no longer tenable for mainstream society to avoid the sexual connotations of the devices.

And so the kappie brigade took over and placed censorship on the poor innocent vibrator! No decent citizen could surely read about something so pornographic or sensual! Amazing!

But, yay, the vibrator re-emerged due to the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Well done sexual revolution, I say.

On June 30, 1966, Jon H. Tavel applied for a patent for the "Cordless Electric Vibrator for Use on the Human Body", ushering in the modern personal vibrator. The patent application referenced an earlier patent dating back to 1938, for a flashlight with a shape that left little doubt as to a possible alternate use. The cordless vibrator was patented on March 28, 1968, and was soon followed by such improvements as multi-speed and one-piece construction, which made it cheaper to manufacture and easier to clean.

You see? Some good came from the sexual revolution after all! And then, of course, television as a thought liberating tool by adding to our knowledge. It also contributed and came to the aid of the liberation of the poor vibrator.

Since the 1980s, vibrators and sex toys have become increasingly visible in mainstream public culture, especially after a landmark August 1998 episode of the HBO show Sex and the City, in which the character Charlotte becomes addicted to a rabbit vibrator.


My o my - addicted to a rabbit? What an imagination these filmmakers have!

Appearing in a regular segment on the popular US television series The Oprah Winfrey Show in March 2009, Dr. Laura Berman recommended that mothers teach their 15- or 16-year-old daughters the concept of pleasure by getting them a clitoral vibrator.

Eventually somebody with liberating thoughts. And a doctor no less, had to open our eyes to what we should be doing as a contribution to the education of our children. Hats off to her, really.

Today, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Safeway, Target and Walmart are among major national US chain retailers that include vibrators on store shelves. Seems in South Africa we are still trailing a bit behind. Or are we? Thank goodness for the Internet and ordering in the privacy of your own home. And thank goodness for sites like www.toolray.co.za allowing you to get your hands on these educational toys.

Research published in a 2009 issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine demonstrates that about 53% of women and about 46% of men in the United States ages 18 to 60 have used a vibrator.

Seems once again the men folk are dragging their feet.

Thanks so much to Wikipedia for this delightful insight on the history of the vibrator.

Have fun!