Even though we haven't gotten to that point in society where everyone is one hundred percent confident with their sexualities and conversations about masturbation, self-love, and sex are often seemed as inappropriate, these topics have been within humanity for years. Many people may think that masturbating is something new that the most recent generations have come up with to release their sexual pleasures, but that's not true.
The stigma
If you read our past blog post on self-exploration you know that masturbating can help gain knowledge on our bodies, what we like and what we dislike, this will ultimately help us gain more confidence in our sex life. Recent studies have also found that there are many benefits to feeling yourself, apart from feeling good, it can help lower your stress levels, and using it as part of your bedtime routine can help you sleep better. But for years, the only outcome that was thought to come from masturbation (for those with female genitalia) was insanity, blindness, and physiological, as well as psychological diseases.
The path has been paved up to the double-headed dildos, the Rabbit vibrator, the anal beads, and more, but just because technology wasn't as advanced back in the day and women had to keep their pleasures a secret doesn't mean we didn't have fun.
You got your bees in a gourd
If we go back in time a little more, we know that Cleopatra was loved by many and had her fair share of contenders, but according to some stories when in need of some extra pleasure she'd fill up a gourd of bees and put it close to her vagina. The vibration from the angry bees in the gourd would be known as the "first vibrator", but it hasn't been scientifically proven. Nowadays we have more options for vibrators ranging in size, color, and material. But our beloved dildos are not new, women as long as 30,000 years ago had their dildos polished and ready to go with one of the oldest dildo found to date discovered in Germany, it is 20 cms long and made of siltstone.
Getting Playful
As we started to get more and more creative, new dildos and manual vibrators came to play.
According to the 2nd century anatomist Galen, hysteria was caused by the retention of "female semen," which could get into the blood and corrupt it. So clearly, it had to be periodically let loose. [...] They would stimulate the vagina until "parosysm" (read: orgasm) was achieved. - Adam Frucci for Gizmodo
So, doctors would start using very ingenious and crafty devices to cure women of hysteria once their hands got tired of all the rubbing and horseback rides weren't doing the job justice, and here are some:
The Blood Circulator
Even though it wasn't advertised as a vibrator or a self-pleasure tool, it was exactly just that. This "massage tool" was originally made to be used by doctors to treat "women issues" like hysteria, but later was found useful for other purposes 😉. The Pulsocon could vibrate up to 5,000 times per minute depending on how quickly you cranked the handle.
The Manipulator
Powered by steam, it had its engine in another room while the actual dildo would stick out of the wall.
The Oster Stim-U-Lax
For women looking for a more gentle touch, The Oster Stim would transform your hand into a vibrator, slip it into your four fingers and get your vibrating on!
Gyro-Lator
We can get past the weird-looking contraptions and transfer to something more pleasant looking. The Gyro-Lator was small, made out of metal, and it would vibrate with the help of its engine.
Of course, there are tons more products we didn't get to touch on, but we made our point, for as long as we have known we've had our vibrators named like alien-killing machines. But, in all sincerity, now that we're past the trying to cure our hysteria situation and we have plenty more options to choose from that don't look like we are about to damage something inside ourselves, have fun! You have an array of vibrators and dildos to choose from that will definitely bring some happiness and self-love. It is not shameful to want to experience pleasure, it is part of your sexuality but do it with care, and with all the precautions needed, don't be putting things you shouldn't down there!
Theregister.com. 2020. Germans Discover World's Oldest Dildo. Available at: https://www.theregister.com/2005/07/27/ancient_phallus/
Ripley's Believe It or Not!. 2020. Victorian Self-Care: Dr. Macaura’S “Blood Circulator”. Available at: https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/dr-macauras-blood-circulator/#:~:text=others%20hand%20operated.-,Dr.,wood%20or%20rubber%20suction%20cups.
Gizmodo. 2020. The Steam-Powered Vibrator And Other Terrifying Early Sex Machines NSFW. Available at: https://gizmodo.com/the-steam-powered-vibrator-and-other-terrifying-early-s-5466997
Medium. 2020. An Epic History Of Masturbation Around The World. Available at: https://medium.com/dose/an-epic-history-of-masturbation-around-the-world-366a68618b35
Science Museum Group. Mechanical massager, Dr. Macaura's blood circulato. A602753Science Museum Group Collection Online. Accessed October 6, 2020. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co140170/mechanical-massager-dr-macauras-blood-circulato-massagers.
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