From : Blondie                                             07 Aug 95  09:39:06
 Subj : Sex Toy History...                                                      
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Just when you thought you knew everything......

A little history lesson....

Many people assume that sex toys are Asian inventions.  While it is true,
Asians have used sexual aides for more than 1,000 years and Ben-Wa balls
are clearly Asian, dildoes and vibrator, have surprisingly Western roots.

Historians don't know who invented the dildo, but its popularity is due to
the ancient Greek port city, Miletus.  Miletan traders sold "olisbos"
around the Mediterranean.  Today's dildoes are often enjoyed by couples,
but in ancient Greece, they were sexual refuges for lonely ladies.  In
Renaissance Italy, "olisbo" became "dildo" probably from the Italain
"diletto", to delight.  But compared with today's lifelike models, early
dildoes were hardly delightful. Made of wood or leather, they required
liberal lubrication of olive oil for comfortable use.  Modern rubber
dildoes did not appear until the mid-19th century.

Dildoes have always had a frankly sexual purpose, but vibrators are another
story.  For most of their history, they have been camouflaged, their sexual
purpose hidden behind "massage therapy".  The first vibrators were
developed 130 years ago to treat an illenss called "female hysteria".
Hysteria, from the Greek for "suffering uterus", involved anxiety,
irritability, sexual fantasies, "pelvic heaviness", and "excessive" vaginal
lubrication - in other words, sexual arousal during the Victorian era, when
women were not considered sexual beings. Physicians treated hysteria by
massaging their patients' clitoris until they experience relieft through
"paroxysm" (orgasm). During the 1860s, health spas offered higher-tech
alternatives to manual therapy, water jets and steamed-powered vibrating
devices.

The first electric vibrators appeared in the late 19th century, still
camouflaged as therapy for hysteria and sold only to doctors.  But as they
years passed, magazine advertisements began offering vibrators to twomen
for self-treatment of hysteria at home.  In 1918, Sears Roebuck touted one
vibrator as a "very satisfactory...aid every woman appreciates".  And an
advertisement in a 1921 issue of Heart's magaine urged men to by the
devices for their wives to keep them "young and pretty" and free from the
scourge of hysteria.

But during the 1920s, early "blue" movies showed women using the devices
for sexual stimulation.  Early pornography stripped vibrators of their
social camouflage, and by 1930, they were no longer openly advertised.

Today, of course, vibrators are popular sexual aides sold for sexual
purposes. But many outlets continue to camouflage thema s "massagers".  One
large catalogue says its dual-speed massager is "perfect for those
hard-to-reach places". :)

True.....and a few places within easy reach as well....

Thats all for now folks........

Blondie