The Vibrator: The Role it played throughout the History of Women
Over time women have become increasingly independent and often compete with their husbands to share equal status in the household. Therefore, living such a busy lifestyle restricts females from being able to meet their sexual needs. Thus, research suggests that women who engage in masturbation or use of sex toys essentially alleviate health implications. Over past generations, the vibrator has played a significant role in women’s lives and continues to be relevant in today’s society.
Prior to the 20th century, people strongly believed that women had no sexual desire to engage in intimate acts. Additionally, research suggested a female’s main purpose was to meet the sexual demands and needs of her partner to attain male ejaculation, thus women only gained self-satisfaction when her partner had reached the maximum climax. Women were manipulated into believing their main priority was to attend to the household’s responsibilities and sexual needs of the husband, which essentially diminished a females self worth (Castleman, 2013). As early as the 13th century women were clinically diagnosed with an illness known at the time as “ female hysteria”. Hence, the Greeks labeled hysteria as “suffering uterus” which consisted of anxiety, irritability, sexual fantasies, pelvic heaviness and excessive vaginal lubrication. Since this time period was during the Victorian era, hysteria was considered a disease.
Before the invention of vibrators, Victorian doctors would massage the patient’s genitals to reach “paroxysm” orgasm as a standard treatment of hysteria. Unfortunately, hysteria occurred often and repeated treatment was necessary to alleviate the negative feelings and sensations. The vibrator “evolved from previous massage technologies in response to demand from physicians for more rapid and efficient physical therapies, particularly for hysteria (Maines, 1999).” Often time’s physicians would become fatigue, hence why the American physician, George Taylor, M.D. created the steam-driven massage device, which was the first vibrator in 1869. Often times “female patients suffered “hysterical” or “neurasthenic” symptoms, doctors saw wonderful results from “pelvic massage” culminating in orgasm (Angier, 1999).” Orgasm was of great importance to women’s sexual satisfaction to decrease stress levels and increase endorphins or euphoria. Increasing endorphins essentially alleviates depression, anxiousness and anxiety. Likewise, the vibrator not only helped to meet the sexual needs of a woman, but also decreased the risks of health implications in their life. When stress levels are high, people become more susceptible to certain diseases, which weakens their immune system and increases their vulnerability to diseases.
During the late 19th century, the second wave of feminism occurred expressing sexual liberation and the importance of women having self-control over their own body. The rise of “The New Woman” emerged in the late nineteenth century and was known as an icon of changing gender, hence why women began to ignore the Victorian norms of only meeting the demands of their husbands instead of putting themselves first. The new woman was of great significance in the eyes of the public. Likewise, “the new woman” was conveyed as freedom and gave them the chance to attain equal status in relation to males. This ideology had a profound influence on feminism because it stood for independence and gave women the opportunity to be able to express their sex appeal and pursue their dream careers. The new woman (also known as liberated woman or feminist) challenged conventional gender roles. It expressed the ideas of autonomy, individuality and represented the predisposition of young women during the incline of the century and frequently women would reject their mothers’ ways in favor of new modern choices (eHistory). Moreover, modernization was occurring throughout American society; majority of women had entered the workforce; divorce laws changed and the popularity of birth control/abortion increasingly became popular and essentially gave women hope of legal/sexual equality. Therefore, it’s clear that women during this era were beginning to rebel against the traditional roles of womanhood and became more empowered with the idea of self-pleasure, pre-marital sex and petting. However, this was extremely controversial because Rachel Maine’s once said,
“ The case of the electromechanical vibrator, as a technology associated with women’s sexuality, involves issues of acceptability rather than legality. The vibrator and its predecessor technologies, including the dildo, are associated with masturbation, a socially prohibited activity until well into the second half of this century.”
The significance of this quote is extremely controversial because it conveyed a negative connotation to the public eye, essentially contradicting the stereotypically feminine ideal of self-sacrifice. During the 19th century and carrying on into today’s century, it is socially and morally unacceptable for a woman to take part in the interest of sex and self pleasure. For example, the idea that if a man has multiple sex partners he is viewed as powerful, in comparison to women who have more than one sex partner are often viewed as a slut in society. Thus, this demonstrates the double standards between men and women. Throughout American History women were expected to follow this idealization of a domestic wife and mother keeping their innocence and always staying true to their husbands. It was though to be morally wrong for women to have sexual thoughts or fantasies, which explains why the vibrator played such a controversial role throughout time.
Throughout the course of this class I have learned in detail the History of Women and the struggles they faced daily. The vibrator and sexual liberation among women have come extremely far over time and has become more socially accepted in today’s society. According to an article on Huffington Post, Lifestyles Condoms advocates that, “Personal massagers, vibrators-whatever you chose to call them- these popular devices have stood the test of time with one in three American women owning at least one vibrator.” With that said it is evident how far the history of the vibrator has come.
From the invention of the first vibrator in the late 1800’s to treat this idea of “hysteria” to todays’ Personal Pleasure Massager and a large population of women owning at least one device. In 1980, Dr. Macaua’s Pulsocon created the “Hand Crank”, a hand powered device that resembled an eggbeater. Then in 1902 Hamilton Beach patented the first electric vibrator for use in the home. This was the beginning of freedom within sexual pleasure, women no longer were required to visit a physician to reach self-pleasure and or treat hysteria. As inventions of vibrators progressed the tool became more personal, the 1937 Oster Stim-U-Lax was invented. This was the first electrical device that made use of “personal touch”, as it was designed to be strapped onto the top of the hand. Then approximately 15 years later came the Niagra No. 1, the first electric vibrator that didn’t require a user’s manual. These different evolutions of the vibrator all increasingly focused on the self- pleasure of the woman, and were no longer to treat hysteria. The makers of LifeStyles introduced a vibrating ring made of silicone for a “one-size- fits all” male and female sexual experience. Also, the 2010 Personal Pleasure Massager was released which consisted of five different rhythms of vibration. This device was extremely significant because it gave woman the opportunity to control the gratification of their sexual pleasure (LifeStyles)
The vibrator was invented to essentially rid of the doctors fatigue and relieve the patients symptom’s of anxiety, depression, anxiousness, pelvic heaviness and excessive vaginal discharge. However, support of the greater freedom for woman emerged at a significant time in history and opened doors that lead to an increasingly amount of opportunities, such as independence/freedom. The vibrator is of great importance because it stood for something much more empowering than just a sex toy, especially for daughters of middle and upper classes. During this time education was expanding and secondary schools were growing rapidly, accordingly women gained more knowledge and were able to understand the importance of their desires. Likewise, they realized their needs should be valued at a higher level. Additionally, women who strictly obeyed to their husbands needs only diminished their self-existence and value of life. Consequently, a community of women in struggle against patriarchy demanded the removal of social, political and economic discrimination based on sex and sought rights, which effectively demanded their individual rights as a human being. Therefore, the act upon masturbation and use of sex toys was of great importance because it valued the needs of women’s sexual desires. The vibrator has played a significant role in women’s lives and continues to be relevant in today’s society.
Bibliography
Angier, Nathalie. "Her Private Pleasures: Female Hysteria, Victorian Era Doctors,and the Vibrator." New York Times 23 Feb. 1999: n. pag. Her Private Pleasures: Female Hysteria, Victorian Era Doctors,and the Vibrator. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Castleman, Michael. "All About Sex." Psychology Today. Michael Castleman, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Diaz, Jesus. "The Bizarre History of the Vibrator: Cleopatra’s Angry Bees to Steam-Powdered Dildos." Gizmodo. N.p., 13 May 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Huffington Post. "History of Vibrators Proves We've Come A Long Way Since 1883." Huffington Post. N.p., 01 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Lifestyle Condoms. Advertisement. Huffington Post. N.p., 1 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Maines, Rachel. The Technology of Orgasm: "hysteria", the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins UP, 2001. Print.
Neuhaus, Jessamyn. "The Importance of Being Orgasmic: Sexuality, Gender, and Marital Manuals in the United States, 1920-1963." Journal of the History of Sexuality 4th ser. 9 (2000): 447-73. University of Texas Press. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
Pearson, Catherine. "Female Hysteria: 7 Crazy Things People Used To Believe About The Ladies' Disease." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Sears. Advertisement. Aids That Every Woman Appreciates 2 Jan. 2010: n. pag. Print
Sharp, Gwen, PhD. "Hysteria, the Wandering Uterus, and Vaginal Massage." The Society Pages. N.p., 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Smith, Sheila K. "New Women." EHistory. N.p., 5 Nov. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Primary Source: Advertisement from Sears, Roebuck and Company Catalog, 1918.
This advertisement was scanned from a Sears catalog in 1918. This was the beginning of freedom within sexual pleasure, women no longer were required to visit a physician to reach self-pleasure and or treat hysteria. This was a huge turning point in the History of Women and resulted in a large percentage of women owning a vibrator.
Sears. Advertisement. Aids That Every Woman Appreciates 2 Jan. 2010: n. pag. Print.
Multimedia Gallery: Vibrator in History
The first image, The Buzz on Vibrators: Vibrating Through The Years is an advertisement for LifeStyles products as well as it is extremely informative on the History and evolution of the Vibrator. This image simply shows how far the Vibrator has come over the years while adding some fun facts.
Vibration is Life, is an advertisement from 1918 for the White Cross Vibrator. This image reveals the importance of this device along with some background and history.
The Technology of Orgasm, a book by Rachel Maines is extremely relevant source due to her twenty three years of research on the vibrator and their predecessor technologies. She reveals just about everything to know on the history of this device.
Vibration is Life, is an advertisement from 1918 for the White Cross Vibrator. This image reveals the importance of this device along with some background and history.
The Technology of Orgasm, a book by Rachel Maines is extremely relevant source due to her twenty three years of research on the vibrator and their predecessor technologies. She reveals just about everything to know on the history of this device.
This video gives a quick overview of the medical epidemic known as "hysteria". This allows viewers to better understand why the Vibrator became such an important part of History for Women.