Vibrator (sex toy)

Two vibrators in a sex shop

A vibrator is a sex toy that is used on the body to produce pleasurable erotic stimulation. Most 2010-era vibrators contain an electric-powered device which pulsates or throbs, which is used to stimulate erogenous zones such as the clitoris, rest of the vulva or vagina, penis, scrotum or anus. There are many different shapes and models of vibrators. Some vibrators designed for women stimulate both the clitoris and the vagina. Some vibrators designed for couples stimulate the genitals of both partners.

History

Early development

The electric vibrator was invented in the late 19th century as a medical instrument for pain relief and the treatment of various ailments, one account gives its first use at the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris in 1878, with Romain Vigouroux cited as the inventor. English physician and inventor Joseph Mortimer Granville, who also developed an early model, asserted his own priority in the invention and has been described as the 'father of the modern electromechanical vibrator'.[1] Mortimer Granville's 1883 book Nerve-vibration and excitation as agents in the treatment of functional disorder and organic disease describes the intended use of his vibrator for purposes including pain relief, the treatment of neuralgia, neurasthenia, morbid irritability, indigestion and constipation.[2] These early vibrators became popular among the medical profession and were used for treating a wide variety of ailments in women and men including hysteria, arthritis, constipation, amenorrhea, inflammations, and tumors; some wounded World War I soldiers received vibrotherapy as treatment at English and French hospitals in Serbia.[3]

1913 advertisement

Vibrators began to be marketed for home use in magazines from around 1900 together with other electrical household goods, for their supposed health and beauty benefits. An early example was the 'Vibratile,' an advert for which appeared in McClure's magazine in March 1899, offered as a cure for 'Neuralgia, Headache, Wrinkles'. These advertisements disappeared in the 1920s, possibly because their appearance in pornography, and growing understanding of female sexual function, made it no longer tenable for mainstream society to avoid the sexual connotations of the devices.[4]

Academic debate over possible early use for female sexual stimulation

Historian of technology Rachel Maines, in her book The Technology of Orgasm,[5] has argued that the development of the vibrator in the late 19th century was in large part due to the requirements of doctors for an easier way to perform genital massage on women, often to 'hysterical paroxysm' (orgasm), which was historically a treatment for the once common medical diagnosis of female hysteria. Maines writes that this treatment had been recommended since classical antiquity in Europe, including in the Hippocratic corpus and by Galen, and continued to be used into the medieval and modern periods,[6] but was not seen as sexual by physicians due to the absence of penetration,[7] and was viewed by them as a difficult and tedious task.[8] Maines writes that the first use of the vibrator at the Salpêtrière was on hysterical women, but notes that Joseph Mortimer Granville denied that he had, or ever would, use his invention for this purpose;[3] additionally, Maines states that the true use of these medical vibrators, and the vibrators marketed for home use in the early 20th century, was not openly stated, but proceeded under 'social camouflage'.[9] One example of suggestive advertising given is a 1908 advert in National Home Journal for the Bebout hand-powered mechanical vibrator, containing the text "Gentle, soothing, invigorating and refreshing. Invented by a woman who knows a woman's needs."[10]

Other historians disagree with Maines about the historical prevalence of genital massage as a treatment for female hysteria, and over the extent to which early vibrating massagers were used for this purpose. Helen King disputes Maines's claims that stimulation to orgasm was a standard treatment for 'female hysteria' in ancient and medieval Europe.[11] Regarding the treatment of hysteria from the 19th and early 20th century, Lesley Hall writes that "general consensus among a number of individuals working within the field of history of sexuality and medicine was that the practice [doctors administering orgasms to women to cure hysteria], if it occurred at all, would have been confined to an extremely limited group, rather than being as widespread as Maines seems to indicate.[12] Maines has said her widely reported theory should be treated as a hypothesis rather than a fact.[13]

1960s onwards

The vibrator re-emerged due to the sexual revolution of the 1960s. On June 30, 1966, Jon H. Tavel applied for a patent for the "Cordless Electric Vibrator for Use on the Human Body",[14] 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.

In the 1980s and 1990s vibrators became 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. Appearing in a regular segment on the popular US television series The Oprah Winfrey Show in March 2009,[15] Dr. Laura Berman recommended that mothers teach their 15- or 16-year-old daughters the concept of pleasure by getting them a clitoral vibrator. Today, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Safeway, Target and Walmart are among major national US chain retailers that include vibrators on store shelves.[16]

As of 2013, rechargeable vibrators were beginning to be manufactured to reduce the environmental impact of battery-operated vibrators.[17]

Adoption

Research published in a 2009 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine demonstrates that about 53% of women in the United States ages 18 to 60 have used a vibrator.[18] A 2010 study in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy found that 43.8% of heterosexual males in the United States had used vibrators. 94% of these men had done so as part of foreplay with their partner, and 82% had done so as part of sexual intercourse.[19] Among non-heterosexual men, 49.8% have used vibrators.[20]

Vibrators and orgasm

A woman using a vibrator
Vibrator for Couples: Love Ring

Vibrators may be recommended by sex therapists to women who have difficulty reaching orgasm through masturbation and/or intercourse.[21]

Couples may also choose to use a vibrator to enhance the pleasure of one or both partners. There is a device available that functions as a small vibrator specifically meant for couples to use during intercourse.[22]

Types of erotic vibrators

Hitachi Magic Wand
Techno Rabbit Vibrator
G-Spot Vibrator
Designer vibrators
Remote control Vibrator
A 'pocket rocket' type vibrator

Some vibrators are marketed as "body massagers"—although they still may be used, like the ones sold as adult sex toys, for autoeroticism. Some vibrators run on batteries while others have a power cord that plugs into a wall socket. There is also a vibrator that uses the flow of air from a vacuum cleaner to stimulate the clitoris. Modern versions of old musical vibrators synchronize the vibrations to music from a music player or a cell phone. Some luxury brand vibrators are also completely covered in medical grade silicone with no exposed control panels or seams. Although proper cleaning is required for any sex toy, having fewer places for bacteria to grow reduces the chance of infection.

While some companies sell significantly larger dildos and vibrators, most that are marketed for vaginal or anal insertion are sized around the average penis size.[23]

There is a wide range of vibrators but most of them fall into several broad categories:

Vibrators for disabled people

Disabled people can find that vibrators are an essential part of their sex life for two reasons: First, it might be the only way to get sexual satisfaction due to impaired arm and hand function.[30] Second, for some disabled men, the use of a vibrator is their only way to provide a semen sample for in-vitro fertilization.[30]

Legal and ethical issues

The possession and sale of vibrators is illegal in some jurisdictions, including India, although they are sold online.[31]

Until recently, many American Southern and some Great Plains states banned the sale of vibrators completely, either directly or through laws regulating "obscene devices".[32] On Valentine's Day, 2007, a federal appeals court upheld Alabama's law prohibiting the sale of sex toys.[33] The law, the Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1998, was also upheld by the Alabama Supreme Court on September 11, 2009.[34]

In February 2008, a US federal appeals court overturned a Texas statute banning the sales of vibrators and other sexual toys, deeming such a statute as violating the right to privacy guaranteed by the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[35] The appeals court cited Lawrence v. Texas, where the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 struck down bans on consensual sex between gay couples, as unconstitutionally aiming at "enforcing a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct" . Similar statutes have been struck down in Colorado and Kansas. As of 2009, Alabama is the only state where a law prohibiting the sale of sex toys remains on the books, though Alabama residents are permitted to buy sex toys with a doctor's note.[34][36]

An American bioethicist and medical historian, Jacob M. Appel has argued that sex toys are a "social good" and that the devices, which he refers to as "marital substitutes", play "an important role in the emotional lives of millions of Americans".[34] Appel has written:

I cannot say whether more Alabama women own vibrators than own Bibles. If I were guessing, I would suspect that a majority derive more use out of the vibrators. Certainly more pleasure. Nor does there appear to be any remotely rational basis for keeping sex toys out of the hands of married adults, or single adults, or even children. Now that we are relatively confident that masturbation does not make little girls go blind, or cause palms to sprout hair, exposure to sex toys shouldn't harm them. On the list of items that I might not want children to be exposed to in stores—guns, matches, poisons, junk food—sex toys are way down the list.[34]

In popular culture

The historical fiction film Hysteria features a reworked history of the vibrator focusing on Joseph Mortimer Granville's invention, and the treatment of female hysteria through the medical administration of orgasm.[37] Criticising the film's historical accuracy, cultural historian Fern Riddell writes that "The idea that orgasms were administered to women by doctors is pure fantasy" adding that Granville's invention of the vibrator was for male pain relief.[38]

Notes

  1. Maines 1999, p. 91-94.
  2. Mortimer Granville, Joseph (1883). Nerve-vibration and excitation as agents in the treatment of functional disorder and organic disease. J. & A. Churchill.
  3. 1 2 Maines 1999, p. 94.
  4. Maines 1999, p. 104-109.
  5. Maines 1999.
  6. Maines 1999, p. 23-24.
  7. Maines 1999, p. 10.
  8. Maines 1999, p. 67-68.
  9. Maines 1999, p. 20.
  10. Maines 1999, p. 100.
  11. King, Helen (2011). "Galen and the widow: towards a history of therapeutic masturbation in ancient gynaecology" (PDF). EuGeStA: Journal on Gender Studies in Antiquity. 1: 205–235.
  12. Hall, Lesley. "Doctors masturbating women as a cure for hysteria/'Victorian vibrators'". lesleyahall.net. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  13. Maines, Rachel. "Big Think Interview With Rachel Maines". bigthink.com. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  14. "Cordless electric vibrator for use on the human body". google.co.uk/patents. Google Patents. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  15. "Teens and Vibrators - Dr. Laura Berman". Oprah.com. 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  16. https://web.archive.org/web/20150426234531/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/story/2012-05-29/vibrators-and-sex-toys-sales/55289424/1. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. Seale, Andrew (2013). "Diverting Dildos". Alternatives Journal. 39 (5): 40–41. ISSN 1205-7398.
  18. Debby Herbenick, Michael Reece, Stephanie Sanders, Brian Dodge, Annahita Ghassemi, J. Dennis Fortenberry, Prevalence and Characteristics of Vibrator Use by Women in the United States: Results from a Nationally Representative Study. The Journal of Sexual Medicine July 2009: 6(7):1857–1866.
  19. Reece, Michael; Herbenick, Debby; Dodge, Brian; Sanders, Stephanie A.; Ghassemi, Annahita; Fortenberry, J. Dennis (30 September 2010). "Vibrator Use Among Heterosexual Men Varies by Partnership Status: Results From a Nationally Representative Study in the United States". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 36 (5): 389–407. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2010.510774.
  20. "Characteristics of vibrator use by gay and bisexually identified men in the United States". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2010. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01873.x. PMID 20561168.
  21. "Female Orgasm". Archived from the original on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  22. "Can't Have an Orgasm with Intercourse". Archived from the original on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  23. Herbenick, Debby; Barnhart, Kathryn J.; Beavers, Karly; Benge, Stephanie (March 2015). "Vibrators and Other Sex Toys are Commonly Recommended to Patients, But Does Size Matter? Dimensions of Commonly Sold Products". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 12 (3): 641–645. doi:10.1111/jsm.12798.
  24. Trout, Christopher (28 August 2014). "The 46-year-old sex toy Hitachi won't talk about". Engadget. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  25. Stuart, Laura Anne (19 April 2013). "The Rebirth of the Magic Wand". Express Milwaukee. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  26. "The Mr Big vibrator". Marie Claire. 2008-05-13. Archived from the original on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  27. Jane Fae Ozimek (November 23, 2011). "Erotica 2011 stands firm against rise of the sex machines". The Register.
  28. James Vincent (July 30, 2013). "Vibease: 'World's first wearable smart vibrator' syncs with your iPhone". The Independent.
  29. Steven Millward (February 2, 2012). "Vibease Lets You Please Your Lover With an App". Tech In Asia.
  30. 1 2 Disabled.gr Archived 24 January 2011 at WebCite
  31. Sethi, Atul (2008-11-26). "Palika a haven for adult toys". Times of India. Times Group. Archived from the original on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  32. "Lingere Store Accused of Violating State Obscenity Laws". KBCD.com. Archived from the original on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  33. Rawls, Phillip. Court leaves Ala. sex toy ban intact, USA Today, Oct 1, 2007 Archived 24 January 2011 at WebCite
  34. 1 2 3 4 Appel, Jacob Alabama's Bad Vibrations, Sept 25, 2009 Archived 24 January 2011 at WebCite
  35. "Appeals court overturns Texas ban on sex toys". msnbc.msn.com. Archived from the original on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  36. Caulfield, Philip (2011-02-09). "'Extreme Couponing' gone too far? Expert offers tips on how to save big without obsessing". Daily News. New York.
  37. "Joseph Mortimer Granville". Nndb.com. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  38. Fern Riddell (10 November 2014). "No, no, no! Victorians didn't invent the vibrator". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2016.

References

Media related to Vibrator (sex toy) at Wikimedia Commons

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