You’d be forgiven for thinking that vibrators are modern inventions. While the app-controlled, temperature-changing, bells and whistles versions you can find today might be thoroughly modern inventions, but these all started with much more humble beginnings.
They’ve been around since the early 1900s, and the history is steeped in themes of feminist empowerment. You may already be familiar with stories about conditions like “hysteria”, which many women were diagnosed with in the early 1900s. According to some legends, vibrators played a role in the treatment of this “condition”, but it’s more likely that these early devices were used for general muscle aches and pains.
In this deep dive, we’re looking at the fascinating history of vibrators and how we got to where we are today. Many women today own one or more vibrators, and they offer a range of modern features like rabbit ears and suction clit stimulation. But vibrators weren’t always this innovative and effective, and vibrator design has come a long way in recent years.
Perhaps the earliest mention of a vibrator comes from Ancient Egypt. In her 1992 book, Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, author Brenda Love claims that Cleopatra used a gourd filled with bees for stimulation. This idea has been picked up and repeated countless times, but there is no evidence that this ever actually happened.
If we’re talking about electric vibrators, these first appeared on the scene around the 1800s. These early devices were advertised as massagers, intended to ease aches and pains without the need for a manual massage. They came with a power unit as big as a fridge, so they were contained to doctors’ offices. They were later made much smaller so they could be sold for home use.
Although there are some historians to claim that doctors were using these at the time to help women achieve orgasm as a treatment for hysteria caused by “wandering uterus”. Other historians have disputed this claim, as there isn’t actually any evidence of physicians using early vibrators for anything other than body massage.
So where did these myths originate? It is thought that the myth that doctors would use vibrators to help women achieve orgasm originates from a book called The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women’s Sexual Satisfaction. It was written by historian of technology, Rachel Maines, and first published in 1999.
Criticism of this book points out that Maines points to satirical sources referencing doctors massaging women to orgasm, but not medical sources. These satirical sources would have been intended to shock, and wouldn’t represent accurate historical information.
It’s true that vibrators existed throughout the 1800s and into the 1900s, but manufacturers faced a problem when they weren’t as popular with doctors as they had hoped. They had a surplus of supply and needed to find a new angle.
This is when they switched focus from medical devices and sold them as home massage devices. Manufacturers were making the switch from selling them as medical devices and started selling them as sexual appliances.
This was not an easy task at the time, as obscenity laws prevented companies advertising items for sexual use. The American Medical Association released a statement that actually helped to strengthen demand for vibrators. They asserted that these devices were not for medical use, and any effects were merely psychological.
Rather than stamping out demand, the industry was fast growing. Advertising had to be subtle, instead referencing the benefits of enjoying home massage for relaxation. And while rules may have relaxed today, there are still places in the world where advertising sex toys still falls under anti-obscenity laws.
In the 1990s, the rampant rabbit arrived on the scene and changed everything for women and their love for sex toys. These toys were still somewhat taboo, until an appearance on Sex And The City in 1998 pushed them into the limelight. Suddenly, it was something women could talk about with their friends, and owning a vibrator was no longer something to be ashamed of.
Technology has also come a long way to help make them more effective, powerful and versatile. A 2009 survey found that 50% of women had used a vibrator, and this number is likely to be much higher today.
We’ve also seen advancements in technology that allow these to be used hands-free, or connected to an app and controlled from anywhere in the world. They’re also available in much smaller sizes, with some being disguised as necklaces as a statement of female empowerment.
There’s no denying that the vibrator has a rich history, and one that is often disputed. It’s an interesting hypothesis that doctors had to take on the role of helping women achieve orgasms, and that vibrators were invented to take on this role when they no longer wanted it.
