Sex toys - where do they come from? Today, almost everyone owns at least one sex toy, and the industry has been booming over the last few years. But how about dildos and vibrators 200 years ago? And what did our ancestors do at that time?
Sex toys as of today are a relatively normal subject, and with public sex toys stores and events such as Sexpo being widely considered “normal”, the subject is much more open than it used to be. If wanted a little fun in the lower regions in the "old days" you actually had to play ill or come up with other crazy ideas, as the topic was extremely taboo!
Today's sex toys are fortunately both safe, user-friendly and simple, but it has required hard work, creative thinking and probably a few electric shocks here and there to get to where we are today.
Dildos of Stone
The world's oldest dildo was found in Germany and comes from approximately 26,000 BC. It is a phallus, ie. a statue of a penis, made of stone. It may have been used as a fertility symbol, but since so much effort was used to grind it round and smooth, it is believed that it may be the oldest known dildo.
In ancient Rome, dildos of stone were also used. This rock-hard penis was partly a symbol of luck, but old drawings from this period reveal that these ancient statues were also used as sex toys in the home.
Tutorials in Ancient Greece
In the ancient Greece, the people crafted dildos of leather - like the olisbos - they were a commodity. Some believe that the women used them when the men were at war. What we know for sure is that the heroes used them when they danced to excite the men.
Kama Sutra
Approximately. 200-400 years ago, the lovemaking art Kama Sutra was written down in India. The book has since become known as THE BOOK when it comes to sex and pleasure. This include Penis Footers - A kind of support cross for the cock, intended for men with power problems.
Diletto
1300-1400: From the Renaissance Italy, there are reports of dildos - diletto - made of wood, ivory, leather or stone. Olive oil was used as a lubricant.
Hysteria & Strap-Ons
In the 17th century, a more true-to-life copy of the cock was invented. An ivory penis-like object that could be separated and filled with oil or honey and which could simply fake an ejaculation. Thus, one was not only satisfied but also lubricated in honey.
Already at the end of the 1700's and early 19th century, the world was introduced to strap-on dildos, which with a simple cord were tense about life. The dildo was made of canvas and was probably hard to apply in practice. .
The women queued at the doctor to cure hysteria, which was an overall concept of irritation, anxiety and increased sex drive. In other words, the result of the women not being sexually satisfied and therefore going crazy. The doctors believed that the condition was due to an overload of the uterus, which could best be cured by hand. The doctors or nurses could therefore spend up to an hour to remedy the problem until the woman had a hysterical bodily attack - what we call an orgasm today.
The First Clitoral Vibrator
As it began to be too hard to satisfy the women by hand, the doctors began to use different machinery to tame the women's merry parts known today as a clitoral vibrator. Here begins the electronic sex toy era!
Around the 20th century, the "toy manufacturers" of the time really went to the fact that vibrations on the clitoris were what made the women completely up and running. An electromagnetic vibrator sent vibrations to a roll which was placed at the clitoris, where the woman received the electrical impulses. In 1905, the first vibrator for home use - beautifully camouflaged as a massager.
The massager looked like a hair dryer, which makes sense, as it was also designed by the company Barker - a manufacturer of eg. hairdryers. The apparatus was equipped with various massage heads for various pleasures. In the early 1900s, few were equipped with electricity, which meant that the enjoyment was primarily for the wealthy - until Veedee arose. The device vibrated with the help of a crank and could be used alone or with a partner.
In the 1950s, there was also more focus on user-friendliness, and the vibrator Niagara was thus the first vibrator with the ability to adjust the vibrations.
Around 1920, it is no longer pretending that the vibrating devices are for medical use. Now they are openly sold (first by the company Sears & Roebuck 1918) as sexual aids and as a Christmas gift idea for adult women (eg in Hearst Magazine 1921).
Later - in 1941 around wartime - a classic came on the track the first time: The Sex Doll. Code name: Borghild. The lovely lady was invented by the Germans, and the idea was that the doll should take the pressure of the soldiers at the front so that they were not tempted to fraternize with the enemy.
<- Advert from 1960
In order not to be offensive, the sexual use had to be concealed by rewriting such as "jittery nerves" and "Satis. Guaranteed. "
Today, sex toys are widespread throughout the world and even advertised on television. No one today needs to be ashamed to possess a vibrator or two, as sex toys are good for us and our sexual needs. The topic is - although some are different – they are not at all terrible.
Sex is good, sex is natural, and why not share our tips and tricks to make the most of it? All in all, sex toys are not just a few decades old. Our ancestors had the same needs as us, and were extremely creative with the means they had available.
