A brief history of the vibrator

Trying to fit the complete history of the vibrator into one blog post is pretty much impossible, but I’m going to try my best. So without further ado, here’s a brief but informative article on the history of the greatest invention of all time (in my personal opinion, but it's true).

The legend

Now, rumour has it that the famous Queen of Egypt Cleopatra invented the vibrator back in her reign. It’s said she used a gourd filled with bees to stimulate her genitals, creating the original blueprint for early iterations of the vibrator. This idea has been repeated and reprinted in many popular histories, but historian Helen King says that there’s no evidence that this actually happened. However, we named our clitoral suctioning stimulator The Cleopatra in honour of the legend.

That’s hysterical

The first actual record of a vibrator was in the 1800s to treat female “hysteria” (which was obviously never a thing). For anyone reading this who doesn’t understand the diagnosis of hysteria, it was essentially women being labelled hysterical for exhibiting signs of depression, PTSD, shortness of breath, yawning, a high pulse and even a fondness for writing. You know, just regular things that men at the time didn’t want to have to deal with. To treat it, you went to a doctor whose side hustle was being the downstairs DJ, which arguably would cure almost anyone of a bad mood or headache! Can you imagine getting an hour away from essentially being a slave to your husband and/or children to lay down and have someone do the damn thing for you? Doesn’t sound too bad at all!

The rise of advertising

The 1900s were nearly the death of the vibrator with doctors claiming there were very little health benefits. Old ads in popular magazines, Christian publications and the New York Times used to insist that vibrators could cure everything from wrinkles to malaria. I mean, close, but inaccurate. At this time, masturbation was widely viewed as shameful, and “obscene” articles were illegal in the US under the 1873 Comstock Act (10,11). This meant that vibrators couldn’t be openly advertised as sexual products (and they still can’t be on social media today). To avoid prosecution, vibrator manufacturers adopted the strategy used by contraceptive companies: they emphasized the non-sexual uses and used euphemistic language and imagery to hint at sexual uses of their products.

THAT Sex and the City episode

In 1983, the sex toy company Vibratex became the first to bring vibrators with internal and external components to the US. These toys were produced in bright colours and animal shapes in order to get around obscenity laws in Japan, where the vibrators were made. The Beaver, the Kangaroo, and the Turtle all had an internal, penis-like component, along with different types of ticklers for external stimulation, but it was the Rabbit vibrator that rose to fame thanks in part to an appearance on Sex and the City. The episode, which aired in 1998, shows Charlotte becoming addicted to a Rabbit vibrator. This episode is one of the most notable pop culture moments in history where a vibrator is seen and used. From then on, conversations and social rhetoric around vibrators has come a long way, but we’ve still got work to do to normalise this pretty fundamental tool for owning your sexuality. 

If you're interested in a more in depth article, ask for a part two in the comments!