The History of Sex Toys

Looking back for thousands of years and you find evidence of sex toys being used for stimulation by the Greeks, in Asia and the Middle East.
In many parts of the Middle East, the earliest sex toys were fashioned out of dried camel dung. This was coated with a hard resin, presumably to block the odor and prevent the 'dildo' from crumbling and breaking up.
In Asia, sexual aids have been used for more than 1,000 years. Ben-Wa balls, for example, have Asian origins.

However, the first documented use of a 'dildo' or sex toy originates from Ancient Greece. These toys were made out of leather; wood or stone and were sold by local merchants to single females, (or so the evidence would have us believe). These toys were called 'olisbos' and were sold around the Mediterranean by traders from the ancient Greek port city of Miletus. Made of wood or leather, they needed the liberal application of olive oil for comfortable use. At this time sex toys were sold almost exclusively to lonely ladies, rather than for use by males or couples.

Sex toys gradually spread to Europe, and in Renaissance Italy, olisbo became "dildo" probably from the Italian word "diletto", to delight. But compared with today's lifelike models, early dildos were hardly delightful.
Modern rubber dildos did not appear in Europe until the mid-19th century. The first electric vibrator appeared in 1869 with the invention of a steam-powered massager, patented by an American doctor.

Hiding the purpose of sex toys

For most of their recent history the purpose of sex toys in general and vibrators in particular - has been camouflaged.

Initially vibrators were used for the treatment of 'female disorder' - particularly hysteria, the most common female complaint of the day. Medical experts, for much of the early part of the 20th Century, believed that hysteria expressed the womb's revolt against sexual deprivation. So, clitoral massages by doctors were a standard treatment for hysteria. The intention was to induce a 'hysterical paroxysm' (or orgasm!)

During the 1860s, health spas offered higher-tech alternatives to manual therapy, water jets and steam-powered vibrating devices.

The rise of 'blue movies'

During the 1920's the first 'blue movies' showed women using the devices for sexual stimulation. Early pornography stripped vibrators of their social camouflage and by 1930 they were no longer openly advertised.

By the 1940's, the lack of advertising for such products resulted in falling sales. The sale of sex toys began to decline and sales of marital aids, as they were then known, went through a period of decline, ending only with the changing attitudes to sexual liberation started in the 1970's.

The euphemism of 'health, vigor & beauty'

After the debunking of the 'hysteria' myth, vibrators soon appeared as home appliances in women's magazines and mail-order catalogues. The adverts highlighted the benefit 'health' effects of using vibrators - on any body parts except sexual ones!

The adverts were written in coy and oblique language in order not to offend. But who wouldn't be tempted to experience that "delicious, thrilling, health-restoring sensation called vibration", when you were assured that it would make you "tingle with the joy of living".

For example, in 1918, Sears Roebuck touted one vibrator as a "very satisfactory...aid every woman appreciates." And an advertisement in a 1921 issue of "Heart's" magazine urged men to buy the devices for their wives to keep them "young and pretty" and free from the scourge of hysteria.

Where are we today?

Today, all kinds of sex toys are openly sold for sexual purposes. However, countries around the world (and even different states within Countries) have varying degrees of 'openness' to the sale of sex aids. For religious or political reasons the sale of sex toys in some countries is at best under-the-counter, and at worst completely banned. In others, more enlightened attitudes prevail and sex toys are openly sold in bright, cheery stores, by mail order, party-plan and on the internet.

Old attitudes die hard. Some 'traditional' outlets still continue to camouflage vibrators as "massagers." One large catalogue says its dual-speed massager is "perfect for those hard-to-reach places." Some countries (e.g. Japan) do not allow the depiction of genitals on sex toys - so vibrators and dildo's are decorated with human and animal faces.

Since the early 70's, sex toys have experienced a major renaissance. Back then there was a proliferation of substandard products with a generally sexist tone to their marketing.

Things began to change and improve during the 1980's thanks to a new attitude pioneered by organizations and companies who had a more enlightened and non-sexist view of the world.

The nineties saw a continuation of this trend with numerous sex-positive boutiques providing a comfortable place to shop for sex toys.

The last ten years has seen an explosion of manufacturers - all aiming to bring innovation to the sex toy world, reflected in the new materials, hi-tech motors and controllers and unique designs now available.

Now, at last, it is easy for men and women to get their hands on an incredible array of well-designed and quality manufactured sex toys to suit every conceivable purpose.

The humble dildo has come a long was from it's beginning as a camels dropping!