Sex Toys: A 30,000 Year Old History

   The history of sex toys did not begin with modern day rubber and latex products. In fact, mankind has been using erotic devices from the beginning.
   Dildos (shaped like a penis) have been discovered in Upper Paleolithic art that was created more than 30,000 years ago. These depictions leave no doubt whatsoever as to what their subject matter was intended to do. Pleasuring oneself or another with such an object was obviously a no-brainer as it predates even the invention of the wheel. Think about that!
   Sex toy history actually begins in earnest with the Greeks. Dildos (Greek: "olisbos") appeared in their art and literature from the third and fourth centuries BC--Some 2,400 years ago. Among numerous ancient Greek artifacts of the time is a vase on to which a double-headed dildo was painted. Since Greeks did not classify themselves as we do in to sexual preference groups (e.g. straight, gay, bi, etc.), the use of such an dildos was common. It was a patriarchal society where the average wife was ten to twenty years younger than her husband, men enjoyed sex with concubines, and also broke young boys in to oral love making themselves. Thus, the dildo servered them well in whatever relationship they found themselves.

   In Egypt, Cleopatra (69–30 B.C.) is known to have shared her bed with a whole regiment of men immediately after enjoying a tryst with Caesar! History says little about the sexual appetites of ancient Egyptians but evidence does exist to prove that the dildo was a familiar and appreciated device of the day. One can only imagine what the Queen of the Nile did to entertain herself when all the men were away at war. However, when considering that bit of history, we need not stretch our imaginations too far before coming up with what would be a plausible answer.
   Somewhat surprisingly, most sex toy history comes from the erotic art of each culture and era. For example, the Hong Kong Museum of History has an ancient Chinese bronze sex toy on display which dates back to the Han Dynasty (approximately 2000 years ago). The Sex Museum in Amsterdam houses some fabulous true works of erotic art which display sex toys as part of the subject matter.
   The Roman Empire was flagrantly excessive regarding wild sex orgies. It is no wonder the very word “sex” comes from the Latin word “sexus”. Both their written and artistic histories include numerous references to dildos and other simple sex toy innovations.
   In the Middle Ages, (476 A.D. to 1453) sexual pleasures were called “the Devil’s work”. Religious persecution by the Roman Catholic Church was brought down upon people who gave free rein to their sexual lusts and many ended up in shackles or burned at the stake. The clothing of the time for both males and females covered most of their bodies from neck to feet. Sexy female lingerie was not allowed for fear of punishment. Sexual urges were best kept to oneself under the threat of serious physical punishment. Even whispering the words "dildo" may have been punishable by death.

In the 12th century, European men used chastity belts to keep their women faithful. These chastity belts were made of leather with metal bands which could be tightened or loosened at the husband's whim and were secured with padlocks for which he kept the key. There are now chastity devices for men, too!
In Renaissance Italy (14th thru the 16th centuries), dildos were called diletto (meaning “delight”). Made of leather, stone, ivory or wood, they were quite primitive, but functional. Skilled and trusted craftsmen produced custom dildos. Those who used them employed olive oil for lubrication.

   Sex toys were also taboo in Victorian England. So, too, were books that contained any hint of human sexuality. It was during the Victorian Era, (mid 19th century) that rubber dildos, butt plugs, and vibrators (1869) were introduced! These toys were much more sanitary, comfortable, and realistically made than their predecessors. Vibrators were also quite popular and were sold on the open-market at the time as “massagers”. Even health spas of the day offered more “elegant” alternatives to manual paroxysm through steam-powered vibrating devices and water jet massage. Men and women flocked to these spas “for the medicinal waters”.
   The vibrators of this era were prescribed to women by doctors to treat “hysteria” and were powered by an electric cord in a wall plug. In 1880, a British doctor invented the first battery-operated, electric vibrator. This was actually the first "high-tech" sex toy in and is the predecessor to our modern day battery-operated vibrators, dildos and other electronic sex toys. Surprisingly, there is actually more modern-day, sex toy history from the Victorian Era than from any other era in history except our own.
During the Victorian Era, butt plugs in the shape of wooden eggs were invented by a European doctor. They were prescribed to “help prevent loss of sperm through wasteful ejaculation”. The eggs supposedly helped send semen back to the female reproductive organs. They believed that by plugging the anus, sperm loss would be alleviated. Today's butt plug manufacturers design all different shapes and sizes of butt plugs.
   The term hysteria comes from the Greek word “hystera”, which means “uterus”. At the time, it was believed that female psychiatric infirmities had their roots in uterine imbalances reflected in anxiety, irritability, sexual fantasies and “pelvic heaviness”. Doctors of this era treated the “hysteria” by massaging the suffering female’s vaginal lips until they experienced relief via paroxysm” (orgasm). Because it was believed at the time that only men were sexual creatures, the vibrator was prescribed to calm down these “hysteric”
women.
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In 1918, the Sears Roebuck catalog offered a vibrator as a “very satisfactory…marital aid that every woman appreciates. A 1921 issue of Hearst’s magazine marketed vibrators toward men as Christmas gifts for their wives to insure they remained “young and pretty” and free from the scourge of “hysteria”.
During the 1920s, “blue” movies (erotic cinemas) with women using vibrators as sexual stimulators became common. No longer were vibrators socially camouflaged as medicinal in nature. By 1930, they were openly advertised and made available to anyone.

   In 1948, Sexologist, Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey, shocked the world with his international bestseller "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male,"   This study is commonly known as the Kinsey Report. This sexual survey reported that 94 percent of the men and 40 percent of the women interviewed admitted that they masturbated to orgasm--emarkably large proportions considering the perceived prudishness of that time. Today, the Kinsey Institute declares that "the vast majority" of people masturbate: both sexes, all ages, single, married, divorced and widowed.
   During the 1960s, “Free Love” was the rage. Sex toy history becomes even more interesting in this era because people could obtain sex toys through special retail outlets and through magazines. The Hippies of that time period became the parents of today. Thus, sex toys have become even more numerous and varied. Even though they can be easily obtained in specialty stores in most cities, they are now sold in vast quantities via the Internet in all colors, sizes, types, and brands.
   Check out the sex toy banners on this page.
   You just might find yourself the satisfied owner of your very own "olisbos," "diletto," or "buttius pluggius."

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The mission of this not-for-profit website is to promote clear insights and toleration regarding the many variations of primary relationships that exist in our world. We ask for neither acceptance or approval but hope that each visitor who reviews the pages of this site will leave them with a better understanding of the numerous cultural, historical, preferential, religious, sexual, and sociological approaches to coupling that have always existed and will continue to exist as long as there are at least two human beings living on this planet. If the effort put into creating and maintaining this site results in others coming to the realization that the basic human need to love and be loved takes on many forms which are accepted by those who practice them, whether right or wrong as determined by the personal belief system of others, then it will have served it's purpose well.