Sex toys have been around for thousands of years. From ancient Greece to the Italian Renaissance, and on to the Victorian
Era
we can find evidence of items made of stone, leather, and even wood. In earlier times they were thought to please mainly women
but we now know both sexes enjoy sex toys. In Greece they were called olisbos, Miletan traders sold them off the coast of what
is now present-day Turkey to lonely ladies. In Italy they were known as a diletto, which means "to delight". Used with a
liberal amount of olive oil for lubrication, I would hardly believe that "delightful" described the experience. All though
there aren't many records of how they may have been used I think it is safe to assume that they explored their bodies as much
as we do now.
It wasn't until the mid-nineteenth century Victorian Era that the world was introduced to a rubber life-like dildo, and
vibrator. Interesting enough, they were actually used to treat women known to have "hysteria". They believed that psychiatric
disorders were created from disturbances in the uterus, so doctors would massage women's vaginal lips until they reached
"paroxysm"(orgasm) often times using a tool such as a vibrator. As crazy as it sounds hysteria really started it all. Of
coarse only doctors were allowed to use such devices. It wasn't until about 1912, that the Sears Robust catalog offered
vibrators for women. Stating that they are (…very satisfactory… and an aid for every woman.) Then in the 1920s "blue" movies
showed women using the same devices for sexual stimulation. By 1930s they were no longer openly advertised due to pornography.
Today many outlets still camouflage them by calling them "massagers" for the hard to reach places. However, vibrators,
dildos,
and other adult sex toys are popular sexual aids for both men and women of many cultures. Adult sex toys are becoming very
popular and are no longer thought of as dirty or naughty. It has taken them awhile to build a classy and clean name for
themselves but it is well deserved. There are millions of products now advertised, and the numbers just keep rising.
