A lot of people believe that sex toys originated from Asia but the truth is that despite the fact that Asians have used sex
aids for centuries, dildos and
vibrators originated from the west. No one really knows who invented the dildo but it was made popular by an ancient Greek port city named Miletus located in present day Turkey. Traders in Miletus sold Olibos around the Mediterranean which were used as sexual refuge for ladies who were lonely. In Italy, the word Olibos was replaced with word Dildo from the Italian word Diletto which means to delight. However, when compared with the toys of today, the toys back then could hardly be described as delightful because they were made from wood, leather and stone: Dildos unlike vibrators, from the moment of their invention, had a sexual purpose. About 130 years ago, vibrators were made to treat an illness known as “medical
hysteria”. Hysteria, which is Greek for “suffering uterus” involved anxiety irritability, sexual fantasies, pelvic heaviness and excess lubrication of the vagina. This was an illness during the Victorian era when women were not regarded as sexual beings. Doctors treated this female hysteria by massaging the genitals of their patients till they experienced relief by paroxysm which we know as orgasm. The first electric vibrators appeared by the late 19th century and back then they were considered as treatment for female hysteria and were only accessible to doctors. With time, magazines started advertising these vibrators to women for treatment of hysteria. In 1918, an American chain of department stores and a man named Sears Roebuck paraded one vibrator as a very satisfactory aid appreciated by every woman. In 1921, one issue of “Heart’s magazine” put up an ad urging men to buy the vibrator for their spouses to keep them young, beautiful and hysteria free. However in the 1920’s, early pornographic movies (blue movies) depicted women using these devices to stimulate themselves sexually. These movies changed the impression the society had about vibrators; they were no longer seen as massagers. By 1930, they were no longer advertised openly. Today, sex toys are sexual aids sold for sexual purposes.