Sex Ed

A Women’s History Of The Vibrator

When did today’s sex-toy renaissance start? Read on for the timeline you never learned in school.

by Abigail Glasgow
A bunch of vintage vibrators on a black table. Here's a history of the vibrator you never learned in...
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500–401 B.C.E.: Hysteria

“We can't talk about the history of the vibrator without talking about hysteria,” says Alicia Sinclair Rosen, CEO of sex toy brand Le Wand. Hippocrates coined the term — derived from the Greek for uterus — as a disease resulting from “abnormal” pelvic movements.

1869: The Automatic Vibrator

Physician George Taylor invents “The Manipulator” to treat “female pelvic complaints.” The patient would place her abdomen on a small sphere where coal-fueled steam would create a vibrating sensation.

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