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History has been both good and bad for sex toys, they’ve had periods of great, wide-spread use and periods when they were shunned or even illegal.  Here I will talk about sex toys from the mid 19th century and after.

During the Victorian Era sexuality in literature and sex toys in general were typically considered very taboo.  But it was also during this time period that we saw a great movement forward in ’sex toys technology’.  Not only did we see the introduction of rubber dildos, butt plugs and the very first vibrators, but the sex toys that did already exist saw a drastic improvement in realism, comfort and sanitation.

In addition to home use, often for medical purposes, there was a variety of spas that would provide ‘medicinal treatments’ in the form of steam-powered vibrators and water jet massagers.

There was an illness that was incredibly popular to diagnose during the 1800’s, but only women were affected by it and it had a treatment that led to a steep increase in sex toy usage, especially vibrators.  The illness was called Hysteria, from the Greek word ‘hystera’ meaning Uterus.  I won’t go into details on what caused Hysteria but I will state that pelvic massaging by doctors was the standard treatment until the invention of vibrators.  This caused a rapid increase in vibrator sales and use as they were prescribed by doctors and used ‘medicinally’.  And although Hysteria is no longer a recognized illness its effects on the popularity of vibrators can be easily seen.

As more and more houses got electricity, more and more women were able to get vibrators for at-home Hysteria treatment.  Then as battery powered vibrators started to come about, still more women were able to get relief from that nasty Hysteria at home.  During the early 1900’s you could start finding advertisements in catalogs such as Sears for vibrators, which the touted as an essential home utility.  It wasn’t long before it was no longer necessary to be diagnosed with Hysteria to be able to buy yourself a vibrator.

During the 60’s when free love was everywhere there was a great rise in sex toy use.  Retail outlets and magazines selling sex toys became much more common.  And now you can find them in almost every city in the United States, and with the rise in online purchases, not only can you get sex toys from anywhere, you can get them discretely.

Sex toys continue to gain popularity as people become more and more open to variety in their sex lives.  Men especially have seen a great jump in acceptable use of sex toys.  For many years it was generally thought that only single, lonely men or homosexuals would use a sex toy, especially one that is meant for anal use.  However, every day that passes more and more men realize that anal play can be very fulfilling and pleasurable.

Role playing and light bondage, such as the use of simple nipple clamps, are also becoming ever more popular with today’s couples, raising the sales of costumes and restraining devices.  So if you haven’t tried a sex toy by yourself or with your partner today is a great day to try something new!