Early America, Sex, Marriage, family #15


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Date: 27 Sep 2006 05:53:39 AM
Object: Early America, Sex, Marriage, family #15
PART 15
EARLY AMERICA
SEX, MARRIAGE, CHILDREN, GAYS, LESBIANS, BOYS AS GIRLS, ABORTION,
BREECHING, FAMILY AND OTHER MYTHS
HYSTERIA and it's treatment
http://www.religioustolerance.org/masturba4.htm
On another note, in the 19th century, some physicians concluded that
hysteria among women was caused by sexual deprivation. As a treatment, they
would stimulate a woman to have an orgasm in the doctor's office.
Eventually, "a doctor invented the vibrator so women could 'treat'
themselves at home." 13
Flare magazine, 2002-APR. Cited in "Fifth Annual Masturbate-A-Thon," at:
http://www.toronto.com/
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The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual
Satisfaction (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)
(Paperback) by Rachel P. Maines
http://www.amazon.com/Technology-Orgasm-Hysteria-Vibrator-Satisfaction/dp/0801866464
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
For centuries, women diagnosed with "hysteria"--a "disease paradigm," in
Rachel P. Maines's felicitous phrase, thought to result from a lack of
sexual intercourse or gratification--were treated by massaging their
genitals in order to induce "paroxysm." Male physicians, however,
considered the practice drudgery, and sought various ways of avoiding the
task, often foisting it off on midwives or, starting in the late 19th
century, employing mechanical devices. Eventually, these devices became
available for purchase and home use; one such "portable vibrator" is
advertised in the 1918 Sears, Roebuck catalog as an "aid that every woman
appreciates." The Technology of Orgasm is an impeccably researched history
that combines a discussion of hysteria in the Western medical tradition
with a detailed examination (including several illustrations) of the
devices used to "treat" the "condition." (Maines is somewhat dismissive of
the contemporary, phallus-shaped models, which she describes as
"underpowered battery-operated toys," insisting that "it is the AC-powered
vibrator with at least one working surface at a right angle to the handle
that is best designed for application to the clitoral area.") Don't expect
any cheap thrills, though; the titillation Maines offers is strictly
intellectual. --Ron Hogan --This text refers to an out of print or
unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
It will surprise most readers to learn that the vibrator was invented in
the late 1880s as a time-saving device for physicians, who had been
treating women's "hysteria" for years with clitoral massage. Denying the
sexual nature of the treatments, doctors instead saw the technique as a
burdensome chore and welcomed electric devices that would shorten patients'
visits. Maines, an independent scholar in the history of technology,
presents a straightforward account of the mechanism from its beginning
through the 1920s, when it came into disrepute as a medical instrument.
Going far beyond a mere summary of therapeutic advances, however, she wryly
chronicles the attitude toward women's sexuality in the medical and
psychological professions and shows, with searing insight, how some ancient
biases are still prevalent in our society. Maines's writing is lively and
entertaining, and her research is exhaustive, drawing on texts from
Hippocrates to the present day. Proving her point about how women's
sexuality is still perceived as an unapproachable subject in some quarters,
Maines describes her travails in vibrator historiography, including the
loss of her teaching position at Clarkson University. A pioneering and
important book, this window into social and technological history also
provides a marvelously clear view of contemporary ideas about women's
sexuality.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out
of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
A researcher and archivist with a doctorate in the history of technology,
Maines has produced an exhaustive and deliciously savage history of the
vibrator-as-sex-aid. Massage of women's genitalia by physicians for relief
of "hysteria" dates to Hippocrates. Yet procuring women's orgasms?whether
identified as sex or as merely "paroxysm"?was "the job that nobody wanted,"
and physicians were happy to delegate the chore to mechanical devices in
the 1880s. This fascinating and exquisitely referenced true story reads
like twisted science fiction and will intrigue historians of technology
and/or medicine, culture-watchers, feminists, and lay readers. Maines's
work is noted briefly in Joani Blank's Good Vibrations (Down There, 1989),
a concise and helpful popular introduction to vibrators and how to use
them. Hoag Levins's journalistic American Sex Machines (Adams Media, 1996)
bypasses vibrator evolution and history completely. Maines's dry wit and
writing skill lend appeal and readability. Highly recommended for academic
and public libraries.?Martha Cornog, Philadelphia
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out
of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Thorough, original, and surprising." -- Sarah Boxer, New York Times Book
Review
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hysteria: The Wanderisg Uterus & A Brief History of the Vibrator
http://www.necrobabes.org/duana/hysteria.html
***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the US and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
.

 

NEWER
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OLDER