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Title: Victorian era doctors use vibrators to treat hysteric female patients
Source:
The Straight Dope
URL Source: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/071207.html
Published: Dec 11, 2007
Author: Cecil Adams
Post Date: 2007-12-11 07:46:46 by YertleTurtle
Keywords: None
Views: 249
Comments: 16
Dear Cecil: Is it true that Victorian doctors used to masturbate neurotic female patients to orgasm and used special new inventions (e.g., vibrators) to do so? If so, does this have any connection with Freud's theories on female sexuality? — Rob King, via e-mail Cecil replies: Just a few tweaks: (1) the women were diagnosed as hysteric, not neurotic; (2) vibrators were used, but contrary to rumor that wasn't their original purpose; and (3) Freud helped end, not start, the practice. But mainly you've got it: the medical profession long treated such patients by fiddling with their genitalia — a subject receiving its most thorough examination in Rachel Maines's The Technology of Orgasm (1998). The always nebulous concept of hysteria was known to the ancients; its original symptom was difficulty breathing, which as of 1900 BC was attributed by Egyptians to the uterus's straying toward the lungs and throat. One early treatment (persisting into the Middle Ages) involved smearing foul substances near the nose and sweet ones near the crotch to goad and lure the errant organ back into place. Such beliefs influenced writings attributed to Hippocrates circa 400 BC. These portray a sex-starved or otherwise desiccated uterus wandering the body in search of moisture, occasionally disrupting breathing; one text recommends genital massage in response, though whether this was supposed to culminate in a happy ending isn't certain. Hippocrates concluded marriage and sex were the best cures but also advocated sneezing. Several centuries later, medical pioneer Galen also blamed the uterus for hysteria but denied its upward mobility. He believed female "sperm" (probably female ejaculate, as discussed here before, see The Straight Dope: What's in female ejaculate?) was released during sex; its accumulation via abstinence could produce toxic vapors, resulting in hysterical symptoms, namely shortness of breath and convulsions. (This idea, incidentally, gave rise to the notion of "the vapors," scourge of Victorian gentlewomen and southern belles, though by then doctors no longer believed actual vapors were causative.) For unmarried patients Galen prescribed "digital manipulation" by a midwife to the point of "twitching," "pleasure," and the release of "abundant sperm" — i.e., to orgasm. Over ensuing generations, influential pagan, Christian, and Muslim physicians continued to recommend such treatment, with midwives continuing to do the grunt work. Under Christianity the practice was controversial, but some doctors persisted, considering Catholic objections mere superstition. By the mid-1800s symptoms of hysteria included inability to reach orgasm through vaginal intercourse and sexual fantasies accompanied by vaginal lubrication and an urge to masturbate. In short, normal female sexuality had been classified as pathological, and doctors stood ready to battle the epidemic. French physician Pierre Briquet popularized la titillation du clitoris (rather than du vagina or cervix) as treatment for hysterics. In the post-Briquet era massages were given to married patients as well, now by doctors or nurses rather than midwives. If this all sounds wildly sketchy, consider alternative hysteria treatments, ancient and subsequent. Some operated on the first-do-no-harm model (cod liver oil, radishes), some on the let's-get-you-high model (alcohol, cannabis, opium, cocaine). But others were less benign: dosing with arsenic, rubbing the genitals with dung, applying leeches to the cervix, injecting milk (likely unpasteurized) into the uterus, and cauterizing the clitoris. Suddenly, letting a health professional get to third base doesn't sound so bad. Also, there's no evidence that prurience drove MDs' advocacy of manual massage — on the contrary, they eagerly farmed out the task to subordinates. Or turned to technology. Water jets were used this way 150 years ago; following the development of windup and steam-powered massage devices intended for sore muscles, arthritis, and so on, Joseph Mortimer Granville invented the modern electromechanical vibrator in the early 1880s. Granville himself opposed its use on women, but that didn't stop physicians. Vibrators were among the first electric appliances marketed for home use, with the sexual angle carefully downplayed — the units were about as phallic as an electric egg beater. Presumably many customers used them for the muscle massage touted in the ads, but surely not all. Greater public acknowledgment of women's sexuality made it too clear what female users might be up to, and as of the 1930s mainstream publications had stopped advertising them. By then the medical treatment was faltering. Though poorly explained nervous disorders (see neurasthenia) had been the rage among upper-class Victorians, styles changed in the new century. It was Freud's influence in particular that ended medical masturbation. He administered it early on but found it ineffective — as Maines puts it, "the man who, notoriously, did not know what women wanted was less than successful as a gynecological masseur." Freud later concluded only talk therapy could resolve underlying issues; there, too, his efforts weren't entirely satisfying. Hysteria has since been all but defined out of existence. Those who once would have been labeled hysterical might now be described as having conversion disorder, or just a healthy libido. Meanwhile, in a culture that's more sex-positive but body-fat-negative, eating disorders have in some senses taken hysteria's place — hardly a real improvement.
Poster Comment: I figured this out in high school...most women just need to get laid. Then they shut up and stop acting hysterical...for about three days.
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#1. To: YertleTurtle (#0)
that may be, but is this a billable treatment when they can get it for free? The theory is, the hysterical energy inside the woman needs an outlet. Without proper release in nature's intended way, the hysterical energy bursts forth in a variety of random, spastic and semi coherent fits of emotional pique,leading to a desire to hoard cats and eat Edy's out the carton wearing only their bathrobe for weeks at a time....
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind: The Core, Eric Clapton
as a man, I feel offended there has been no research into prevention of male hysteria with blowjobs. patient compliance with treatment plans would approach 100%.
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind: The Core, Eric Clapton
If any of the ladies here are sufferers, I can help them...
oh, you want em to yell at ya...
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind: The Core, Eric Clapton
Thats what I use on my girlfreind too.
Ce n'est pas pour toujours. ‡
Men's understanding of women hasn't advanced much.
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today!
geez...you sound hysterical... ;-)
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind: The Core, Eric Clapton
You are a brave man - or foolish, I guess we'll see.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" mostly hysterical I'm afraid.
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind: The Core, Eric Clapton
I know, and you look like a terrorist to me ;P
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today!
dont know about if the TSA says flying with a vibrator is allowed.
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind: The Core, Eric Clapton
Would it be an inappropriate Hanukkah gift for the Chertoff family? I suppose it isn't worth checking Emily Post to be sure.
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today!
yes, as long as its circumcised
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind: The Core, Eric Clapton
Oh, I'm glad you thought of that, or was that in Emily Post?
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today!
its actually now State Department Protocol and is in their new manual.
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind: The Core, Eric Clapton
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite." James Madison
You are young and you are free, but damned if youre deceased in your own lifetime.
#2. To: YertleTurtle (#0)
You are young and you are free, but damned if youre deceased in your own lifetime.
#3. To: YertleTurtle (#0)
#4. To: Critter (#3)
You are young and you are free, but damned if youre deceased in your own lifetime.
#5. To: YertleTurtle (#0)
#6. To: YertleTurtle (#0)
Hippocrates concluded marriage and sex were the best cures but also advocated sneezing.
#7. To: robin (#6)
You are young and you are free, but damned if youre deceased in your own lifetime.
#8. To: gengis gandhi (#7)
#9. To: tom007 (#8)
You are young and you are free, but damned if youre deceased in your own lifetime.
#10. To: gengis gandhi (#7)
#11. To: robin (#10)
You are young and you are free, but damned if youre deceased in your own lifetime.
#12. To: gengis gandhi (#11)
#13. To: robin (#12)
You are young and you are free, but damned if youre deceased in your own lifetime.
#14. To: gengis gandhi (#13)
#15. To: robin (#14)
You are young and you are free, but damned if youre deceased in your own lifetime.
#16. To: robin (#6)
Men's understanding of women hasn't advanced much.
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