History of Sex Part 3

It is worth mentioning at this point in our voyage through the history of sex that sex itself is, without a doubt, the one constant. As long as people have been having orgasms, they've consistently found different ways to have them, and in turn, stretched the boundaries of what they believed possible. Just as mankind has evolved, so has the way we have sex. It is a testament to the human imagination that we are able to take something so basic and instinctual and still manage to find ways to improve upon the design.

All the ladies in the house - if someone asks you what appliance is your best friend, most of you would probably answer "my shower head." No need to be embarrassed - we've all been there! In fact, women have 'been there' as early as the 1700s when European spas began using a system that functioned much like modern day hot tubs. Like the shower head, these jets were not specifically designed for a woman's stimulation, but ladies of the era sure did spend an awfully long time in the bath.

Also in the 1700s, the term 'sadomasochism' gained popularity, and BDSM practices came to cultural significance. These activities were usually relegated to brothels and private clubs where gentlemen could indulge their unusual predilections without fear of society's judgment. In 1791, the Marquis de Sade published his controversial writings and brought to the public's consumption the idea of sexual power play, and the many toys that went along with it - whips, riding crops, nipple clamps, and devices for restraining the body.

The Victorian age brought with it an as yet unseen level of outwardly prudish behavior. People were so sexually repressed that women were actually diagnosed with "female hysteria," which essentially described female sexual arousal as a disease. The first vibrator (steam powered!) was invented as a cure for this "ailment" wherein a doctor would use it to massage the vulva until the affected woman reached orgasm. As one might imagine, "female hysteria" reoccurred frequently in the same patients.

In 1882, a physician morally opposed to the treatment of female hysteria invented the first battery-powered vibrator. Instead, he preferred the device be used on the skeletal muscles of men in order to treat injury that had been caused by overexertion. Not only was this vibrator battery powered, but it came with various tips and attachments that would be featured for many years to come as popular vibrator accessories.

The late 1800s also gave birth to possibly one of the biggest thing ever to happen to the popularization of sex - the motion picture. And as it is true today, where there's someone making movies, there's someone making movies about sex. Pornography as it had existed before film could never come close to what watching the first sexual moving pictures - mostly of women self-pleasuring, or pleasuring one another like live action pin up girls - did for the history sex.