Historical Hysteria

During the 1800s women’s sexual arousal was seen as a disorder called hysteria and believe me it was no laughing manner.  First diagnosed in ancient Greece, the term hysteria means “womb furie” or “uterine displacement”.  Towards the end of the nineteenth century, due to the stigma regarding female sexuality, “hysteria” became an epidemic among white, middle‑classed women.  Passionate women or those sexually “voracious” who were not satisfied with the same old missionary position were most vulnerable to this dreaded malaise.

Although some of the cures were downright barbaric and awful, physicians began to catch-on, believing hysteria to be caused by sexual deprivation-Go Figure?  The new treatment included genital massage that encouraged the patient to reach “hysterical paroxysm” (orgasm), resulting in contractions and release of fluid from the vagina.  By the early 1900’s, however, the treatment of hysteria became too time-consuming for doctors to use the old hands-on “cure”, so a new technological miracle was invented: the vibrator.  Soon, women were able to purchase self-massagers from women’s magazines and mail order catalogues such as Sears and Roebuck, enabling them to find many practical uses (ahem) for them around the home.  Retailers marketed vibrators covertly as sexual devices with ads praising them for providing “30,000 thrilling, invigorating, penetrating, revitalizing penetrations per minute” so all “the pleasures of youth will throb within you.”-Libido Mag

Vibrators came in all shapes, sizes, and functions ranging from those powered by hand, foot or air pressure,  as well as those run by water turbines, gas engines, batteries and current from lamp sockets. “There were musical vibrators, counterweighted vibrators, vibratory forks, undulating wire coils called vibratiles, vibrators that hung from the ceiling, vibrators attached to tables, floor models on rollers and portable devices that fit in the palm of the hand.”-The History of Gynecology

Enter Hitachi Magic Wand

It has been called the “Cadillac of vibrators” and has probably been hiding in great grandma’s closet since those by-gone hysterical days (well maybe not that long).  When it first appeared on the market in the 1970s it was promoted as a “medical device” and then hailed by Betty Dodson for bringing sensory-deprived women to orgasm.  Today the Hitachi is marketed as a “body massager for sore muscles,” and, while it could never be called sexy, it still remains the best-selling intimate personal vibrator available today.

So with all the sleek, sexy, whacky and wonderful sex toys on the market today from “pleasure objects” [my review] to pocket rockets, how does the antiquated Hitachi measure up?  I have to say, pretty damn well.  For some women (like me) it may be very intense.  I use it as a clitoral vibrator through my panties and even my sweatpants, as I don’t need that much power to reach orgasm.  I refer to the Hitachi as my “three-minute miracle”, because that is about how long it takes me to get off when using it.  And, when all you want is a quick release, the Hitachi is the one who will always get the job done fast.

For many women, it may be the only vibrator that will get them off.  This is very true of a good friend of mine and she swears by her Hitachi.  She has tried other vibes and they just don’t do the trick for her.  And, having a hard time reaching orgasm is not as uncommon as you might think.  According to Beverley Whipple in The Science of Orgasm an estimated 35-40 percent of women can’t reach climax at all.  Even more recently on Oprah, many women confessed the inability to have sexual pleasure or achieve orgasm.  Now, the Hitachi may not be the answer for every woman, but, it can certainly help get the party started and is a hell a lot more fun than medieval torture.

The Hitachi Magic Wand is the most powerful intimate massager I have ever tried.  I have used several other plug-in massagers [my review] as well as rechargeable ones [my review], none of which can match the power and intensity of the Hitachi.  The Hitachi has two speeds: Intense and Ultra Intense.  It is heavy, it plugs-in, is loud and not too pretty, but for the ultimate in vibrating intensity and dependability, the Hitachi is the Queen of female orgasms.  So, ladies, if you haven’t tried the Hitachi yet, it is time to step out of the dark ages, and get yourself the vibrator that your grandmother knew and loved, and find out what the hype is all about for yourself.  Vrooom!

Thank you to Vibe Review for the Hitachi Magic Wand.  You can find it as well as many other savvy sex toys and reviews on their site.

Sex Toys @ VibeReview!

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