Today we associate vibrators with one thing: our pleasure. In the nineteenth century, however, vibrators were only used by physicians, and served the sole medical purpose of curing hysteria--that umbrella diagnosis pushed upon difficult (read: sexually frustrated) or ailing women. At the turn of the twentieth century when these gadgets first hit the market for personal use, they weren’t advertised as having any sexual benefits. Instead, manufacturers politely and euphemistically referred to the healing qualities of personal massagers, like circulation stimulation and healthier, glowing skin.

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