Alas, the invention of the vibrator had nothing to do with love in the afternoon or sexual liberation. It was originally a labor-saving device to help doctors give their female patients a ''hysterical paroxysm'' -- that is, an orgasm.
What in the world were doctors doing vibrating their female patients to orgasm? The simple answer is that their fingers got tired. The complicated answer is delivered in Maines's short, stimulating, repetitive and occasionally frustrating book, ''The Technology of Orgasm: 'Hysteria,' the Vibrator, and Women' s Sexual Satisfaction.''
So since masturbation was never mentioned by leaders in the Church in the 1800s, and this seemed to be a common medical treatment even involving a person you were not married to, then when did it take on the whole shame aspect? Seriously, I am curious if anyone has any knowledge of history and related issues.
I think it had a lot to do with Freudian psychology, and obsession with sexuality in the Victorian age, especially in the days before pharmacology. As we all know, sex has a definite calming effect on anxious people, so long as they trust their partner. Since women trust their physicians, it was a natural way out of the double-bind. Today, it is regarded as exploitation of that trust relationship.
Today with pharmacology, sophisticated sex-toys and effective condoms, it is very difficult to justify.
Huckelberry said: I see the order and harmony to be the very image of God which smiles upon us each morning as we awake.
So that explains polygamy. It was a medical procedure.
"We have taken up arms in defense of our liberty, our property, our wives, and our children; we are determined to preserve them, or die." - Captain Moroni - 'Address to the Inhabitants of Canada' 1775
DarkHelmet wrote:So that explains polygamy. It was a medical procedure.
I don't know why exactly, but that one caught me off guard and got me LOLing. Very good.
Although I think a better medical procedure would have been to graft a vagina on Joe's belly just above his dick to let him do his thing without stealing other guy's wives. And had they done it, less people would have felt the need to tell him to go “F” himself, ironically.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
In more audio-visual terms, the movie The Road to Wellville explored this 19th Century practice. If the Republican women had the vote at that time, perhaps we would have a national health care system today.
moksha wrote:In more audio-visual terms, the movie The Road to Wellville explored this 19th Century practice. If the Republican women had the vote at that time, perhaps we would have a national health care system today.
Hahaha - turning this into a feminist issue! :)
Yes, if we had the attitudes of the 19th century then Obamacare would have included sexual stimulation by doctors as part of the fundamental benefits. One would suppose this would at least give our floundering commander-in-chief a bit more support from conservative women.
Come to think about it, considering some of the uptight women one encounters in Relief Society maybe this medical practice should be encouraged to come back. Bet the prescriptions for anti-depressants would plummet.