Do you mean dildos?

Do people still call them that?

I read Martial Arts


Let me ponder on the real question

meow85 said:

Just wondering at the name

Ok, so going back a few decades, when it was wrong for unmarrieds to even be contemplating it - so I guess manufacturers had to be clear about the target audience.

Back in victorian times, they used to make vibrators for doctors to cure women's hysteria probably at the request of controlling husbands, not realising it actually felt quite good and their women were going back for more

BlueZebra said:

So did I!! I started to answer, "I guess so if it increases your stamina "



As for the real question, if both parties are into it it can make sex more fun/interesting, & that's always a good thing!

BlueZebra said:

bit of kung fu around the old ear 'ole can do wonders!

ZombieKitten said:

I wasn't too clear on the history of the term, but thanks.

But now I'm wondering if there really are people besides rabbis (I swear I heard Shmuley Boteach call them marital aids once) who use that phrase.

meow85 said:

back before you were born, there were classified ads in the back of mens mags advertising them, and I remember there were parties, like tupperware for them.

Why are sex toys also called "Marital Aids"?

"I've heard the term marital aid used to describe sex toys and it sounds odd...any ideas about where that term came from?"

This is a good question and one that we really had to think about.

There could be a few reasons why sex toys are also referred to as marital aids. I suspect the biggest influence is probably societal norms and values. Our society, whether we choose to believe it or not, is sexually repressed compared to other countries. I'm not speaking of third world countries where the mere mention of sex is taboo, I'm speaking of modern industrial societies similar to our, like Great Britain, Germany, France and other European Nations.

The history of sex toys in America
We tried tracing the term "marital aid" back as far as we could and we found reference to it in the 1930's through 1950's. It appears that the term was coined around the 1930's and was considered a main stream synonym for sex toys for about the next 20 years.

This is a period of time in American history when sex outside of marriage was considered a sin, when the mere mention of homosexuality was taboo, and when many sexual acts that we take for granted today were illegal. Every state in the union had an anti-sodomy law on the books until 1960. In fact, it wasn't until November, 2003 that the United States Supreme Court reversed in a 6-3 decision a ruling from 1986 that states could punish homosexuals for what was termed "deviant sex".

"The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court's majority. "The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime." Now this is all well and good, but this was not always the prevailing view in the United States.

So in a climate of sexual repression people came up with the term marital aid as a reference to sex toys. It makes sense because the term legitimizes sex toys by connecting them to marriage. The term aid also implies that they are to be used as a way to help the husband or wife with sexual dysfunction. I can almost see a Doctor writing a prescription for a marital aid to help a man with his erection problem, or to help a woman with her inability to achieve an orgasm.

I don't know if this is actually the case, but the term marital aid certainly does not evoke thoughts of wild sex among lovers while using a vibrator, a young man experimenting with a masturbation sleeve, or a fun time with your boyfriend or girlfriend. The term is very clinical and dry, and evokes no emotional response at all. The term marital aid takes all the fun out of sex toys. Yuck!

I'm not sure why the term still survives. It could be a combination of things. Perhaps there are still segments of our society who feel comfortable talking about marital aids and not sex toys. Or it could be that old habits die hard. I don't hear the term used often, and I suspect it will fall into oblivion within the next 10 to 20 years, along with terms like sodomy, frotter and onanism.

https://www.dolphin-vibra...-aids.html

A 1918 Sears, Roebuck and Co. ad with several models of vibrators.


A physician in 1859 claimed that a quarter of all women suffered from hysteria. One physician cataloged 75 pages of possible symptoms of hysteria and called the list incomplete;[2] almost any ailment could fit the diagnosis. Physicians thought that the stresses associated with modern life caused civilized women to be both more susceptible to nervous disorders and to develop faulty reproductive tracts.[3] In America, such disorders in women reaffirmed that the United States was on par with Europe; one American physician expressed pleasure that the country was ”catching up” to Europe in the prevalence of hysteria.[2]
Rachael P. Maines, author of The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction, has observed that such cases were quite profitable for physicians, since the patients were at no risk of death but needed constant treatment. The only problem was that physicians did not enjoy the tedious task of vaginal massage (generally referred to as 'pelvic massage'): The technique was difficult for a physician to master and could take hours to achieve "hysterical paroxysm." Referral to midwives, which had been common practice, meant a loss of business for the physician.[1]

A solution was the invention of massage devices, which shortened treatment from hours to minutes, removing the need for midwives and increasing a physician’s treatment capacity. Already at the turn of the century, hydrotherapy devices were available at Bath, and by the mid-19th century, they were popular at many high-profile bathing resorts across Europe and in America.[citation needed] By 1870, a clockwork-driven vibrator was available for physicians. In 1873, the first electromechanical vibrator was used at an asylum in France for the treatment of hysteria.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...e_hysteria

BlueZebra said:

I read it too fast and saw the SAME thing!

Ottensen said:

Hokie knows


yes, she's wearing crocs in this picture.
[Edited 3/11/09 3:01am]

BlueZebra said:

I did too and if THAT was what it said - then heck yes martial arts could help many marriages

Mach said:

I read Martial Arts also, funny fow the mind works.

there is a communal religious group that lives close to the farm called a Hutterite colony The problem for some young girls is that many of the boys run away from the strict rules and make a life for themselves off the colony. This leaves an inbalance of girls. I know a couple that as they approach their mid twenties probably know that they will never marry. The thought has crossed my mind more than once that I should get them a vibrator.

This grip helps!

You should check out this book, Charlotte!



I have it at home. Quite an interesting read!

'Help' as is save a marriage that is in trouble?

JustErin said:

I was just thinking that; they can definitely help one very specific aspect of marriage!

NDRU said:

The title just kinda comes off as "when marriages are in trouble can adding sex toys make your spouse want to have sex more and therefore save a marriage?".

Not saying that's what's actually being asked, just that's how it comes off...to me.

JustErin said:

yeah and I'd have to say no, because they certainly don't require a spouse to operate, unless they're REALLY big!

NDRU said:

Well, if this is what is really being asked then my answer is a firm 'no'.

ZombieKitten said:

People still have Passion Parties, just no one's being all hush-hush about what they are anymore.

CarrieMpls said:

that sounds exactly like something up my alley does it have robots in it?

JustErin said:

I mean as in it is called an "aid" like a cooking aid, which helps cooking - I don't mean as in bail out a marriage that is falling apart, or at least I'd never thought about it that way

meow85 said:

I remember there were some called "luvverware" or something, and a friend insisted she was going to a "fuckerware" party once, not very hush hush at all

NDRU said:

when I got my first vibrator, the master said: "this is great! you won't need me anymore!"

ZombieKitten said:

I thought "finally, I can be good at this!"

NDRU said:

A solution was the invention of massage devices, which shortened treatment from hours to minutes, removing the need for midwives and increasing a physician’s treatment capacity … By 1870, a clockwork-driven vibrator was available for physicians. In 1873, the first electromechanical vibrator was used at an asylum in France for the treatment of hysteria.

they are the only reason im still married my sex drive is soo much higher than his so there has to be something...we actually fight the most about sex