Chapter 3. History of Dissociation (2) From Hysteria to Dissociation (3)

History of hysteria and vibrator
One amazing fact to note in order to understand how hysteria is misunderstood and mistreated, is that the vibrator, now commonly used for female sexual excitation, was used for a long time in the medical history for the treatment of hysteria. The rationale for it is what we already saw. Sexual satisfaction is the cure for hysteria. With the help of” The Technology of Orgasm”, let us examine more in detail.
n the Middle Age and Renaissance, the treatment of hysteria is genital massage for unmarried woman. Genital massage was profitable for medical doctors as it was applied safely and there are many “patients” frequently visiting the clinic.
When the vibrator emerged as an electromechanical medical instrument at the end of the nineteenth century, it took over previous massage technologies to meet a demand from physicians for “more rapid and efficient” treatment for hysteria. There were many physicians who gain profit from this therapy and electrification of the technique increased certainly their income.



1910年の広告（Der Spiegel, 1/1999, p.145）

 
“The electrification of the home proceeded rapidly after the introduction of electric lights in 1876, and predictably, women were significant consumers of electrical appliances. The first home appliance to be electrified was the sewing machine in 1889, followed in the next ten years by the fan, the teakettle, the toaster, and the vibrator. (Technology of Orgasm, p.100)””The earliest advertisement for a home vibrator I know of is for the “Vibratile,” which appeared in McClure’s in March 1899, offered as a cure for ‘Neuralgia, Headache, Wrinkles’.”