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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
For centuries, women diagnosed with "hysteria"--a "disease paradigm," in Rachel P. Maines's felicitous phrase, thought to result from a lack of sexual intercourse or gratification--were treated by massaging their genitals in order to induce "paroxysm." Male physicians, however, considered the practice drudgery, and sought various ways of avoiding the task, often foisting it off on midwives or, starting in the late 19th century, employing mechanical devices. Eventually, these devices became available for purchase and home use; one such "portable vibrator" is advertised in the 1918 Sears, Roebuck catalog as an "aid that every woman appreciates." The Technology of Orgasm is an impeccably researched history that combines a discussion of hysteria in the Western medical tradition with a detailed examination (including several illustrations) of the devices used to "treat" the "condition." (Maines is somewhat dismissive of the contemporary, phallus-shaped models, which she describes as "underpowered battery-operated toys," insisting that "it is the AC-powered vibrator with at least one working surface at a right angle to the handle that is best designed for application to the clitoral area.") Don't expect any cheap thrills, though; the titillation Maines offers is strictly intellectual. --Ron Hogan
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
It will surprise most readers to learn that the vibrator was invented in the late 1880s as a time-saving device for physicians, who had been treating women's "hysteria" for years with clitoral massage. Denying the sexual nature of the treatments, doctors instead saw the technique as a burdensome chore and welcomed electric devices that would shorten patients' visits. Maines, an independent scholar in the history of technology, presents a straightforward account of the mechanism from its beginning through the 1920s, when it came into disrepute as a medical instrument. Going far beyond a mere summary of therapeutic advances, however, she wryly chronicles the attitude toward women's sexuality in the medical and psychological professions and shows, with searing insight, how some ancient biases are still prevalent in our society. Maines's writing is lively and entertaining, and her research is exhaustive, drawing on texts from Hippocrates to the present day. Proving her point about how women's sexuality is still perceived as an unapproachable subject in some quarters, Maines describes her travails in vibrator historiography, including the loss of her teaching position at Clarkson University. A pioneering and important book, this window into social and technological history also provides a marvelously clear view of contemporary ideas about women's sexuality.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence:
In 1653 Pieter van Foreest, called Alemarianus Petrus Forestus, published a medical compendium titled Observationem et Curationem Medicinalium ac Chirurgicarum Opera Omnia, with a chapter on the diseases of women. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
orgasmic mutuality, hysteroneurasthenic disorders, vulvular massage, pelvic massage, electrotherapeutic devices, androcentric model, electromechanical vibrator, therapeutic appliances, hysterical paroxysm, producing orgasm, disease paradigm, androcentric norm, manual massage, heterosexual coitus, electric vibrator, female orgasm, sexual deprivation, clitoral stimulation, female masturbation Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Mortimer Granville, Havelock Ellis, White Cross, Modern Priscilla, Ferrari da Gradi, Nathaniel Highmore, Peter Gay, Shere Hite, Sigmund Freud, Woman's Home Companion, Abraham Zacuto, Franz Josef Gall, George Taylor, Gilles de la Tourette, Mary Gove Nichols, Michel Foucault, Thomas Laqueur New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In 1653 Pieter van Foreest, called Alemarianus Petrus Forestus, published a medical compendium titled Observationem et Curationem Medicinalium ac Chirurgicarum Opera Omnia, with a chapter on the diseases of women. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
orgasmic mutuality, hysteroneurasthenic disorders, vulvular massage, pelvic massage, electrotherapeutic devices, androcentric model, electromechanical vibrator, therapeutic appliances, hysterical paroxysm, producing orgasm, disease paradigm, androcentric norm, manual massage, heterosexual coitus, electric vibrator, female orgasm, sexual deprivation, clitoral stimulation, female masturbation Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Mortimer Granville, Havelock Ellis, White Cross, Modern Priscilla, Ferrari da Gradi, Nathaniel Highmore, Peter Gay, Shere Hite, Sigmund Freud, Woman's Home Companion, Abraham Zacuto, Franz Josef Gall, George Taylor, Gilles de la Tourette, Mary Gove Nichols, Michel Foucault, Thomas Laqueur New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
See all 100 books this book cites
- Psychology of Sex; A Manual for Students by Havelock Ellis on 6 pages
- Psychopathia Sexualis by Richard Von KrafftEbing on 5 pages
- Cosmo Report by Linda Wolfe on 5 pages
- Studies in the Psychology of Sex by Havelock Ellis on 5 pages
- Hysteria: The History of a Disease by Ilza Veith on 5 pages
See all 100 books this book cites
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
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86% buy the item featured on this page: The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology) $14.25 |
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5% buy I Love Female Orgasm: An Extraordinary Orgasm Guide $10.85 |
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4% buy A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis $10.88 |
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3% buy She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman $10.87 |
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