But I think it still turned out to be a pretty hot photo to share with our dozens of discerning readers. (actually we are back up to about 1000 page views a day, so it didn't take long for folks to realize we are back from blogger exile.)
Earlier this week, Miss Behavior asked whether we had acquired any exotic sex toys while in Yak-it-Stan on the Lam. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time for any real shopping at the 2nd hand stores, but the question got our Senior Correspondent doing a little research, and she came up with these ideas for stocking the Yurt for the next sex blogger who needs to hide out for a while. Here is her report:
The
world’s oldest dildo.
It’s a strapping, 6 inch,
stone-carved, black penis made out of delicious, hard antler bone…
It was during the Jin and Song Dynasties of China (800 BP) that the penis or
"cock" ring became a popular bedroom accessory across
Asia. ("Cock" derived from the erect, strutting behavior of a
red-headed rooster.) Documents from the period describe the first
rin
gs as being made from the eyelids of goats–with the lashes still intact. The eyelid rings are said to have been tied around a man’s erection, with the hardened lashes intended to add additional stimulation for the woman during thrusting.
By 400 BP, penis rings were being carved from ivory and were used primarily to help men maintain erections longer. Over the next few centuries, little nubs were added to the ring to act as clitoris stimulators–giving both partners enhanced pleasure and presumably, better orgasms. Penis rings later became status symbols throughout China, with wealthy and prominent men opting for rare and exotic materials to encircle and draw attention to their members.
Linguistically derived from the Greek term "oblisbo" (in Latin, "to open wide,") dildos were commonly made of wood or leather, with diaries from the period explaining that liberal amounts of olive oil were needed for easy insertion. (But considering the number of such tools that have survived, lack of refinement didn’t seem to prevent their regular and wide-spread use!)
gs as being made from the eyelids of goats–with the lashes still intact. The eyelid rings are said to have been tied around a man’s erection, with the hardened lashes intended to add additional stimulation for the woman during thrusting.
By 400 BP, penis rings were being carved from ivory and were used primarily to help men maintain erections longer. Over the next few centuries, little nubs were added to the ring to act as clitoris stimulators–giving both partners enhanced pleasure and presumably, better orgasms. Penis rings later became status symbols throughout China, with wealthy and prominent men opting for rare and exotic materials to encircle and draw attention to their members.
Linguistically derived from the Greek term "oblisbo" (in Latin, "to open wide,") dildos were commonly made of wood or leather, with diaries from the period explaining that liberal amounts of olive oil were needed for easy insertion. (But considering the number of such tools that have survived, lack of refinement didn’t seem to prevent their regular and wide-spread use!)
In 1869 the first vaginal vibrator was introduced. Developed by an American physician, George Taylor, it was a large and cumbersome steam-powered apparatus [pictured below] which made a lot of noise and often malfunctioned at inopportune times. (Not unlike the batteries going dead in a modern "personal massager" while in mid stroke!) It was prescribed for women who were clinically diagnosed with a disorder called, "female hysteria," whose symptoms included anxiety, irritability, "pelvic heaviness," and excessive vaginal wetness–a condition for which doctors had initially hand-manipulated women vaginas (masturbated them to orgasm). This simulated intercourse device was seen as a far more efficient method than manual manipulation as "hysteria" was known to be a recurring condition and "proper" women of the era did not masturbate themselves. It should be noted that this devise was made available to the public during the Victorian Era, an ultra-conservative period of American history, during which rubber dildos and butt plugs were also introduced.
Back to the misunderstood
dildo. Early toys, in many parts of the Mid-eastern world consisted of dried camel
dung coated with a hard resin, served their purpose. It would seem that this
early dildo might have had a few definite drawbacks though. The smell for one.
Can you imagine? The resin may have served to block the odor, but it certainly
could not have eliminated it. Unless of course camel dung when dried did not
retain its aroma. I suppose it is entirely possible that the hot dry desert
climes may have dried it to potential marble-like hardness.
Model of a phallus from a
phallic cult. Iron Age II A Israel Museum(IDAM), Jerusalem, Israel
My guess is that if we had poked around some antique stores, we could have found one of these molded from Yak dung for our collection. Dang.
