The always nebulous concept of hysteria was known to the ancients; its original symptom

was difficulty breathing, which as of 1900 BC was attributed by Egyptians to the uterus’s

straying toward the lungs and throat. One early treatment (persisting into the Middle Ages)

involved smearing foul substances near the nose and sweet ones near the crotch to goad

and lure the errant organ back into place. Such beliefs influenced writings attributed to

Hippocrates circa 400 BC. These portray a sex-starved or otherwise desiccated uterus

wandering the body in search of moisture, occasionally disrupting breathing; one text

recommends genital massage in response, though whether this was supposed to culminate

in a happy ending isn’t certain. Hippocrates concluded marriage and sex were the best

cures but also advocated sneezing.

Several centuries later, medical pioneer Galen also blamed the uterus for hysteria but

denied its upward mobility. He believed female “sperm” (probably female ejaculate, as

discussed here before, see The Straight Dope: What’s in female ejaculate?) was

released during sex; its accumulation via abstinence could produce toxic vapors,

resulting in hysterical symptoms, namely shortness of breath and convulsions. (This

idea, incidentally, gave rise to the notion of “the vapors,” scourge of Victorian

gentlewomen and southern belles, though by then doctors no longer believed actual

vapors were causative.) For unmarried patients Galen prescribed “digital manipulation”

by a midwife to the point of “twitching,” “pleasure,” and the release of “abundant sperm” -

i.e., to orgasm. Over ensuing generations, influential pagan, Christian, and Muslim

physicians continued to recommend such treatment, with midwives continuing to do the

grunt work. Under Christianity the practice was controversial, but some doctors

persisted, considering Catholic objections mere superstition.

By the mid-1800s symptoms of hysteria included inability to reach orgasm through

vaginal intercourse and sexual fantasies accompanied by vaginal lubrication and an

urge to masturbate. In short, normal female sexuality had been classified as pathological,

and doctors stood ready to battle the epidemic. French physician Pierre Briquet

popularized la titillation du clitoris (rather than du vagina or cervix) as treatment for

hysterics. In the post-Briquet era massages were given to married patients as well,

now by doctors or nurses rather than midwives.

If this all sounds wildly sketchy, consider alternative hysteria treatments, ancient and

subsequent. Some operated on the first-do-no-harm model (cod liver oil, radishes),

some on the let’s-get-you-high model (alcohol, cannabis, opium, cocaine). But others

were less benign: dosing with arsenic, rubbing the genitals with dung, applying leeches

to the cervix, injecting milk (likely unpasteurized) into the uterus, and cauterizing the

clitoris. Suddenly, letting a health professional get to third base doesn’t sound so bad.

Also, there’s no evidence that prurience drove MDs’ advocacy of manual massage – on

the contrary, they eagerly farmed out the task to subordinates. Or turned to technology.

Water jets were used this way 150 years ago; following the development of windup and

steam-powered massage devices intended for sore muscles, arthritis, and so on, Joseph

Mortimer Granville invented the modern electromechanical vibrator in the early 1880s.

Granville himself opposed its use on women, but that didn’t stop physicians. Vibrators

were among the first electric appliances marketed for home use, with the sexual angle

carefully downplayed – the units were about as phallic as an electric egg beater.

Presumably many customers used them for the muscle massage touted in the ads, but

surely not all. Greater public acknowledgment of women’s sexuality made it too clear

what female users might be up to, and as of the 1930s mainstream publications had

stopped advertising them.

By then the medical treatment was faltering. Though poorly explained nervous disorders

(see neurasthenia) had been the rage among upper-class Victorians, styles changed in the

new century. It was Freud’s influence in particular that ended medical masturbation. He

administered it early on but found it ineffective – as Maines puts it, “the man who,

notoriously, did not know what women wanted was less than successful as a gynecological

masseur.” Freud later concluded only talk therapy could resolve underlying issues; there,

too, his efforts weren’t entirely satisfying.

Hysteria has since been all but defined out of existence. Those who once would have been

labeled hysterical might now be described as having conversion disorder, or just a healthy

libido. Meanwhile, in a culture that’s more sex-positive but body-fat-negative, eating

disorders have in some senses taken hysteria’s place – hardly a real improvement.

— Cecil Adams

Debut of the first vibrator in 1869.
Developed by an American physician, George Taylor, M.D