| American Sex Machines | |
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| American Sex Machines | |
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Admittedly, I really enjoy books about history, especially when the subject is sex. I also come from a gadget oriented family (my Dad was an electronics professor who was always making strange and unusual gadgets), so a book on sex machines is right up my alley. I really enjoyed this one, and if you have a similar bent, so will you. This book covers the history of U.S. patents related to sex- everything from anti-masturbation gizmos to birth control devices. It is amply illustrated with over 300 original patent drawings. It begins with the fascinating tale of a small town dentist who received the first sexually related patent in 1846. It was for a simple vaginal diaphragm. Dr. Beers later went on to develop and patent dental crowns. Up until the 1950's, masturbation was generally regarded as an injurious medical condition. Kellog's Corn Flakes were developed to reduce the desire to masturbate by Dr. Kellog, an anti-sex fanatic who never consummated his own marriage. Every disease known to man was attributed to self-pollution. Not surprisingly, many American inventors turned their creativity to devices that would prevent people from masturbating. From electrified devices that could sear the flesh, to those that poked pins into an ensuing erection, this book covers a frighteningly wide range of often sadistic devices to prevent self-pleasuring. Other chapters include birth control in the Victorian era, the development of better condoms, erection enhancing devices, the history of the bra and other devices to enhance the breasts, and anti-rape devices. The chapter on self-pleasuring devices includes the patent for the first electric vibrator in 1911, which was an improvement over earlier water powered devices. The author does leave out one of the main uses of early vibrators by Victorian era doctors- to cure hysteria in women. This was an imaginary disease for which the only cure was having the doctor masturbate the woman to orgasm. Mechanical devices were a boon to doctors to relieve their tired fingers, as hysteria was one of the most commonly diagnosed illnesses of the time. The final chapters cover coital harnesses and sex furniture, exercisers and monitors, and safe sex devices. From flipping through the book initially I expected it to be a bit dry. Much to my pleasant surprise, the text turned out be very lively and entertaining, with lots of stories related to the devices. It provides a lot of insight into the often ridiculous sexual notions that have sprung up in this country, and pays tribute to the endless imagination applied to one of our favorite subjects. -JB Buy this book from Barnes and Noble The Adult Book Review Archives
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