![Clear jelly dildo series](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Clear_jelly_dildo_series.png)
A dildo is a
sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibratin ...
, often explicitly
phallic
A phallus is a penis (especially when Erection, erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimesis, mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic.
Any object that symbolically— ...
in appearance, intended for
sexual penetration
Sexual penetration is the insertion of a body part or other object into a body orifice, such as the mouth, vagina or anus, as part of human sexual activity or animal sexual behavior.
The term is most commonly used in statute law in the contex ...
or other
sexual activity
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...
during
masturbation
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
or with
sex partner
Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis. They may be on intimate terms ...
s. Dildos can be made from a number of materials and shaped like an erect
human penis
The human penis is an external male intromittent organ that additionally serves as the urinary duct. The main parts are the root (radix); the body (corpus); and the epithelium of the penis including the shaft skin and the foreskin (prepuce) co ...
. They are typically about the
average length of an erect penis, , but some may be longer. A dildo's circumference is typically .
Description and uses
General
A dildo is an object usually designed for
sexual penetration
Sexual penetration is the insertion of a body part or other object into a body orifice, such as the mouth, vagina or anus, as part of human sexual activity or animal sexual behavior.
The term is most commonly used in statute law in the contex ...
of the
vagina
In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...
, mouth, or
anus, and is usually solid and
phallic
A phallus is a penis (especially when Erection, erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimesis, mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic.
Any object that symbolically— ...
in shape. Penis
prosthetic
In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...
aids, known as "extensions", are not considered dildos. Some include penis-shaped items clearly designed for
vaginal penetration
Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetr ...
, even if they are not true approximations of a penis. An anal dildo is intended for repeated anal penetration, to be distinguished from a
butt plug which is flanged with the intent of remaining in place. People of all
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
s and
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
s use these devices for
masturbation
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
or other
sexual activity
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...
.
Materials
![Two women embracing and using carrots as dildoes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Two_women_embracing_and_using_carrots_as_dildoes._Gouache_Wellcome_L0033073.jpg)
Rubber dildos, usually incorporating a steel spring for stiffness, became available in the 1940s. This arrangement was unsatisfactory because of the potential for injury from cuts by the spring if the rubber cracked and came apart. Later,
PVC dildos with a softer PVC filler became popular. Most of the inexpensive dildos sold in the 2000s are made this way.
PVC and jelly-rubber toys are problematic because they contain unsafe
phthalate
Phthalates (, ), or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid. They are mainly used as plasticizers, i.e., substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity. They are used primarily to soften ...
s, softeners added to many plastics that are also found in some jewelry, food containers, and other soft rubber toys. Phthalates are linked to health problems such as cancer and prenatal defects. Products made of PVC or
thermoplastic elastomer
Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), sometimes referred to as thermoplastic rubbers, are a class of copolymers or a physical mix of polymers (usually a plastic and a rubber) that consist of materials with both thermoplastic and elastomeric properties. ...
("jelly rubber") cannot be
sterilized. Manufacturers recommend using
condom
A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...
s with these toys if users share them.
Silicone rubber dildos became popular in the 1990s. Initially expensive, the cost of silicone dildos has dropped over time. Silicone is resistant to accidental damage, non-porous, and can be sterilized easily, making silicone dildos more durable and sanitary than dildos made of other soft materials. Silicone dildos conduct vibration well, and can be used in combination with a
vibrator.
High-end,
chrome plated steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
dildos are also popular in the
BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
scene. Some users prefer them because of their
hardness
In materials science, hardness (antonym: softness) is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either mechanical indentation or abrasion. In general, different materials differ in their hardness; for example hard ...
, firmness, durability, electrical conductance (see
erotic electrostimulation
Erotic electrostimulation (abbreviated erotic e-stim and also known as electrosex) is a sexual practice involving the application of electrical stimulation to the nerves of the body, with particular emphasis on the genitals, using a power sourc ...
), and low friction, especially when used with lubricant. Because they are heavy, they can be used to exercise vaginal
PC muscles. A steel dildo may be warmed or cooled in water to elicit a range of temperature sensations. It may also retain the user's body heat. Its polished nonporous surface allows sterilization in boiling water or an
autoclave
An autoclave is a machine used to carry out industrial and scientific processes requiring elevated temperature and pressure in relation to ambient pressure and/or temperature. Autoclaves are used before surgical procedures to perform sterilizati ...
.
Glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...
and steel dildos have similar features. In most cases, glass toys are solid, and made of
Pyrex
Pyrex (trademarked as ''PYREX'' and ''pyrex'') is a brand introduced by Corning Inc. in 1915 for a line of clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware. It was later expanded to include kitchenwa ...
or other types of
borosilicate
Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with silica and boron trioxide as the main glass-forming constituents. Borosilicate glasses are known for having very low coefficients of thermal expansion (≈3 × 10−6 K−1 at 20 °C), ma ...
glass (Schott-Duranglas and Simax), although their construction can vary depending on the manufacturer. Like steel, glass toys may be used to apply firmer pressure than silicone can to a person's
G-spot
The G-spot, also called the Gräfenberg spot (for German gynecologist Ernst Gräfenberg), is characterized as an erogenous area of the vagina that, when stimulated, may lead to strong sexual arousal, powerful orgasms and potential female ejac ...
(
urethral sponge
The urethral sponge is a spongy cushion of tissue, found in the lower genital area of females, that sits against both the pubic bone and vaginal wall, and surrounds the urethra.
Functions
The urethral sponge is composed of erectile tissue; d ...
) or
prostate gland
The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and physio ...
. Unlike other types of toys, glass sex toys can also be personalized with inscriptions.
Cyberskin is a synthetic material that feels more like human skin. It is porous and cannot be sterilized. It often becomes sticky after washing (which can be remedied by a dusting of
cornstarch
Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or so ...
) and is more delicate and more prone to rips and tears than silicone dildos. "
Packing dildos", which are not designed for penetration, are often made of this material.
Phallus-shaped vegetables and fruits, such as
bananas or
zucchini
The zucchini (; plural: zucchini or zucchinis), courgette (; plural: courgettes) or baby marrow (''Cucurbita pepo'') is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are st ...
or other food items, such as
hot dogs
A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausag ...
or other types of sausages, have been used as dildos in a form of
food play
Food play can have sexual or non-sexual connotations. The term often refers to ''sitophilia'', a form of sexual fetishism in which participants are aroused by erotic situations involving food. The phrase is also used to refer to non-sexual play wi ...
. Any object of sufficient firmness and shape can be used like a dildo.
Recent social acceptance and popularity has resulted in the emergence of highly adorned dildos, which are often made of expensive materials and may be
jewelled.
Shape
![Dildo PICT3774 small](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Dildo_PICT3774_small.jpg)
Conventionally, many dildos are shaped like a
human penis
The human penis is an external male intromittent organ that additionally serves as the urinary duct. The main parts are the root (radix); the body (corpus); and the epithelium of the penis including the shaft skin and the foreskin (prepuce) co ...
with varying degrees of detail, while others are made to resemble the phallus of animals. Not all, however, are fashioned to reproduce the male anatomy meticulously, and dildos come in a wide variety of shapes. They may resemble figures, or simply be practical creations which stimulate more easily than conventional designs. In
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, many dildos are created to resemble animals or cartoon characters, such as
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
, so that they may be sold as conventional toys, thus avoiding
obscenity laws
An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be us ...
. Some dildos have textured surfaces to enhance sexual pleasure, and others have
macrophallic
Human penises vary in size on a number of measures, including length and circumference when flaccid and erect. Besides the natural variability of human penises in general, there are factors that lead to minor variations in a particular male, ...
dimensions including over a dozen inches long.
One research, which used 33 dildos of various sizes found that the average length women chose (for their partner) was around 6,3 inches long and with a girth of 4,8 inches. That said, some women may prefer different sizes then the aforementioned, and the
3D printing of dildos gives the option of
personalization
Personalization (broadly known as customization) consists of tailoring a service or a product to accommodate specific individuals, sometimes tied to groups or segments of individuals. A wide variety of organizations use personalization to improv ...
(allowing to shape and size the dildo to the exact specific dimension that the user wants). Starting in 2012, 3D models of dildos became available for printing by individuals. The advantage of printing at home was not only personalization but also discretion. This, however, did not take off at that time, in part due to the porosity issue of the materials used (which is mainly a problem if no condom is used over the dildo). Some websites have continued to exist however. Besides printing it at home, it is also possible to print it off at a
fablab
A fab lab (''fabrication laboratory'') is a small-scale workshop offering (personal) digital fabrication.
A fab lab is typically equipped with an array of flexible computer-controlled tools that cover several different length scales and var ...
,
makerspace
A hackerspace (also referred to as a hacklab, hackspace, or makerspace) is a community-operated, often "not for profit" ( 501(c)(3) in the United States), workspace where people with common interests, such as computers, machining, technology, ...
, or
3D printing marketplace. All of these avoid needing to purchase a personal 3d printer for printing off 3D models.
Uses
Most dildos are intended for
vaginal or anal penetration and stimulation, for
masturbation
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
on oneself or by a
sexual partner
Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis. They may be on intimate terms ...
. Dildos have
fetishistic
A fetish (derived from the French , which comes from the Portuguese , and this in turn from Latin , 'artificial' and , 'to make') is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over othe ...
value as well, and may be used in other ways, such as touching one's own or another's skin in various places, often during
foreplay
Foreplay is a set of emotionally and physically intimate acts between one or more people meant to create sexual arousal and desire for sexual activity. Although foreplay is typically understood as physical sexual activity, nonphysical activiti ...
or as an act of
dominance and submission
Dominance and submission (also called D/s) is a set of behaviors, customs, and rituals involving the submission of one person to another in an erotic episode or lifestyle. It is a subset of BDSM. This form of sexual contact and pleasure has bee ...
. If of appropriate sizes, they can be used as
gags, for oral penetration for a sort of artificial
fellatio
Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotu ...
. Dildos, particularly specially designed ones, may be used to stimulate the
G-spot
The G-spot, also called the Gräfenberg spot (for German gynecologist Ernst Gräfenberg), is characterized as an erogenous area of the vagina that, when stimulated, may lead to strong sexual arousal, powerful orgasms and potential female ejac ...
area.
![TinyDawn anal dildo 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/TinyDawn_anal_dildo_2013.jpg)
A dildo designed for anal insertion that then remains in place is usually referred to as a
butt plug. A dildo intended for repeated anal penetration (thrusting) is typically referred to as an anal dildo or simply "dildo". Anal dildos and butt plugs generally have a large base to avoid accidental complete insertion into the rectum, which may require medical removal. Some women use
double-ended dildos, with different-sized shafts pointing in the same direction, for simultaneous vaginal and anal penetration, or for two partners to share a single dildo. In the latter case, the dildo acts as a sort of "see-saw," where each partner takes an end and receives stimulation.
Some dildos are designed to be worn in a harness, sometimes called a
strap-on harness or
strap-on dildo, or to be worn inside the vagina (then called
strapless dildo or "strapless strap-on dildo"), sometimes with externally-attached
vibrating
Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...
devices. Strap-on dildos may be double-ended, meant to be worn by users who want to experience vaginal or anal penetration while also penetrating a partner. They may also be used for anally penetrating men. If a female penetrates a male, the act is known as ''
pegging''.
Other types of dildos include those designed to be fitted to the face of one party, inflatable dildos, and dildos with suction cups attached to the base (sometimes referred to as a wall mount). Other types of harness mounts for dildos (besides strapping to the groin) include thigh mount, face mount, or furniture mounting straps.
Society and culture
Etymology
The etymology of the word ''dildo'' was long considered unclear,
[.] but the third edition of the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' concluded in 2018 that the word originates in nonsense syllables common in early-modern popular
ballads
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
(not dissimilar to the still-familiar nursery rhyme phrase "
hey diddle diddle
"Hey Diddle Diddle" (also "Hi Diddle Diddle", "The Cat and the Fiddle", or "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon") is an English nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19478.
Lyrics and music
A version of the rhyme is
Hey diddle diddl ...
"), which came to be used as a coy euphemism for dildos.
[dildo, int. and n.1.]
, ''OED Online'', 3rd edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018). Accessed 29 May 2019. The phrase "Dil Doul", referring to a man's penis, appears in the seventeenth-century
folk ballad
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
"The Maids Complaint for want of a Dil Doul". The song was among the many in the library of
Samuel Pepys.
Other theories that have previously circulated include that the word ''dildo'' originally referred to the phallus-shaped peg used to lock an
oar
An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end.
The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...
in position on a
dory
A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...
(small boat). It would be inserted into a hole on the side of the boat, and is very similar in shape to the modern toy. The sex toy might take its name from this sailing tool, which also lends its name to the town of
Dildo
A dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for sexual penetration or other sexual activity during masturbation or with sex partners. Dildos can be made from a number of materials and shaped like an erect human p ...
and the nearby
Dildo Island
Dildo Island is an island in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the largest of three islands located at the entrance to Dildo Tip in the bottom of Trinity Bay (Newfoundland), Trinity Bay, off the coast of the neighbouring ...
in
Newfoundland,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Others suggest the word is a
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
of
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
''diletto'' "delight".
According to the ''OED'', one of the word's first appearances in English was in
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' ...
's ''
The Choise of Valentines'' ''or the Merie Ballad of Nash his Dildo'' (c. 1593), in the sentence "Curse Eunuke dilldo, senceless, counterfet, , Who sooth maie fill, but neuer can begett" ('curse dildo, that eunuch, lacking feelings, and counterfeit, who can certainly fill
vagina but can never beget
hildren).
Terms in other languages
An ''olisbos'' (pl. ''olisboi'') is a classical term for a dildo, from Greek ,
i.e. a dildo that was usually made of leather. A ''
godemiché'' is a dildo in the shape of a penis with scrotum.
In some modern languages, the names for ''dildo'' can be more descriptive, creative or subtle—note, for instance, the
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
фаллоимитатор (literally "phallic imitator"),
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
',
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
''consolador'' "consoler" and
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
''cala goeg'' "fake penis".
History
Dildos in one form or another have existed widely in history.
Artifacts from the
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
of a type called
bâton de commandement
Perforated baton, bâton de commandement or bâton percé are names given by archaeologists to a type of particular prehistoric artifact from Prehistoric Europe, whose function remains debated. The name ''bâtons de commandement'' ("batons of ...
have been speculated to have been used for sexual purposes. Few archaeologists consider these items as sex toys, but archaeologist
Timothy Taylor put it, "Looking at the size, shape, and—some cases—explicit symbolism of the ice age batons, it seems disingenuous to avoid the most obvious and straightforward interpretation. But it has been avoided."
[Taylor, T. 1996. ''The Prehistory of Sex.'' New York: Bantam. p. 128.][Paul L. Vasey, ''Intimate Sexual Relations in Prehistory: Lessons from the Japanese Macaques.'' World Archaeology, Vol. 29, No. 3, Intimate Relations (Feb., 1998), pp. 407-425]
The first dildos were made of stone, tar, wood, bone, ivory, limestone, teeth,
and other materials that could be shaped as penises and that were firm enough to be used as penetrative sex toys. Scientists believe that a 20-centimeter siltstone
phallus from the Upper Palaeolithic period 30,000 years ago, found in
Hohle Fels
The ''Hohle Fels'' () (also ''Hohlefels'', ''Hohler Fels'', German for "hollow rock") is a cave in the Swabian Jura of Germany that has yielded a number of important archaeological finds dating from the Upper Paleolithic. Artifacts found in the ...
Cave near Ulm,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, may have been used as a dildo. Prehistoric double-headed dildos have been found which date anywhere from 13 to 19,000 years ago. Various paintings from ancient Egypt around 3000 BCE feature dildos being used in a variety of ways. In medieval times, a plant called the “cantonese groin” was soaked in hot water to enlarge and harden for women to use as dildos.
Dildo-like
breadstick
Breadsticks, also known as grissini, grissino or dipping sticks, (''ghërsin'' in ) are generally pencil-sized sticks of crisp, dry baked bread that originated in Piedmont, a region of Italy. There is also a soft-baked breadstick version popula ...
s, known as ''olisbokollikes'' (sing. ''olisbokollix''),
were known in Ancient Greece prior to the 5th century BC. In Italy during the 1400s, dildos were made of leather, wood, or stone.
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
women in the 15th century used dildos made of lacquered wood with textured surfaces, and were sometimes buried with them.
Nashe's early-1590s work ''The Choise of Valentines'' mentions a dildo made from glass.
Dildos also appeared in 17th and 18th century Japan, in
shunga
is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word ''shunga' ...
. In these erotic novels, women are shown enthusiastically buying dildos, some made out of water buffalo horns.
Dildos were not just used for sexual pleasure. Examples from the Eurasia Ice Age (40,000-10,000 BCE) and Roman era are speculated to have been used for defloration rituals. This is not the only example of dildos being used for ritual ceremonies, as people in 4000 BCE Pakistan used them to worship the god
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
.
Many references to dildos exist in the
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
and
ethnographic
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...
literature. Haberlandt, for example, illustrates single and
double-ended wooden dildos from late 19th century
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
. With the invention of modern materials, making dildos of different shapes, sizes, colors and textures became more practical.
Ancient Greece
Dildos may be seen in some examples of
ancient Greek vase art. Some pieces show their use in group sex or in solitary female masturbation.
One vessel, of about the sixth century BCE, depicts a scene in which a woman bends over to perform
oral sex
Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex p ...
on a man, while another man is about to thrust a dildo into her
anus.
They are mentioned several times in
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
' comedy of 411 BCE, ''
Lysistrata
''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...
''.
:LYSISTRATA
:''And so, girls, when fucking time comes… not the faintest whiff of it anywhere, right? From the time those Milesians betrayed us, we can't even find our eight-fingered leather dildos. At least they'd serve as a sort of flesh-replacement for our poor cunts… So, then! Would you like me to find some mechanism by which we could end this war?''
Herodas
The first column of the Herodas papyrus, showing ''Mimiamb'' 1. 1–15.
Herodas or Herondas (Greek: or - the name is spelt differently in the few places where he is mentioned), was a Greek poet and the author of short humorous dramatic sc ...
' short comic play, ''
Mime VI'', written in the 3rd century BCE, is about a woman called Metro, anxious to discover from a friend where she recently acquired a dildo.
:METRO
:''I beg you, don't lie,''
:''dear Corrioto: who was the man who stitched for you this bright red dildo?''
She eventually discovers the maker to be a man called Kerdon, who hides his trade by the front of being a cobbler, and leaves to seek him out. Metro and Kerdon are main characters in the next play in the sequence, ''Mime VII'', when she visits his shop.
Page duBois, a classicist and feminist theorist, suggests that dildos were present in Greek art because the ancient Greek male imagination found it difficult to conceive of sex taking place without penetration. Therefore, female masturbation or sex between women required an artificial phallus to be used.
Greek dildos were often made out of leather stuffed with wool in order to give it varying degrees of thickness and firmness. They were often lubricated with olive oil, and used for sexual practice and other activities. The Greeks were also one of the first groups to use the term “toy” in reference to a dildo.
Talmud
The Talmud's
Avodah Zarah Tractate records the interpretation which
Rav Yosef bar Hiyya gave to the Biblical reference of King
Asa of Judah
Asa (; el, Ασά; la, Asa) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the third king of the Kingdom of Judah and the fifth king of the House of David. The Hebrew Bible gives the period of his reign between 40–41 years. His reign is dated betwee ...
having "(...) deposed his grandmother
Maakah from her position as Queen Mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of
Asherah
Asherah (; he, אֲשֵׁרָה, translit=Ăšērā; uga, 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚, translit=ʾAṯiratu; akk, 𒀀𒅆𒋥, translit=Aširat; Qatabanian language, Qatabanian: ') in ancient Semitic religion, is a fertility goddess who appears in a ...
. Asa cut it down and burned it in the
Kidron Valley
The Kidron Valley ( classical transliteration, ''Cedron'', from he, נחל קדרון, ''Naḥal Qidron'', literally Qidron River; also Qidron Valley) is the valley originating slightly northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which then separate ...
". According to Rav Yosef, Maakah had installed "a kind of male organ" on her Asherah image "in order to fulfill her desire", and was "mating with it every day". Rav Yosef's words are quoted by
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
in his own interpretation of 2 Chronicles 15:16. Whether or not Rav Yosef was right in attributing this practice to the Biblical Queen, his speaking of it indicates that Jews in 3rd Century
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
were familiar with such devices.
Early modern period
In the early 1590s, the English playwright
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' ...
wrote a poem known as ''
The Choise of Valentines'', ''Nashe's Dildo'' or ''The Merrie Ballad of Nashe his Dildo''. This was not printed at the time, due to its obscenity
but it was still widely circulated and made Nashe's name notorious.
The poem describes a visit to a brothel by a man called "Tomalin"; he is searching for his sweetheart, Francis, who has become a prostitute. The only way he can see her is to hire her. However, she resorts to using a glass dildo as he finds himself unable to perform sexually to her satisfaction.
Dildos are humorously mentioned in Act IV, scene iv of Shakespeare's ''
The Winter's Tale
''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...
''. This play and
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
's play ''
The Alchemist
An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy.
Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to:
Books and stories
* ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho
* ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...
'' (1610) are typically cited as the first use of the word in publication (Nashe's ''Merrie Ballad'' was not published until 1899).
John Wilmot
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court. The Restoration reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodi ...
, the seventeenth-century English
libertine, published his poem ''Signor Dildo'' in 1673. During the Parliamentary session of that year, objections were raised to the proposed marriage of
James, Duke of York, brother of the King and heir to the throne, to
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...
, an Italian Catholic princess. An address was presented to
King Charles on 3 November, foreseeing the dangerous consequences of marriage to a Catholic, and urging him to put a stop to any planned wedding '...to the unspeakable Joy and Comfort of all Your loyal Subjects." Wilmot's response was
Signior Dildo (You ladies all of merry England)'', a mock address anticipating the 'solid' advantages of a Catholic marriage, namely the wholesale importation of Italian dildos, to the unspeakable joy and comfort of all the ladies of England:
:''You ladies all of merry England''
:''Who have been to kiss the Duchess's hand,''
:''Pray, did you not lately observe in the show''
:''A noble Italian called Signor Dildo? ...''
:''A rabble of pricks who were welcomed before'',
:''Now finding the porter denied them the door,''
:''Maliciously waited his coming below''
:''And inhumanly fell on Signor Dildo ...''
This ballad was subsequently added to by other authors, and became so popular that ''Signor'' became a term for a dildo.
In the epilogue to ''
The Mistaken Husband
''The Mistaken Husband'' is a Restoration comedy in the canon of John Dryden's dramatic works, where it has constituted a long-standing authorship problem.
Performance and publication
The play was first produced on stage by the King's Company a ...
'' (1674), by
John Dryden
''
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...
, an actress complains:
:''To act with young boys is loving without men.''
:''What will not poor forsaken women try?''
:''When man's not near, the Signior must supply.''
'' Signor Dildo'' was set to music by
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his length ...
for the 2004
biopic, ''The Libertine (2004 film), The Libertine.''
Many other works of bawdy and satirical English literature of the period deal with the subject. ''Dildoides, Dildoides: A Burlesque Poem'' (London, 1706), attributed to Samuel Butler (poet), Samuel Butler, is a mock lament to a collection of dildos that had been seized and publicly burnt by the authorities. Examples of anonymous works include ''The Bauble, a tale'' (London, 1721) and ''Monsieur Thing's Origin: or Seignor D---o's Adventures in London,'' (London, 1722). In 1746, Henry Fielding wrote ''The Female Husband: or the surprising history of Mrs Mary, alias Mr. George Hamilton'', in which a woman posing as a man uses a dildo. This was a fictionalized account of the story of Mary Hamilton (bigamist), Mary Hamilton.
20th century
Dildos are obliquely referred to in Saul Bellow's novel ''The Adventures of Augie March'' (1953): "....he had brought me along to a bachelor's stag where two naked acrobatic girls did stunts with false tools". A dildo called ''Steely Dan III from Yokohama'' appears in the William S. Burroughs novel ''The Naked Lunch'' (1959). The rock band Steely Dan took their name from it.
21st century
In 2017, dark web privacy researcher Sarah Jamie Lewis connected a vibrator (using reverse engineering) to Tor anonymity network, Tor, the anonymity network, in a proof of concept demonstrating the applicability of privacy technology after the fact.
Legal and ethical issues
The possession and sale of dildos is illegal in some jurisdictions, such as India.
Until recently, many Southern United States, southern states and some Great Plains states in the United States banned the sale of dildos completely, either directly or through laws regulating "obscene devices". In 2007, a federal appeals court upheld Alabama's law prohibiting the sale of sex toys. The law, the Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1998, was also upheld by the Supreme Court of Alabama on September 11, 2009.
There are even instances where dildos have been seized and burned at customs.
In February 2008, a United States federal appeals court overturned a Texas statute banning the sales of dildos and other sexual toys, deeming such a statute as violating the Constitution's 14th Amendment on the right to privacy. The appeals court cited ''Lawrence v. Texas'', where the Supreme Court of the United States in 2003 struck down bans on consensual sex between gay couples, as unconstitutionally aiming at "enforcing a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct." Similar statutes have been struck down in Kansas and Colorado. Alabama is the only state where a law prohibiting the sale of sex toys remains on the books.
Some Conservatism, Conservative Christians believe that the use of sex toys is immoral. The Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist preacher Dan Ireland has been an outspoken critic of such devices and has fought to ban them on religious and ethical grounds.
Ireland led an effort to outlaw dildos and other sex toys in Alabama to "...protect the public against themselves." Other Christian religious leaders such as Evangelical Lutheran Church of America pastor Heidi Johnson, who founded a student group on sexuality at Duke Divinity School, have a positive view of sex toys in Christian sexuality.
See also
* Artificial vagina
* Bread dildo
*Double penetration dildo
* Hegar dilators
References
Bibliography
* Haberlandt, M. 1899. "Conträre Sexual-Erscheinungen bei der Neger-Bevölkerung Zanzibars", ''Zeitschrift für Ethnologie'', 31: 668–670.
* Alexander Marshack, Marshack, A. 1972. ''The Roots of Civilization: The Cognitive Beginnings of Man's First Art, Symbol and Notation.''. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., McGraw-Hill. .
* Taylor, T. 1996. ''The Prehistory of Sex: Four Million Years of Human Sexual Culture''. New York: Bantam. .
* Vasey, PL. 1998. "Intimate Sexual Relations in Prehistory: Lessons from Japanese Macaques", ''World Archaeology'' 29(03):407–425.
*
External links
*
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