Rachel Maines’ book is a history of medical mal(e)practice regarding
female sexuality. The work began in the 1970s when Maines
‘a very angry feminist’ was conducting her thesis on
the history of needlework. Whilst trawling through women’s magazines
from the early 1900s looking for trends in needlework
patterns she came across the following advert: ‘Aids that every woman
appreciates’. Next to ‘Electric radiator—fine for the
cold bathroom, bedroom …’ was ‘Portable vibrator—neat, compact with
three applicators’. On completion of her thesis and
after finding 11 ‘musculo-skeletal relaxation devices’ from the
beginning
of the 20th century at the Bakken Library of
electricity in Life, in Minneapolis, Maines began her research into the
history
of the vibrator.
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