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Tuesday September 6, 2011

 
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Game Changer: The Vibrator

It was the third invention to ever receive a patent. An electrical device ostensibly designed for medical treatment for women in Victorian England. It became known as The Vibrator and revolutionized understanding of women's sexual needs and sexuality.

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Part Three of The Current

The Vibrator - Tanya Wexler

We started this segment with the sound of a vibrator ... a "rabbit" to be precise, though there are hundreds of different varieties. Today, the vibrator's role as a sex toy is well understood. But in its early days, its application was a bit more ... well, clinical. And some people who have looked at the evolution of the vibrator say it was a game-changer in our understanding of women's sexuality.

Next week, a movie called Hysteria is expected to create a buzz... when it debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival. It stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy and it's billed as a romantic comedy that examines the early "treatment" of hysteria. But it probes further... dealing with the mores of the Victorian era and the invention of the vibrator.

Tanya Wexler is the Director of Hysteria and she joined us from New York City as part of our project Game Changers.

Hysteria will debut on September 15th at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Vibrator - Rachel Maines

While the film Hysteria might bring the history of the vibrator to a larger audience - its development and role in our lives has long been an academic study for our next guest.

Rachel Maines is a Visiting Scholar of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University and the author of the book The Technology of Orgasm: Hysteria, The Vibrator and Women's Sexual Satisfaction. We reached Rachel Maines in Ithaca, New York.

Rachel Maines book The Technology of Orgasm inspired a play. We aired a scene from In The Next Room, a play by Sarah Ruhl.

The Vibrator - Museum

The history of the vibrator is also being kept alive at the Bakken Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Behind closed doors it has a collection of antique vibrators - these implements are not on display for everyone... The Current was invited in for a private tour. Juliet Burba is the Curator of Instruments at the Bakken Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Last Word - Anthropocene Promo

And we ended the program today with a word about a documentary The Current's Chris Wodskou is working on about a game changer on a geological scale. Chris got the last word this morning.


Other segments from today's show:

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