When you write historical erotic romance, you eventually find yourself asking a few questions. Has sex really changed over the ages? Did they use toys too? Well, I think the toy question is both fun and helpful in my writing. Besides, inquiring minds want to know. Right? I am starting with the most straight forward of toys and then we’ll see what we dig up.

Dildos. Apparently they have been around for over 30,000 years! Holy masturbation Batman! That’s a lot of self pleasuring.

The first dildos were made of stone, tar, wood and other materials that could be shaped as penises and that were firm enough to be used as penetrative sex toys. Chinese women in the 15th century used dildos made of lacquered wood with textured surfaces.

Of course, nowadays you can get them in all shapes, sizes, materials, and colors. So if you were wondering if that historical erotic romance you were reading was correct? The answer is yes!

Next up the vibrator! Wow, poor medical doctors had to manually perform pelvic massages for hysterical women before the invention of the vibrator. Can you imagine? So in 1870 they came out with a steam powered vibrator. Yikes! Needless to say it was quickly replaced by electrically powered devices all for the sake of treating us hysterical women. Fortunately things progressed but not before women were subject to such things as tables with holes in them that allowed a vibrating ball to stimulate her pelvic area. For many years a woman could get her trusty vibrator from her Sears and Roebuck catalog. Now she can get them from her trusty adult online store or local purveyor. Like dildos, they come in all shapes, sizes, materials, and colors.

Around 500AD Chinese men were using a single Ben Wa ball during intercourse to increase pleasure. Women soon discovered that pairing them up was pleasurable and helped strengthen the vaginal muscles.

Cock rings surprised me. I figured surely this was a fairly modern invention, but no. They’ve been around a long time too. According to one site I found, they’ve been around since about 1200AD. Wow! Back then they were made of goat eyelids. *Shudders* By 1600 they were being made of ivory and had begun including extensions designed to stimulate the clitoris.  Again, they now come in all kinds of colors and materials from metal to silicon.

So there you have it! Four of the most common sex toys and a quick survey of their history. Hard to believe, but none of these are new! Now the question is…if you’re a writer how are you going to incorporate one of these into your next story?