Pelvic congestion?

[tgray]

I heard that dildos were invented to relieve “pelvic congestion” and women had to see a doctor for a treatment. Please advise.

[Shaky_Jake]

Actually, there is some truth to this - vibrators, not dildos to be exact.

In fact, there is a whole book written on this.

From the Amazon.com review:

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
For centuries, women diagnosed with “hysteria”–a “disease paradigm,” in Rachel P. Maines’s felicitous phrase, thought to result from a lack of sexual intercourse or gratification–were treated by massaging their genitals in order to induce “paroxysm.” Male physicians, however, considered the practice drudgery, and sought various ways of avoiding the task, often foisting it off on midwives or, starting in the late 19th century, employing mechanical devices. Eventually, these devices became available for purchase and home use; one such “portable vibrator” is advertised in the 1918 Sears, Roebuck catalog as an “aid that every woman appreciates.” The Technology of Orgasm is an impeccably researched history that combines a discussion of hysteria in the Western medical tradition with a detailed examination (including several illustrations) of the devices used to “treat” the “condition.”
<snip>

I haven’t read the book (yet), so I can’t vouch for the author’s scholarship.

Over at the snopes MB there was a discussion which touched on this. You can read the archive here. The OP in that thread was insulting, with questions about whether women still go to GYNs for this reason, is PID just “congestion”, and other such slop. Much of the responses focused on “attitude adjustment”.

Shaky Jake