Dildos
From Encyclopedia of Sex and Sexuality
Dildos are artificial penises that come in varying lengths and circumferences to provide different sensations of fullness to the vagina or anus. While there is no reliable data on who uses them and where, sex educators and sexologists believe that they are mostly used by women, who insert them into the vagina to assist in masturbation. They are also used by women to have simulated coitus with another woman or to perform anal intercourse by entering a male partner with a dildo. In these two instances, the woman uses a specially designed harness that holds the dildo securely in place.
Historically, dildos have been made of a variety of substances including gold, silver, and ivory, or less expensively, of wax and wood. They were already mentioned as far back as the plays of Aristophanes in ancient Greece, among them Lysistrata. In one old Chinese painting, three women intently examine the wares of a dildo salesman.
Some older dildos were hollow and allowed the passage of a warm liquid to simulate ejaculation. Some modern dildos are battery powered and are known as vibrators. The most common, and claimed to be the best dildos available today, are made of silicone rubber and are available in shops specializing in sex toys for women. Many women find these silicone dildos to be erotically satisfying because of their smooth and supple texture. They retain heat well and can be easily cleaned or sterilized in boiling water. In her book Sex For One, Betty Dodson, an authority on female masturbation, suggests that an effective dildo can be carved from a cucumber and provides the reader with instructions. Some sex therapists have recommended the use of smaller dildos as dilators in cases involving vaginismus or painful intercourse. Another medical use of dildos was as a prosthetic device for men with penile injuries. These were strapped on to the man’s body with a harness and permitted him to simulate coitus by entering his partner with the dildo instead of his penis. Recently, the dildo as a penile prosthesis has been replaced by the penile implant.
Although dildos have a long history throughout the world, they are mostly used as an adjunct to other types of sexual excitement such as a vibrator or digital masturbation. In the words of one catalog from a women’s specialty shop: “…we don’t think of dildos as imitation penises. We designed them to be tactually and aesthetically pleasing. They’re sexual accessories, not substitutes.” In general, apart from their use as prosthetics, dildos are treated more as a novelty than as a major source of sexual satisfaction.
