Dr. Carol Queen is a Sexologist and curator of San Francisco's one and only Antique Vibrator Museum. In the video, she teaches us about how vibrators have been marketed to people throughout time, how the museum obtains its artifacts, and the technology behind the vibrators in their collection. Queen explains that in the past, vibrators were sold to women in order to "cure hysteria." They were almost never sold as outright sex toys, either, and the packaging only hinted at what the purpose of the vibrator was.
Queen explains that the most exciting way the museum adds to its collection is when people donate antique vibrators to them. She says that shy people often come inside with a brown paper bag, drop it off at the counter, and then make a run for the door. You can see the oldest vibrator in their collection at 3:17, which is hand-cranked and pre-electric. What a fascinating museum and Q and A!
From YouTube:
In this episode of Infrequently Asked Questions, we go behind the scenes and back in time with Dr. Carol Queen, Sexologist and curator of the Antique Vibrator Museum in San Francisco in order to answer questions like: How have vibrators been marketed to women throughout history? How did the museum acquire the vibrators in the collection? Which vibrator in the collection has the most novel design?
