Melampus, a popular healer in ancient Greek mythology, was summoned by the rulerof Argos during a peculiar crisis: all the city's virgins refused to participate in areligious ceremony and madly fled to the mountains. Melampus assured, "Noworries, found the runaway virgins, and subdued them with sneezewort. He thenencouraged them to have sex with the robust men of Greece, claiming it would maketheir bodies healthier. His outrageous suggestion was heeded and proved effective,the women found their restlessness cured after intercourse with the stalwart Greekwarriors. They returned to the city and resumed their lives in Argos.

This tale is one of the earliest records of female hysteria (a male invention) inWestern civilization, suggesting that women could become frantic from a lack of sex.The term "hysteria" wasn't coined until the 19th century, but Hippocrates wroteextensively about it, attributing nearly all female health issues to a "wanderingwomb" and proclaiming that sex could cure all women's diseases. Once satisfiedsexually, the womb wouldn't wander, and the woman wouldn't fall ill. Pregnancy wasan added bonus, but only for married women, virgins, widows, and single women hadto figure things out on their own. Hippocrates also believed that sex would widen awoman's birth canal, making her body cleaner and healthier, a notion somewhatsupported by modern research indicating that women with wider birth canalsexperience less menstrual pain. In short, Hippocrates advocated for women to marryand enjoy an active sex life for good health.

However, many doctors, like the ancient Greek Soranus and the Roman Galen,advocated for celibacy to maintain female health, highlighting the male-dominatedperspective in the medical field. lt took a millennium before women couldindependently draw concusions about sexual health. The first female doctor inmedieval Europe, Trotula of Salerno, emerged in the 11th century in ltaly, marking asignificant shift. Trotula was the first to write that "diseases of a sexual nature aresomewhat private for women and not suitable to discuss with male doctors who areaccustomed to dominating everything." She considered celibacy a cause of illnessand encouraged married women to have an active sex life, also recommending muskoil and mint to alleviate sexual desire.

Vibrators were not the only sexual toys on the market. In the 1890s, advertisementsfor "Dr. Young's ldeal Rectal Dilators"" began appearing in medical joumals. Made ofrubber and available in a set of four sizes ranging from 0.5 inches to 4 inches indiameter, these dilators were essentially Victorian-era anal masturbatorsmasquerading as medical devices. The advertisements claimed that the dilatorswere particularly effective for treating chronic constipation and hemorrhoids. Dr.Young's ldeal Rectal Dilators were sold from the late 19th century until the 1940swhen the manufacturing company sought to expand beyond the dilators' supposedconstipation-curing function. They boldly added a series of purported health benefitsto the packaging, claiming the dilators could cure everything from bad breath to tastedisorders. The instruction manual audaciously stated: "Don't forget to use yourdilator... without fear of using it too much."

The FDA disagreed, pointing out that the advertisements' claims of permanentlycuring constipation and hemorrhoids were inaccurate. in fact, dilators were the lastthing you'd want to use during a hemorrhoid flare-up. The FDA also considered that ifthe dilators were used too frequently or for too long, they could endanger health. Theinventory was eventually destroyed, and Dr. Young's ldeal Rectal Dilators werediscontinued.

Not long after the decline of rectal dilators, a psychologist with his captivatingphilosophy on "sexual energy" influenced Western culture: Dr. Wilhelm Reich. Heproposed a complex theory around a cosmic life force he called "orgone." Hebelieved orgone existed within all living objects and that many diseases arose fromblocked or insufficient orgone flow. The best method to obtain and share orgone?Sexual activity.