Buzz
Subtitle: a stimulating history of the sex toy
By: Hallie Lieberman
Edition: First Pegasus Books hardcover edition.
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 359
ISBN-13: 9781681775432
Subjects: Sex toys; Sex customs; History
Description: "A riveting history that tells the story of sex toys from ancient phalluses to 21st century vibrating rabbits. [Lieberman] focuses on the period from the 1950s through the present, when sex toys evolved from symbols of female emancipation to tools in the fight against HIV/AIDS to consumerist marital aids and finally to mainstays of today's pop culture. Lieberman's history is populated by vivid and fascinating characters, including Ted Marche, an entrepreneurial ventriloquist and dildo maker; Duane Coleglazier, the gay ice cream truck driver who founded the first boutique sex-toy store; Dell Williams, ex-communist advertising maven who created the feminist sex toy store; Betty Dodson, whose workshops helped 1960s women discover vibrators; and Gosnell Duncan, a paraplegic engineer who invented the silicone dildo. And these personal dramas are all set against a backdrop of changing American attitudes toward sexuality, feminism, LGBTQ issues, and more"--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-314).
Table of contents: title: Selling sex toys; title: From cavemen to Kinsey; title: The ventriloquist and his rival; title: Fake vaginas, female masturabation, and porno empires; title: NOW, sex, and women's liberation; title: Duncan's dildos; title: Inflatables; title: Female masturbation; title: A garden of sex toys, condoms for all, and Sturman's War; title: Doc Johnson and sisterhood; title: Dildo debates; title: GRIDS and good vibes; title: Meese and masturbation; title: The government vs. everyone; title: 21st-century toys.