Rachel Maines

Last updated
Rachel Pearl Maines
BornJuly 8, 1950 [1]
Brookline, Massachusetts
Education
Known forWritings on the history of technology

Rachel Pearl Maines (born July 8, 1950) is an American scholar specializing in the history of technology. Since 2015 she has been a visiting scientist at Cornell University's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Her book The Technology of Orgasm won the American Historical Association's Herbert Feis Award. The book was also the inspiration for the film Hysteria and the play In the Next Room . [2] However, one of the main claims of the book has been debunked as false. [3]

Contents

Early life and career

Maines was born in Brookline, Massachusetts and received her BA in classics with a specialization in ancient science and technology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971. She received her PhD in applied history and social science from Carnegie Mellon University in 1983 with a doctoral dissertation entitled Textiles for Defense: Emergency Policy for Textiles and Apparel in the Twentieth Century. [4] Much of her early scholarship centered on the history of textiles and needlework. She was one of the founders of the Center for the History of American Needlework in Pittsburgh. [5]

She is married to Garrel S. Pottinger, PhD, a retired professor of philosophy, with whom she has written several books. [6] [7] They have a daughter, Rachel Amanda Pottinger of Acme, Washington.

Vibrator research

Publications

While researching needlework in late 19th- and early 20th-century women's magazines, Maines encountered what she would argue were highly circumspect advertisements for vibrators. The advertisements, she claimed, showed women using the electrical devices to massage their necks and backs but the accompanying text described the devices as "thrilling, invigorating" and promised that "all the penetrating pleasures of youth will throb in you again". Maines recalled in a 1999 interview, "I kept thinking to myself, this can't be what I think it is." [8]

She then began researching and writing articles on the history of vibrators, the first one for the newsletter of the Bakken Museum of Electricity in Life. According to Maines, the article caused her to lose her post as associate professor at Clarkson University in 1986 because the university was convinced that the nature of her research would drive away benefactors and alumni donors. Three years later she submitted a more detailed article, "Socially Camouflaged Technologies: The Case of the Electromechanical Vibrator", to Society and Technology, the magazine of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology. Initially, the IEEE thought the article was a joke perpetrated by the magazine's editors and that there was no such person as Rachel Maines. However, after checking all the internal citations and Maines's own background, the IEEE finally allowed the article to be published in the June 1989 edition of the magazine. [8] [9] Her book-length treatment of the subject, The Technology of Orgasm, was published in 1998 by Johns Hopkins University Press. Subtitled "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction, it won the American Historical Association's Herbert Feis Award and was the inspiration for Sarah Ruhl's 2009 play In the Next Room and Tanya Wexler's 2011 film Hysteria . [10] [11] The book also formed the basis for Passion & Power, a 2007 documentary by Emiko Omori and Wendy Slick. [12]

Controversy

Many of Maines's claims in The Technology of Orgasm have been challenged, notably by classicist Helen King and researchers at the Wellcome Collection. [13] [14] In 2012, King's article on Maines's misuse of classical material was awarded the Barbara McManus Prize of the Women's Classical Caucus. [15]

A central claim in Maines's book—that Victorian physicians routinely used electromechanical vibrators to stimulate female patients to orgasm as a treatment for hysteria—was challenged by Hallie Lieberman and Eric Schatzberg of the Georgia Institute of Technology. [16] Lieberman and Schatzberg failed to find references to this practice in Maines's sources. [16] In January 2020, Lieberman wrote an op-ed in The New York Times which drew further attention to Maines' role in promoting the latter widespread myth as fact. [17]

In an interview from 2018, Maines stated “I never claimed to have evidence that this was really the case. What I said was that this was an interesting hypothesis, and as [Lieberman] points out—correctly, I think—people fell all over it. It was ripe to be turned into mythology somehow. I didn’t intend it that way, but boy, people sure took it, ran with it.”. [18]

Other research

Maines's next book, Asbestos and Fire: Technological Trade-offs and the Body at Risk, was published by Rutgers University Press in 2005. [19] She returned to the subject of needlework and textiles in Hedonizing Technologies published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2009. The book traces the evolution of fiber arts from an industry to a hobby. [20] [21] Since 2015 Maines has been a visiting scientist at Cornell University's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. [4] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orgasm</span> Intense physical sensation of sexual release

Orgasm or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region characterized by sexual pleasure. Experienced by males and females, orgasms are controlled by the involuntary or autonomic nervous system. They are usually associated with involuntary actions, including muscular spasms in multiple areas of the body, a general euphoric sensation, and, frequently, body movements and vocalizations. The period after orgasm is typically a relaxing experience, attributed to the release of the neurohormones oxytocin and prolactin as well as endorphins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G-spot</span> Hypothesized anatomical detail

The G-spot, also called the Gräfenberg spot, is characterized as an erogenous area of the vagina that, when stimulated, may lead to strong sexual arousal, powerful orgasms and potential female ejaculation. It is typically reported to be located 5–8 cm (2–3 in) up the front (anterior) vaginal wall between the vaginal opening and the urethra and is a sensitive area that may be part of the female prostate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex toy</span> Sexual pleasure device

A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating. The term sex toy can also include BDSM apparatus and sex furniture such as sex swings; however, it is not applied to items such as birth control, pornography, or condoms. Alternative terms for sex toy include adult toy and the dated euphemism marital aid. Marital aid also has a broader meaning and is applied to drugs and herbs marketed to enhance or prolong sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic massage</span> Massage of erogenous zones for sexual arousal or orgasm

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Dodson</span> American sex educator (1929–2020)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female hysteria</span> Outdated diagnosis for patients with multiple symptoms of a neurological condition

Female hysteria was once a common medical diagnosis for women. It was described as exhibiting a wide array of symptoms, including anxiety, shortness of breath, fainting, nervousness, sexual desire, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in the abdomen, irritability, loss of appetite for food or sex, even sexually forward behavior, and a "tendency to cause trouble for others". It is no longer recognized by medical authorities as a medical disorder. Its diagnosis and treatment were routine for hundreds of years in Western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vibrator (sex toy)</span> Electric-powered sex toy

A vibrator, sometimes described as a massager, is a sex toy that is used on the body to produce pleasurable sexual stimulation. There are many different shapes and models of vibrators. Most modern vibrators contain an electric-powered device which pulsates or throbs. Vibrators can be used for both solo play and partnered play by one or more people. Devices exist to be used by couples to stimulate the genitals of both partners. They can be applied to erogenous zones, such as the vulva, vagina, penis, scrotum, or anus, for sexual stimulation, for the release of sexual frustration and to achieve orgasm. Vibrators may be recommended by sex therapists for women who have difficulty reaching orgasm through masturbation or intercourse.

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The Magic Wand aka the True Magic Wand,Magic Wand Original, Vibratex Magic Wand and Original Magic Wand) is an AC-powered wand vibrator. It was originally manufactured for relieving tension and relaxing sore muscles; however, it is most known for its use as a sex toy. Japanese company Hitachi listed the device for business in the United States in 1968. Sex educator Betty Dodson popularized its use as a vibrator and masturbation aid for women during the sex-positive movement in the late 1960s. It functions effectively as a clitoral vibrator, to bring people to orgasm. The wand is 12 inches (30 cm) long and weighs 1.2 pounds (540 g) with stimulation provided by its rubberized 2.5-inch (64 mm) head.

In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) is a 2009 play by Sarah Ruhl, published by Samuel French. It concerns the early history of the vibrator, when doctors allegedly used it as a clinical device to bring women to orgasm as treatment for "hysteria." Other themes include Victorian ignorance of female sexual desire, motherhood, breastfeeding, and jealousy. The play was nominated for three 2010 Tony Awards.

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<i>Hysteria</i> (2011 film) 2011 British rom-com film

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Joseph Mortimer Granville was an English physician, author and inventor known for having first patented the electromechanical vibrator for relief of muscle aches, exclusively for male patients. It was also claimed by Rachel Maines that the device was used to treat hysteria, by bringing women to orgasm, but her work is not historically accurate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Dollfus</span> French industrialist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emiko Omori</span> American cinematographer and film director

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Hallie Lieberman is an American writer and a sex and gender historian. Her first book, Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy (2017) traces the history of sex toys in the USA from the 1950s to the present. Lieberman teaches science and technology journalism at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Pelvic massage was a gynecological treatment first recorded as being used by doctors in the 19th century. An early practitioner was the Swedish Major Thure Brandt (1819–1895), whose method was described in the New York Medical Journal and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

References

  1. ↑ CV of Rachel P. Maines
  2. ↑ Cornell University Faculty Profile for Rachel P. Maines
  3. ↑ Lieberman, Hallie (January 23, 2020). "(Almost) Everything You Know About the Invention of the Vibrator Is Wrong". The New York Times . Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Cornell University. Dr. Rachel P. Maines. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  5. ↑ Sexton, Sharon (12 December 1975). "Needle Art Reveals History", p. 22. Mansfield News Journal via UPI. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  6. ↑ [Crater Lake National Park (N.P.), General Management Plan: Environmental Impact Statement, p. 265, middle, right side]
  7. ↑ Historical and Scientific Resources on Crater Lake National Park, 392 pages, 17 March 1998, prepared by Rachel P. Maines and Associates under contract for the National Park Service. Ithaca, NY
  8. 1 2 Kling, Cynthia (14 August 1999). "Objects of Desire". The Independent . Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Upson, Sandra (1 August 2007). "Tracing the Technology of Pleasure, Rachel Maines's quirky research project makes it to the big screen". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Wypijewski, JoAnn (30 May 2012). "Playing Doctor". The Nation . Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  11. ↑ American Historical Association. Herbert Feis Award Recipients. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Straus, Tamara (22 February 2008). "Review: 'Passion & Power' touts vibrators". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  13. ↑ King, Helen (2011). "Galen and the widow: towards a history of therapeutic masturbation in ancient gynaecology" EuGeStA: Journal on Gender Studies in Antiquity, 1 pp. 205-235. Retrieved 08 August 2018.
  14. ↑ Jaffray, Sarah (15 August 2015). "Hysteria" Retrieved 08 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "Awards, Revue EuGeStA" . Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  16. 1 2 Lieberman, H., & Schatzberg, E. (2018). "A failure of academic quality control: The Technology of Orgasm," Journal of Positive Sexuality, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 24-47.
  17. ↑ Lieberman, Hallie (January 23, 2020). "(Almost) Everything You Know About the Invention of the Vibrator Is Wrong". The New York Times . Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  18. ↑ Meyer, Robinson; Fetters, Ashley. "Victorian-Era Orgasms and the Crisis of Peer Review". Archived from the original on Feb 1, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  19. ↑ Knowles, Scott Gabriel (January 2007). "Review: Asbestos and Fire: Technological Trade-Offs and the Body at Risk by Rachel Maines". Technology and Culture , Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 175-177. Retrieved via JSTOR 26 December 2016 (subscription required).
  20. ↑ Fischer, Suzanne (7 November 2011). "The Technology of Socks in a Time of War, A historian traces the history of humble footwear in the trenches". The Atlantic . Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  21. ↑ Gelber, Steven M. (Summer 2010). "Review: Hedonizing Technologies: Paths to Pleasure in Hobbies and Leisure by Rachel P. Maines The Business History Review , Vol. 84, No. 2, pp. 400-402. Retrieved via JSTOR 26 December 2016 (subscription required).
  22. ↑ Cornell University Faculty Profile for Rachel P. Maines
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