Monday, June 30, 2008

Something For Him

Something For Him


Courtesy of our sex expert and educator, Ducky Doolittle - Check out her For Your Pleasure Blog

Sleeves make a perfect gift if you are going out of town and have to leave your guy home alone. Along with a little bottle of lube it says, “Go for it! Find some pleasure in that hot body of yours!” Sleeves can be a super fun way to give him that blowjob experience and still make out with him at the same time. (Fun!) And sleeves can simply be a safe way to experience a new sensation when you are looking to shake up your sex play. Sleeves rule!Partinglips

  • Use lube to amplify the slipperiness.
  • Inside, depending upon which one you buy, you’ll find nubbies, ribs or smoothness. All of them are built to stretch but provide a certain tightness that is different from penatrating a partner, but is sure to please.
  • The outside of your sleeve can have one of many shapes. It could be realistic like the lips of a woman's labia, or the kissy lips of a face, or tight anal sphincter. Your sleeve could be in the shape of a flower or a simple tube. Some people will want a realistic shape while others will want something more abstract to pop their penis into. And some even come with a vibrator attached. It really is just about person preference.
  • If you have kids (or snoopy in laws) in your house you may want something less realistic in your nightstand. Then if someone finds it you can say swear it’s just one of those Water Wiggles toys. You know, the ones we all had as kids! The one’s we all obsessively stuck our fingers in until we were old enough to buy an actual sleeve!

Anyway, I encourage you to explore the world of sleeves. When shopping for your sleeve, look for length, tightness, inner texture, and ask how to clean each sleeve. (The easier it is to clean, the better, as you will use it more often.) Your For Your Pleasure rep is sure to have samples available for you to see and hold in your hand. It’s always best to check out what they have in stock, because you never know what you are buying unless you can see it (out of it’s package) in advance. The one pictured here is called Parting Lips. It is 4.5 inches deep and it’s one of For Your Pleasure’s July Hostess Specials. One of the many perks of hosting a party is free stuff and deep discounts. So get your friends together, host a party and get toys!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Ducky Doolittle was on Mike and Juliet Show this morning!



And we have a video clip!! Ducky Doolittle is the resident sex educator for For Your Pleasure. This is the second time I've seen her on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. This time she was talking about "mismatched libidos". What do you do when one partner is supercharged for sex and the other is like "not tonight, hun!"? What if it happens frequently? Ouch...

You can catch a clip of the segment here:
http://www.mandjshow.com/videos/mismatched-libido-continued/

Being that Ducky is Manhattan-based, we are so lucky (and honored) to have her at our New York City FYP meetups every 3 months (quarterly). If you are interested in our parties or becoming an Independent Business Associate (IBA) with For Your Pleasure, let me know and you can come to the next meetup to learn from Ducky, myself and others about sex toys, the business and parties. You'll have a great time! :)

Inspirational and Motivational Quotes

Successful people are simply those with Successful Habits - Brian Tracy

Today I will take out my Hostess Binder and my Rep Lead Binder and make a HABIT of keeping it updated and full. I will follow up with calls and emails. I will keep it updated EVERY DAY. I will become a robot to create these habits so they become second nature. I will post sticky notes on my desk that instruct me to do it! And I will DO IT. It shouldn't be that hard, right? :)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Rich Jerk - BE WEARY

Oh dear, really how FAR are people going to go with "Internet Businesses"? I mean, what more is there out there to see? What's next?

I had a GOOD few chuckles reading through this "opportunity" that tells you nothing of the product (what you're selling). Yes, Rich Jerk...I'm laughing AT you and I know you don't care. I also know your don't exist. You aren't a real person, but merely a facade of what men (and few women) dream of as the "ultimate life". Poor souls who give into such scams and think it's really so easy and quick to make money. I must admit, the content is amusing the read. Though I really don't have time for entertainment right now.

When you don't see a product upfront, don't go for it. The Rich Jerk could be anything from buying little classified newspaper ads, to selling mailing lists, to who-knows-what. When you come across something like this simply type it's name into google, see what comes up. In the case of the Rich Jerk, you get the website first and a whole bunch of complaints after. Type rich jerk scam and you get worse.

Lefthanded Soldiers

I just read this. May it uplift you and give you comfort when you are experiencing or have experienced hard times. We all go through them, they ARE a part of life and a part of business. Are you going to give up or will you battle upwards?

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Lefthanded Soldiers by Gary Eby

Lefthanded Soldiers is dedicated to all of those who have been wounded in life ... whether physically, emotionally, spiritually, or financially and yet, against all odds, have risen from the devastation to become a champion!

There are few things in life that move me like seeing someone overcome adversity. I believe that there are great men and women from all walks of life, who, because of some "event" or series of events, have pretty much given up. Somewhere between brokenness and bitterness many have laid down their proverbial swords and surrendered. They've been wounded. Lefthanded Soldiers teaches us that when we are wounded … when our "right arms" have been hurt … that we can become Lefthanded Soldiers rather than allowing our circumstances to condemn us to a life of "what-ifs."

How many great leaders are no longer leading? What will our society suffer because the leadership we need is somewhere hurting rather than rallying the troops? What great sickness is raging because the doctors and nurses who can make a difference are in need of healing themselves? How many great sermons will not be preached because an overworked and underpaid Pastor had a "humpty-dumpty" fall and is allowing condemnation to keep him out of service? Great public servants, teachers, volunteers, entrepreneurs, and politicians, all over the world are waiting ... waiting for someone to care enough to put their arms around them and say ... "Let's get back into the battle of life again! We need you!"

I believe that great leaders can inspire the "wounded warriors" among us that they can "engage" in life again and they can be winners!

In the real world … most of the time ... It's the size of your mess that determines the size of your message. It may not be pleasant to hear, but, the size of your testimony is due, in large part, to the size of your test. Where would Abe Lincoln have been without the Civil War? Where would John Kennedy have been without the Cuban Missile Crisis? David needed Goliath to become King. You cannot not wear a victor's crown without having fought a few battles! You can't sing before you talk. You can't run before you walk. You can't have a message until you've had a mess … and you can't have a testimony until you've had a test! Let's look at these lyrics to a song that I wrote.

The victor's crown only goes to those who've been in war.
Eagles can't stay in their nest if they want to soar.
Sitting on the side lines you'll never be your best.
You can't have a testimony 'till you've had a test.

God won't send thirsty people to an empty well.
Heavens cup sure is sweeter once you've tasted hell.
There's no wine until the grape has gone through the press.
You can't have a testimony 'till you've had a test.

Out of this understanding "Lefthanded Soldiers" was born. I want to teach you ... to teach others that "Change is a door that can only be opened from the inside!"

The willingness to change can be inspired by others but change itself is a personal choice. It is "Choice" not "Chance" that determines your destiny.

Lefthanded Soldiers is a call for the wounded to "get back into the battle of life!"

Lefthanded Soldiers is a call for leaders to build an army of renewed, revived warriors. Let's teach them that they can make a decision to "engage" in life again. Let's teach them that they can make a difference in the world. They can be "Lefthanded Soldiers!"
Reproduced with permission from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine - http://www.jimrohn.com

Monday, June 23, 2008

Inspirational and Motivational Quotes

“Successful people form the habit of doing what failures don’t like to do. They like the results they get by doing what they don’t necessarily enjoy.”
- Earl Nightengale

With this being said, I will get all the things done on my to-do list that I LEAST like to do...FIRST. That came out weird. Okay, hmmm. Out of all the things on my to-do list, I'm going to first tackle the things that I DON'T want to do. There we go, that's what I meant.

Friday, June 20, 2008

A Passion Parties Rep's FYP Story - REBUTTAL

I have reposted a public statement made by a Passion Parties consultant who joined For Your Pleasure, then went back to Passion Parties again. She sure has a lot to say about her time at For Your Pleasure. I would like to clear the air on a number of things said. If what she wrote wasn't being read by potential consultants deciding between companies, I probably wouldn't have an issue...but alas, I do!!

Also, watch out for my next post with a number of positive testimonials from former Passion Parties consultants who are now very happy with For Your Pleasure.

MY RESPONSES ARE IN BOLD and ITALICS and ORANGE!

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"Thinking About Leaving PP for For Your Pleasure? Read My Story"

"Hello to whomever is reading this. My name is Kelly Messerole. I am a stay at home mom too two little boys, Devin who is 3 and Ethan we just welcomed into the world in Jan 2008. I am married to a great, but pain in my ass, Marine named Chris."

"So you are wondering why you are reading this?"

"Well, I am going to tell you about my time with Passion Parties to For Your Pleasure and back to Passion Parties! Why would someone do that you may ask. I am going to tell you! So sit back and really take in what I have to say. I do not bad mouth any company, I only state facts!"
I have sat, taken it in and though it’s not badmouthing in your eyes, it’s biased, opinionated and personal. I notice way too many misconstrued ‘facts’ to not create a rebuttal. I also see some lies. Allow me to clear the air.

"I started with Passion Parties in Sept 2005. It was my goal to hit all 3 fast tracts and make ED before my 1 year. I did it and was so very excited. I built up a team of 50 girls over my time with PP and at the time believed only PP was out there. I did know there were other companies, but they did not even hit my chart.
Well, over my two years with PP, we started to loose girls to For Your Pleasure. I lost one of my own and I started to think, what the heck is this! I started to look into it and after awhile, "thought" it was better. So, in Aug 2007, I left PP and all my girls to go to FYP."
Sounds like PP is for you! You know the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”? You obviously should have never switched!


"What could make me want to do this? The lady I signed up under stated great things would happen with FYP. That I would make more money, build teams faster, book more parties, etc. It all looked so real b/c she even put it all on paper for me to see. My first month with FYP, I did top recruiter. At that point, I only signed up 5 girls! That started to get me to think, this is so not PP. We sign up more then 5 a month!"
That’s what I love about FYP. It’s not saturated. It’s easier to reach top sales/recruits when there are less contenders. That means lots of perks. Many times in the hundred of dollars (in addition to sales bonuses) or laptops and such. FYP reps sign up more than 5 a month too. Last months newsletter showed someone signed 12. Another 9. Another 8. It varies from month to month. Don’t believe that FYP’s top recruiters for any given month sign only 5. It’s simply not true.

"So weeks started to pick up and I started to think even more. While I was doing parties, I was not getting ANYTHING like I was with PP. My sales went WAY down, parties took so much longer. FYP has 1200 products! I was with them for 10 months and STILL don't know all of them. When I would try to get women to book, they would look at my website and then say either it was not for them and or never call me back."
Why didn’t you just make a ‘party menu’ like so many other FYP reps make? That way you can pick and choose what you want to show and not even have to show the catalog! As far as the website, we CAN make our own. I know many reps (including myself) that only use the FYP site for the shopping cart. Otherwise you could’ve created your own or had any of our designer/consultants make one for you for super cheap!

"A lot of their products are not well named and they show naked women on their covers. Even their books show what the package will look like."
What is your definition of “well-named”? Is it turning a clitoral sucker into a “tulip”? Or pussy pal (omg, she said it!) , an oral sex simulator, into a “gentle stroker”? (Btw, that thing is anything BUT gentle…meow) At FYP, you get what you see. You get a toy in protective casing. Many times in a plastic mold in a cardboard box with design, information and specifications. At Passion Parties, you get your toy removed from it’s case where I question the use of gloves by warehouse workers. Then the toy is put into a clear plastic bag. I don’t see a plastic bag as being too durable. Not only that…Passion Parties removes package extras like lube and toy cleanser samples that the manufacturer has provided. Some high end toys even come with a manufacturer’s warrantee, which Passion Parties removes too.


"Over my 10 months, I was a Reg Dir. Manager. I was making 50% at my parties, but I was not getting any, so that did not matter. I had over 40 girls and was getting checks from them, but they were not getting as many parties either. Our monthly newsletters show that only a handful of consultants did over a $1000 party. I think out of all of them, we had maybe 20 or so. The top number of consultants signed each month was 5-10."
This is very hard to compare as Passion Parties has tens of thousands of reps. In comparison, FYP does well for the amount of reps we have! I’m also pretty impressed that you built a team of 40 people in 10 months!! I did about the same, maybe more. Recruiting is easy with FYP!

"So, after my 10 months with FYP, I called my rep up and told her I was not happy and I wanted to come back. I LOVE my sponsor, Ms Danalynn. I felt like the time I was gone, I had lost one of my close friends. She welcomed me back with open arms and I kid you not, 1 week with PP and I booked 7 parties!"
Like I said, you belong with Passion Parties and that’s okay. It seems as if you should have never left in the first place. Each company is not for everyone, know what I mean?

"Women were happy that I left FYP b/c they felt it was far from classy and b/c all the products were just too much. Now that I am back with PP, I am getting 1-2 parties booked A DAY! I have 4 girls that might sign up and I feel like I am ready to take back off and get my Executive Director title back! I am where my heart is telling me to be!"
That’s awesome! (see above) The same thing happened to me when I switched from Passion Parties to For Your Pleasure. Your customers may have felt your negative energy towards FYP. Maybe you even said things. You are their rep, of course they are happy! I know being from the New York metro area, my customers were like “THANK GOD” when I had more to show them after I switched.

"I wanted to put some points out there that might make FYP sound better then PP and I am going to write facts on why it really does not compare. The lady I signed up under gave me these points to try and get me to sign up with her."
Be aware your wording makes some of your statements below lies as opposed to facts.

"~FYP ships to customers: Great, so does Passion Parties!"
Right. But there is a difference. Passion Parties only ships to each individual at $9 a pop. FYP offers guests the choice to ship to the hostess for $4.95 or ship to themselves for $7.95. All backorders and defects are paid for and taken care of by FYP as well.

"~FYP ships the products in the same package to save on money: I like how PP spends the extra money to repackage for us. FYP consultants tell others that it
does not bother the customer when they get a vibe with a naked women on it. You know what, it does bother women! Who wants to see the toy they are about to use with a porn star putting it in places they are about? I am sorry, but that is my toy and let me do what I want with it and not flash back to the package."
Very few of the original packaging has a pic of a porn star putting it in places they are about. Actually, I barely understand this statement. Are they about to put it somewhere? Because there are no pictures where they actually are (penetration). Sure there are breasts and butts on some packaging…Hello!! Welcome to the Sex Toy industry! LOL I don’t think customers take their boxes and put them on display either, they simply go in the garbage. And like I said before, my customers appreciate the protective packaging with the extras included (samples and manufacturer’s warrantee) rather than a little plastic baggie.

"~FYP offers a website: So does PP. PP websites are so much nicer then FYPs as well."
Sure, PP’s visuals are a little more advanced, but PP’s site is more expensive! $24.95 per month? FYP is $14.95 per month. Ah, but with FYP you can design your own website. You can literally have and totally own your own personal website aside from FYP’s. With PP, this is forbidden, even a team site! And having your own website can make a huge difference in many reps. Have I mentioned you can also sell on eBay? A HUGE no-no with PP.

"~FYP runs credit cards for consultant: PP offers that as well. FYP does the same thing in holding the left over money till bonus checks come out. So they really don't have a heads up on us in anyway with this. If you don't want your money to be held, get a merchant account and get your money right away. FYP does not let you do that! You have to pay $10 every month even if you don't use them."
Ouch! A lie and a misconception! This one hurts because PP’s credit card system is so expensive!! 3.X%, right? With FYP you do pay $10 per month for unlimited transactions! Running $1000 (from sales, taxes and shipping fees) in credit cards will cost you $30 with PP. Have a really big month? $2000 will be at least $60 out of your pocket straight to PP! Ouch Ouch Ouch!
Merchant account fees are not much less. You lose either way: pay by PP or pay by merchant acct. $10 per month flat is an awesome deal. Here is the LIE in this statement though. “FYP does the same thing in holding the left over money till bonus checks come out”. Please Note: this is a LIE!! You CAN use your ‘left over’ funds towards your next party, supplies, products, etc. So, please don’t say FYP holds the money till bonus checks. This is not true. Also the $10 per month (whether you run credit cards or not) is what keeps a rep active. No sales quotas! Just $10 per month.

"~FYP pays you up to 50% on parties: You know, companies that are offering this are not doing well with their business. PP pays you up too 40% and they do that b/c they do not want to put their business in the hole. Also, 50% is nice if you were getting lots of parties. You do not get any where as many as you do with PP and if you do, your sales are no where as close to what PP were. (Now I will state every state is different, I am only stating off what I found my team to do and what my "sponsor at the time" said her team of 100 was doing) Also, to get to 50%, you have to recruit like crazy! (1 other girl does not get you to the top like they say it does)"
“Companies that are offering 50% on parties are not doing well.” Ouch, another lie. And how do you know they are not doing well? I still can’t see how at the beginning of this whole thing you say that you are “stating the facts” then go on to say something like THIS. You don’t necessarily have to recruit like crazy to get the 50%. A few good reps under you could bring you there. One girl will not give you 50% buying discount. Not sure where you got this info from.

"~FYP pays more levels deep in your downline: Over all, this works out just about the same as PP. While FYP goes 2 levels deeper, it does not put you that far over what PP has to offer. They might have us beat in this part, but my checks were no bigger with FYP then they were with PP. PP were much larger at times b/c we were getting parties!"
Let’s consider the top positions in both companies.
Executive Director with Car and Home Bonus: 5% + 5% + 5% = 15 + $400 + $1000
Platinum Presidential Director: 10% + 5% + 4% + 3% + 2% + $1700

Can you see the difference?

With $36,000 in team sales (and with FYP team sales are infinite levels including your own!) I will make at least a $500 management bonus, which is more than the passion parties car bonus. With $40,000 in team sales I make $750 management bonus on top of my team commissions! Yeah!

"~FYP says you can move up with only 1 team member: Now this is very misleading. You can move up, but you will not get anywhere close to the top with 1 team member. You have to recruit just like you do with PP."
Again, who says you can go to the top with 1 team member? That’s odd since the top level requires multiple Directors. And I think your words are misleading. FYP doesn’t say this. Show me on FYP’s site or in the manual or who at home office told you this. FYP does not say this. I can’t speak for other reps however.

"~FYP gives everyone leads: YA RIGHT! They don't have enough leads come in to give! I was with them for 10 months and got 1 lead and that lead was 200 miles away! My sponsor told me I would get them when I hit a level, I hit that level and passed it and never seen anything. At least with PP you know you are going to get leads when you hit the level. (Not saying you should depend on leads. They are nice when you get them, but word of month will bring in more parties then leads)"
“YA RIGHT?” Sounding hostile here, rather than “just stating the facts”. This really isn’t such an important factor. The point is that FYP gives out party leads according to zip code and locality. FYP doesn’t have the media coverage and advertising that Passion Parties pays for. FYP prefers to let the reps make more money. Personally, I enjoy making more money than counting on home office to advertise and hire PR Firms. I take some of that money, use it towards my own form of advertising and get multiple leads per day.


"~FYP has kit specials: You know, this did get a lot of women to join b/c FYP would offer a really great sign up special. BUT, they say you have to do a $1000 within 60 days! For someone who is new to the company, this can be hard. I had a girl on my team who still owes money for her kit b/c she was only $4 short of the $1000. So now she owes FYP $250!"
Why would she not place a small order to make her $1000? Did you advise her to do so? That's really unfortunate! FYP has this qualification in place to avoid duds, kitnappers and those joining just for the discount. This pushes you to strive from the beginning. After qualifying, there are no sales quotas.

"~FYP, as stated above, asks you to have 4 parties book, they want the name/phone number of that host and they give you 60 days to get in $1000. PP NEVER asks for you to give them your host info nor do they expect you to do a $1000. NOW, doing a $1000 is AWESOME! BUT, not everyone comes into this business wanting to do it full time. PP gives every women/man the chance to do what they want with their business."
The $1000 in 60 days is the push. Should someone not be able to do this, they CAN get an extension. $1000 in 90 days shouldn’t be all that hard, right? After that there are no sales quotas. FYP is not the only company that has starting requirements such as this.


"~FYP offers 1200 products for their customers: Like I said before, I was with them for 10 months and I still don't know 1/2 of the book. PLUS, my parties took forever and my sales were low b/c women would find something that was like what I showed, but 1/2 the cost. Also, I ordered all kinds of their products, and a lot of them were not what I would pay for."
The kits come with a business manual and a product manual. The product manual is very informative and explains a lot about our product line. Having 1200 products allows reps to create a ‘party menu’ with what they want to show. MANY reps use the party menu system. And it works wonders!

"With my months with FYP, I got to talk to a few ladies and their number 1 goal is to sign up reps with other companies. FYP thinks their company is on top and they have reps who sit and only sign up girls with PP. Why they do this, I have no idea. I can say it is not fair business and it is kinda trashy. Also, if they were so on top, why do they need consultants from other companies? Why not sign up from parties?"
For Your Pleasure has a huge transfer-in rate. And not just with Passion Parties, though PP takes the cake. So why not take advantage of that. Remember how frustrated I was at PP, I wish I had been exposed to FYP earlier! Whoever the one would be to expose me, could've recruited me!
So if one of these ladies that you speak of had a rep lead at a party, they wouldn't sign them, because they only sign PP reps? I highly doubt anyone twiddles thumbs waiting for a PP rep to join their team.
BTW, You are actually the first I've heard of that transfered out to Passion Parties, aside from another conservative woman.

"To me, it is showing that these consultants can not sign up women outside of the business. They have to come after those in the business and try to make their business look better. Don't be fooled! I am not a pro at everything, but my business I am and I know for a fact that FYP does not stand in Passion Parties level."
You know for a FACT that FYP does not stand in Passion Parties level? Sorry, but that’s not a fact, but an opinion. To ME, Passion Parties doesn’t stand to FYP. I was with PP for 2 years before switching in October 2006. I can’t deny my drastically increased income.


"Women showed it by booking after I left, by wanted info on my business after I left, and by my past sales!"
That’s YOU and YOUR customers. We all aren’t you and don’t have your customers. You project attraction towards that market in YOUR area. Everyone’s way of business, areas and lifestyle is different!

"I could keep going on and on about FYP/PP. But I am going to stop here. Everyone needs to listen to their heart and do what they feel is right."
If you look at the title of everything you wrote, it sounds like persuasion: “If you’re thinking of leaving PP for FYP – READ THIS!!” So you are telling everyone to listen their heart, yet you state lies, opinions as facts and misconceptions about your experience and knowledge of FYP.

"I love what I do and I strive to keep women feeling good about themselves. With FYP, I did not feel as if I was doing that. I felt that I was promoting something I did not believe in. If you have any questions, please feel fee to write me and or call. I don't care if you are or are not on my team. I am not going to talk you into staying, I am only going to talk to you as a business partner."
You’re already talked people into staying by this statement. That’s the point right? I just created this rebuttal because your fellow passion consultants are using your statements as a tool for recruiting. Which I don’t believe is fair because it’s opinionated and personal. One big opinionated testimonial, which should not be the basis of someone’s decision to join a company.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Audiobooks - Find me someone with life please?!

So I downloaded some audiobooks to listen to on my iPod while I clean. You know...the big names like Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy.. I found topics like Time Management, Get Things Done, Organization. These are things I need to achieve my 30 day goal of creating an organization habit. This is a step towards my breakthrough goal of "To comfortable work my FYP business in 3 consecutive hours per day excluding phone calls".

So I'm listening and listening and listening, cleaning, starting to feel anxious, uncomfortable, I start eye-rolling. Jim Rohn, you have GREAT stuff on paper...great reads. But the audio is HORRIFIC! I feel like I"m listening to a speech on factory work from the 50's! That voice, the vocabulary. I swear, when I get network marketing-famous, I'm going to create CDs that are like "Allllright Then! Are you ready to ROCK?!?! Are you ready to get organized people?!? YAY! Let's do it." You know, Belinda Elsworth is like this. She's FULL of energy and spunk. Someone please give me some wealth, personal growth and the like speakers who are full of life and energy... any suggestions?

Friday, June 13, 2008

I'm starting to book up August!

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It's about that time. The month after convention is always a HUGE party month! (FYP reps know why...) And I'm going on a booking blitz!

Who wants in first?

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

History of Vibrators

Great article about the History of Vibrators! By Vivienne Parry.

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article4032852.ece

From the moment that the steam-powered “Manipulator” appeared in Britain in 1870, the story of vibrators is every bit as thrilling as the devices themselves, reflecting science, medicine, design, technology and social history. I am this week giving a lecture at the Cheltenham Science Festival on the science and history of vibrators, and through my research I have come to realise that, above all, the vibrator story reflects men's changing attitudes towards women.

It starts hysterically with “womb furie”. Hippocrates thought the womb wasn't a fixed item but wandered about the body looking for trouble. At the moment of orgasm, it gripped the windpipe causing the breathless panting so familiar to watchers of When Harry Met Sally. From earliest times there was a recognised women's complaint characterised by nervousness, fluid retention, insomnia and lack of appetite. Hippocrates thought that a blockage in the womb was the cause of it, hence it was called hysteria from the Greek for womb (hysteros). Galen, a Greek physician, claimed it was caused by sexual deprivation, particularly in passionate women, and was noted in nuns, virgins, widows and occasionally in married women whose husbands were not up to the job.

Massage to “paroxysm” was the ticket. “Arising from the touch of the genital organs required by the treatment, there follows twitchings accompanied at the same time by pain and pleasure...from that time she is free of all the evil she felt,” proclaimed Galen.

The trouble was that doctors regarded this treatment as numbingly tedious. Bringing a woman to paroxysm by hand could, understandably, take for ever. It was a job that required stamina and not a little patience. And, significantly, because it took so long, it wasn't lucrative enough for doctors who needed to see many patients to achieve a reasonable income.

And masturbation (by either sex) was regarded as wrong. It was not only a moral affront but something that was thought of as constitutionally dangerous, enfeebling mind and body. “Women [with hysteria] should not resort to rubbing,” said Avicenna, the Muslim scholar and founder of early modern medicine. It was, he advised, “a man's job, suitable only for husbands and doctors”.

A vibrating sphere did the business

By the late 19th century spas had introduced water treatments to do the job more efficiently. A scary French pelvic douche from about 1860 involved what looks like a high-pressure fire hose, trained on the clitoris. It claimed to induce paroxysm in less than four minutes. If marriage wasn't delivering the goods, rickety trains, rocking chairs or horse riding were advised for nervous women as gynaecological Dyno-Rodding techniques. But if the 2.20 from Tooting failed to oblige, there was no option but recourse to a medical man. Given that many in the medical profession thought that as much as 75 per cent of the female population were “hysterical” and that it was a chronic disease which could be relieved but not cured, there was a pressing need for cheaper, less cumbersome devices. By the mid-1870s, steam power had been explored. “The Manipulator” was a table with a cut-out area for the woman's pelvis. A vibrating sphere driven by a steam engine then did the business. But like the hydrotherapies, it was not suitable for the doctor's treatment room. It was a niche market poised for exploitation.

The first British vibrator was manufactured by Weiss in the early 1880s and it had several interchangeable “vibratodes”. It was battery-driven, but as electrification swept the world, devices rapidly appeared that were powered by street current. They delivered vibrations at the rate of 1,000-7,000 pulses a minute. There was every sort of variation: portable, floor-standing and, oh joy, the wondrous Carpenter vibrator which hung from the ceiling, looking like a device familiar to those who visit Kwik Fit to have their tyres changed.

These devices were operated by doctors, which medicalised the process and made it entirely proper. But more importantly, the medical paradigm for millennia had been that women's sexual pleasure involves penetration. A bit of rubbing by a doctor was perfectly acceptable because it didn't involve putting anything in the vagina. In fact, there was far fiercer controversy when the speculum (a metal device that is put into the vagina to allow a clear view of the neck of the womb) was introduced. The other point that is often raised is why, if paroxysm was the sovereign cure for hysteria, women were not taught how to masturbate and cure themselves.

In the early 20th century, everything in the garden was rosy until electrification made vibrators available in the home. They were, incidentally, electrified ten years before either the washing machine or Hoover. The first home machines were awesomely large, with a big box attached to the mains. One imagines that they were also awesomely noisy. But then they were miniaturised (relatively speaking). Hand-cranked versions became available, which presumably must have been distressingly prone to running out of power long before satisfaction had been achieved.

With names like Dr Macaura's Blood Circulator or the fabulously titled Veedee Vibrator, these were common devices. The Science Museum has many. “People never expect that the Science Museum has over 40 examples of vibrators,” says Katie Maggs, its assistant curator of medicine. Indeed. The product leaflets of these machines claimed they cured not just hysteria but also deafness, polio and impotence. No doubt dropped arches, halitosis and dandruff were in there somewhere, too. These machines were advertised everywhere. Good Housekeeping ran a “tried and tested” on vibrators in 1909, claiming they brought a glow to the face.

From medicine to high street accessory

Once this “treatment” had escaped from the medical arena and was available for home use, doctors stopped using it. Moreover, although vibrators were still widely advertised before the First World War, the advent of silent films, some of which portrayed them being used sexually, discredited them. Vibrators then disappeared from view completely for the best part of 50 years, although they continued to be offered, labelled as “neck massagers” in catalogues.

By the 1980s, shops such as Ann Summers were offering devices in lurid flesh tones. They were largely designed for penetration and bought by men in back streets. How things have changed. Now the devices are smaller, all colours, largely designed for clitoral use and bought by women on the high street.

But look at the latest Ann Summers device, the iGasm. Its various ‘tickler' attachments make it look startlingly similar to something illustrated in the Army & Navy catalogue of 1905. There is nothing new in the world.