During the late 1800s through the early 1900s, physicians administered pelvic massages involving clitoral stimulation by early electronic vibrators as treatments for what was called female hysteria. Until the early 1900s, physicians used female hysteria as a diagnosis for women who reported a wide range of complaints and symptoms unexplainable by any other diagnosis at the time. According to historian Rachel Maines, physicians provided pelvic massages for thousands of years to female patients without it being considered erotic or sexually stimulating. After the Western Industrial Revolution, physicians began using electric machines in medicine, including the medical vibrator, which researchers theorize was used to more efficiently bring women to a hysterical paroxysm, the former medical term for a female orgasm. Until the 1920s, physicians used vibrating massagers as medical devices for treating hysteria at a time when doctors diagnosed women with hysteria as a sweeping diagnosis.

In 1981, Frank Addiego and colleagues published “Female Ejaculation: A Case Study” in The Journal of Sex Research. In the article, the authors find that female ejaculation, or the expulsion of fluid from a female’s urethra during or before orgasm, is a legitimate phenomenon that can occur when one stimulates an area in the vaginal wall that the team names the Gräfenberg-spot. According to the authors, at the time of publication, many individuals believed that if a female expelled fluid during orgasm, the fluid was urine and, thus, improper bladder control caused the expulsions. However, in “Female Ejaculation: A Case Study,” the researchers explain that they collected samples of one woman’s orgasmic fluid and compared its chemical composition to that of her urine, and they found that the two fluids were different. In their case study, Addiego and colleagues not only provide evidence that female ejaculation is a legitimate physiological response, but they also support the idea that females who experience it are not defective, which helped to shape social views and future research on the female orgasm.

In 1950, physician and researcher Ernst Gräfenberg published “The Role of Urethra in Female Orgasm,” in the International Journal of Sexology. The article was one of the first to mention the area in the anterior, or front, vaginal wall colloquially called the G-spot. In the article, Gräfenberg acknowledges that many females experience problems related to sexual satisfaction, and he argues that researchers and physicians of the time did not know enough information about the anatomical mechanisms and localization of the female orgasm to help them. He claims that there is a distinct zone in the anterior vaginal wall along the urethra that plays a critical role in female sexual pleasure, making it important for physicians to consider when treating females’ sexual problems. Though researchers are still debating the structural existence of the G-spot as of 2022, “The Role of Urethra in Female Orgasm” was one of the first publications to explore the anatomical elements of the female orgasm, and it led to further research about female sexuality that has helped many individuals to better understand female pleasure.

The intent of this project was to design, build, and test a female-intended vibrator that incorporates elements of haptic feedback, biomimicry, and/or micro robotics. Device development was based on human-centered user design elements and the study of physiological arousal, as sexuality and sexual functioning are a part of a human’s overall assessment of health and well-being. The thesis sought to fill the gap that prevents data collection of a female entire sexual response from initial arousal to final orgasm.