Thankfully, a more diverse dildo advancement came around the same time, says Lieberman, who wrote an article on the fascinating history. In 1965, 37-year-old Gosnell Duncan was welding the bed of a truck in his basement when the vehicle fell on top of him. Duncan survived, but became paraplegic and unable to get an erection. At a disabilities conference in 1971, Duncan heard speakers discussing their challenges with having sex. He then asked people at the conference if they’d be open to using a dildo. The answer was yes. From there, he set out to improve upon preexisting dildos for the sake of people with disabilities.
Many of the dildos sold during the '60s and '70s were made of irritating materials or were made from rubber that wasn’t very heat-resistant. After the conference, Duncan contacted General Electric, which was making silicone at the time. They connected him to their chemist, who worked with Duncan for nine months until they developed a formula safe for human insertion.
His next step was to get public opinion on the silicone dildos. In the 1970s, dildos were a point of contention in the feminist movement, since the objects were modeled after men, and therefore use of them meant supporting the patriarchy for some women. Plus, there was still a stigma around masturbation, especially for women, even with the “Free Love” movement at the time.
Duncan decided to visit Eve’s Garden, the first national feminist sex-toy store. The owner, Dell Williams, polled customers at her store and revealed to Duncan that most women didn’t want hyper realistic penises. Instead, they wanted dildos which were much more subtle. From his research, Duncan created the “Venus,” a dildo that came in pale pink or brown, and looked less like a penis and well, more like a simple but effective sex toy. And not only has that made it easier to market to anyone who wants to use dildos, but it also makes it easier to sell in stores.
“One real sign of progress is that CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart all carry sex toys,” Lieberman says. “But what’s interesting is they don’t carry...dikk-shaped looking sex toys, like with head and veins and all that.”
Decades since both Duncan and Marches, dildos have only become more variable and customizable. And the stigma around sex toys is slowly lessening over time too. And that means easier to access sex toys, and the possibility of having even better sex.
The Amazing History of the Dildo, According to Sex Toy Historians