From Cosmopolitan · Brit Dawson · · 2m
Monster's 19th-century sex toys were sort of real
Netflix's Lizzie Borden season features vintage vibrators that actually existed, though the show takes creative liberties with their history.
In brief
Netflix's Lizzie Borden season features vintage vibrators that actually existed, though the show takes creative liberties with their history. The Veedee vibrator was real and marketed for various ailments in the 1900s, while the Chattanooga's existence is murkier and likely based on myths about early vibrators…
Monster turns to Lizzie Borden
Ryan Murphy's new season dramatizes the 1892 axe murders allegedly committed by Lizzie Borden. The show uses a theory that she killed her parents after being caught with the family maid.
The Veedee vibrator was real
In the show, Bridget introduces Lizzie to a wooden Veedee vibrator as a cure for period pain. The device actually existed and was marketed in 1903 for massage, nerve stimulation, and treating various ailments.
“curative vibration, vibratory massage, nerve stimulation, and blood circulating”
Veedee claimed to fix everything
An 1903 Veedee manual promised relief from headaches, colds, digestive complaints, flatulence, baldness, wrinkles, and double chins. It wasn't marketed as sexual, though massage was touted as a hysteria treatment.
The Chattanooga is murkier
Monster shows a steam-powered Chattanooga as a medical massager that thrusts back and forth. Its real existence is unclear, though a 1999 New York Times article mentioned one costing two hundred dollars in 1904.
Chattanooga stories sound too wild
One source claims the Chattanooga was two meters tall and steam-powered, requiring two men to shovel coal. This sounds dubious, and the device may be based on an unverified photo of George Taylor's invention.
Early vibrator myths are common
Many stories about vibrators being invented for female hysteria are likely myths. The Chattanooga in Monster probably blends real 19th-century devices with fictional narratives about them.
“a lot of the stories about early vibrators being invented or used for female hysteria are likely myths”
Sex toys barely matter in Monster
The vibrators don't play a major role in the show and are never actually used. They're mostly window dressing for the drama Murphy and Brennan are creating.
Lizzie's barn alibi remains mysterious
Some true crime theorists suggest Lizzie couldn't have killed her parents because she was in the barn. She claimed to be there for twenty to thirty minutes, but what she was actually doing remains unknown.
“20 minutes or possibly half an hour”
In short
The Veedee vibrator was real and marketed for various ailments in the 1900s, while the Chattanooga's existence is murkier and likely based on myths about early vibrators.
