- For the Canadian town, see Dildo, Newfoundland and Labrador.
A dildo is a penis-shaped device intended for bodily interaction during masturbation or sexual intercourse.
Not all phallic objects are necessarily dildos. Phallic (i.e. penis-shaped) objects have been both worshipped and used as objets d'art throughout history, but dictionary definitions of 'dildo' require some physical, i.e. bodily, context.
Dildos have been used by humans for a very long time. Exactly how long is uncertain, but there is evidence of their use throughout the past 2000 years at least. It has been suggested that stone phallic batons found in the Gorge d'Enfer may have been used as Paleolithic dildos, although these artefacts are more often interpreted as spear-straighteners. A beautiful jade phallus, which may very well have been used as a dildo, and is reckoned by curators to be about 4000 years old, is currently on display in the Ancient Chinese Sex Culture Museum near Shanghai.
While there are no records of dildo use during the Ancient Mesopotamian or Egyptian civilizations, it is likely that the various Western phallic cults throughout history descend from the Egyptian ceremonies surrounding the worship of Isis and Osiris. In Egyptian myth, Set killed Osiris and scattered his body parts. Isis tried to reunite his body, but since his penis had been consumed in the River Nile, she used magic to fashion a new one.
Stone dildos have been recovered during archaeological digs. Dildos in one form or another have likely been present in society throughout history.
What constitutes a dildo
Various authors who have written about sex have their own ideas about exactly what is and is not a dildo. There is general agreement that a nonvibrating device, resembling a penis in shape, size, and overall appearance, is a dildo. Some authorities include vibrating devices. Some might exclude penis prosthetic aids, also sometimes called "extensions." Some might include penis-shaped items clearly designed with vaginal penetration in mind, even if they do not look very penile. Some authorities include devices designed for anal penetration (butt plugs), while others do not.
Materials Early dildos were made of stone, wood, leather, wax, or pottery. Of these, leather dildos with a fairly solid filler of cotton rag remain popular with some people.
Rubber dildos, usually incorporating a steel spring for stiffness, became available in the 1940s. This was a less than satisfactory arrangement because of the potential for serious injury from cuts from the spring, when the rubber finally cracked and came apart.
Later, PVC dildos with a softer PVC filler became popular. Most of the inexpensive dildos sold today are made this way.
Chrome-plated steel dildos have been made, and have a small following, especially in BDSM circles. They are not particularly comfortable because they do not flex.
In the 1990s, silicone rubber dildos became more popular, a trend that has continued as the price has come down. These are easier to keep clean and do not have the characteristic plasticy aroma of PVC. They were expensive when introduced but are now reasonably priced, making them an excellent choice for the first-time user. Silicone holds body heat well, and is an excellent conductor of vibrations, allowing users to hold a vibrator at one end.
More recently, dildos made of borosilicate glass (Pyrex) have come on the market. They are expensive, and inflexible, but have a following, thanks in part to the fact that they can be heated to body temperature in warm water, and sterilized via boiling.
Other materials have been used as well.
Uses Vaginal penetration is the obvious use. Dildos have fetishistic value as well, and some couples use them in other ways, running them over the skin during foreplay for example. If of appropriate sizes, they can be used as gags, or for oral penetration or a sort of artificial fellatio, or for anal penetration.
Dildos are used by people of all genders and sexual orientations, alone or with others.
Safety and health Some larger dildos are intended for visual appeal only and should not be used for penetration.
Dildos can transmit disease between users in the same way as other forms of sexual contact, and should not be shared among users where this is a concern. This is particularly true for dildos made of porous or micro-porous materials, such as most soft synthetics. On the other hand, smooth stainless steel or Pyrex dildos are easier to clean, non-porous, and can be more easily sanitized, either chemically or by boiling. Silicone dildos can also be sterilized via boiling. This is not meant to say that any unprotected dildo should be used by more than one person without being sanitized. An effective remedy is to use a fresh condom on the dildo.
Dildos without a flanged base or other mechanism to control the depth of insertion should not be used anally, because they can be difficult to retrieve without medical assistance.
Variations There are double-ended dildos of various shapes, intended mainly for use by two women or two men. However these can also be used by a man and a woman or by a woman alone for simulations insertion into the anus and vagina.
A dildo to be inserted in the anus is called a butt-plug. There are also double dildos, with different-sized shafts pointing in the same direction, used by women to accomplish both anal and vaginal penetration at once.
There are dildos designed to be worn in a harness, sometimes called a strap-on harness or strap-on dildo, or to be worn inside, sometimes with vibrating devices attached externally.
Strap-on dildos may be double-ended, in which case they are meant to be worn by women who want to experience vaginal pleasure while being the penetrating partner. They may be used in homosexual relationships, as well as in heterosexual relationships for the anal penetration of the male, in a kind of role reversal. In the latter case the act is known as Pegging.
There are dildos designed to be fitted to the face of one party.
There are inflatable dildos.
Dildoe is a very rare alternative spelling.
See also | 
Feeds |
Contact