Medieval chastity belt mythContemporary historians suspect that many of the chastity belts allegedly from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are actually counterfeits created by the Victorians.However, it is undeniable that chastity belts were made at one time, given the number of medieval examples on display around the world. But the chastity belts we see in museums may well be counterfeits, reproductions or, created at another time, much later than tradition says.
Rather than being put in place in the Middle Ages, they were probably created in the late eighteenth or nineteenth century. According to Classon, these devices were most likely created as a joke, were never intended to be taken seriously, and were never used. In fact, the Victorian belief in the dangers of masturbation led to the creation of numerous patents for actual chastity belts for men this time.
While chastity and fidelity have been widely valued virtues throughout history, women's bodies have most likely never been kept under lock and key at any time. If the belief that women should remain chaste is not a myth, the idea that chastity belts were used to physically confine them probably is.
The history of the male chastity cage
Today, we know that self-pleasure is a healthy and completely normal process with many benefits ranging from improving your mood to easing headaches and menstrual cramps, which is why we sometimes masturbate.
Soft silicone chastity cage
Nocturnal emission, releasing semen while you sleep due to erotic dreams or the friction of your blankets, was considered the main symptom of a deadly (and entirely fictitious) disease called "spermatorrhea".In the 18th century masturbation was highly frowned upon. People thought that it distracted young children, especially boys, from productive life. It was thought that frequent masturbation would shrink the penis and testicles, decrease sperm quality and even cause infertility.
So what did doctors, scientists, inventors and religious leaders do to limit the worldwide masturbation "epidemic"?
They were simply inspired by the female chastity belts that already existed since the Middle Ages, or even antiquity according to certain sketches. The myth tells that they were used to maintain the fidelity of women while their man was at war.
The ancestors of the chastity cage
A trip to the American, British and French patent offices in the 1800s reveals more than a dozen separate devices patented for the purpose of preventing young boys from touching themselves or even getting erections.
In this collection of barbaric torture-like instruments are even the "ancestors" of the modern chastity cage!
Some of these male chastity devices were simply preventative in nature. Others were meant to cause pain, humiliation and sometimes public shame! Some were inspired by ancient armor completely covering the sex, often leading to infection or disease because it could no longer be properly cleaned.
Here are some examples of very real and very uncomfortable anti-masturbation tools used in surprisingly recent history:
The Jugnum Penis
The Jugnum penis, also known as the spermatorrhea ring, was primarily designed to prevent wet dreams and nighttime emissions.
Chastity belt Jugnum penisIf the wearer developed an erection during the night, the spikes would penetrate their penis, forcing them to wake up and force them to calm down so the pain would stop.It consisted of a single spiked ring placed around the base of the penis just above the testicles. Modern scholars and historians of sexuality have described it as "a tool halfway between a penis ring and a bear trap.
It is unclear who invented or patented the Jugnum penis, or in what year, as several competing designs were available on the market at the time.
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