The Vibrator Was Normal - Then America Made It Obscene

The Filthy History of Being Normal follows the paper trail behind the things society taught us to feel weird about.

Sex. Relationships. Bodies. Pleasure. The products we use, the laws written around them, and the people who decided what was—or wasn’t—acceptable.

This isn’t a show built around hot takes. We dig into court cases, patents, newspaper archives, advertising, legislation and the real people behind the history to understand how yesterday’s moral panic became today’s idea of “normal.”

Episode 2: The Vibrator

Vibrators were openly advertised to American consumers more than a century ago. So how did they become something that had to be hidden, disguised and sometimes even outlawed?

We follow the story from the rise of Anthony Comstock and federal obscenity enforcement through the changing vibrator industry, a 2003 Texas arrest involving the sale of a vibrator, Dame Products’ 2019 fight with New York’s MTA over advertising, and the strange legacy behind phrases like “novelty item” that still appear on packaging today.

It’s the history of a sex toy—but it’s also a story about commerce, censorship, shame and who gets the power to define normal.

Hosted by Jason Class.

New episodes weekly.

See the video version on Youtube.

Sponsorship inquiries: TheAwkwardPillowTalkPodcat@Gmail.com