The unsettling tale of how medieval doctors treated women is likely familiar to many. They believed that "hysteria" stemmed from a woman's pent-up sexual energy, which they sought to relieve through masturbation, aiming to induce what they termed "hysterical paroxysm" or orgasm. Initially, this was done by hand, but the advent of the vibrator in the 19th century provided a more efficient solution.

This narrative, however, has recently come under fire from journalist Hallie Lieberman, who aims to revise this uncomfortable historical account. She argues that doctors never engaged in the practice of masturbating patients, specifically taking issue with historian Rachel P. Maines' influential work, The Technology of Orgasm.

Lieberman critiques Maines' book harshly, claiming it reflects a failure of scholarly rigor. I find myself siding with the historian, so let's delve deeper into this debate.

Lieberman asserts that “manual massage of female genitals was never a routine medical treatment for hysteria.” Yet, countless first-person accounts and established medical texts from that er