Contact us about our Antique Vibrator Museum, images, and interviews with Dr. Carol Queen.
Women's Health
Women's Health Features Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Collection
Date: May 2012
Title: "The Evolution of Vibrators"
Author: Brittany Risher
Summary: Women's Health looks back at the history of vibrators through Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum photo collection.
"The Wide, Wacky World of Vibrators
Vibrators have come a long way since they were invented in the 1880s as a tool for doctors. They weren't playing naughty nurse -- physicians believed that paroxysm (that's a fancy old medical term for "orgasm") cured women of hysteria, which was marked by symptoms such as insomnia, irritability, and a tendency to cause trouble. We doubt it worked, but we'll take a prescription for more Os any day! From the painful-looking to the absurd, here is a quick look at how (very) personal massagers have evolved, with photographs from Good Vibrations"
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MSN
Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum featured on MSN
Date: April 7th, 2012
Title: "Vibrator museum displays toys that kept grandma happy"
Summary: MSN features the opening of Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum, including images from the rare and bizarre collection.
"By all means take in Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf on your next visit to San Francisco, but do not take the family to the newest tourist attraction: the Antique Vibrator Museum. It opens April 12, and you might not find it on any visitors' map -- it's in the back of the Good Vibrations shop on Polk (heh, heh, heh) Street. Sexologist Carol Queen is the curator and says the display "contextualizes the vibrator's role in society and highlights how our attitudes around sex and female pleasure have evolved." And also if there might be any kitchen uses for some of the devices. Admission is free. If you do go, please, no Coit Tower jokes."
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Huffington Post
Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum featured on Huffington Post
Date: April 7th, 2012
Title: "Vibrator Museum Organizers Hope To Create A Buzz"
Author: David Moye
Summary: Huffington Post features the opening of Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum, including images from the rare and bizarre collection.
"San Francisco's newest museum is sure to cause a buzz when it opens April 12 -- because it's devoted to vibrators of the past. The Antique Vibrator Museum is designed to showcase kinky collectibles from the late 1800s to the 1970s and, in the process, the history of health and sexuality between 1890 and 1970, according to curator and sexologist Carol Queen."
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VICE Magazine
VICE Magazine gets a Buzz from Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum
Date: June 2012
Title: "Vibrators Through the Ages "
Author: Darren Wee
Summary: VICE Magazine conducts a sassy interview with Good Vibrations Staff Sexologist on the myriad of wonders in the Antique Vibrator Museum.
"Against all odds, San Francisco did not have a museum devoted to antique vibrators until last month. This absurd oversight was corrected by Carol Queen, resident sexologist at the Good Vibrations sex-shop chain and author of both scholarly journal articles regarding sexuality and straight-up (but not necessarily straight) erotica. As you can see, Carol does not fuck around when it comes to fucking—especially when it involves apparatuses that you stick inside yourself or someone else. So it's no surprise she has opened a physical space that celebrates one of the most important technological breakthroughs of the past millennium: the vibrator."
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The Advocate
Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum featured in The Advocate
Date: May 18, 2012
Title: "The First Digital Revolution: Lesbian-Directed 'Hysteria' Hits Theaters"
Author: Diane Anderson-Minshall
Summary: The new Hollywod romantic comedy Hysteria features vibrators from Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum, and The Advocate explores the bizarre history one of our favorite inventions.
"The vibrator, in fact, was one of the earliest patents. The San Francisco premier of Hysteria was held last week in conjunction with the grand opening of Good Vibrations’ Antique Vibrator Museum. Showcasing collectibles from the 1800s and onward, the Vibrator Museum tells a fascinating story of history, health, and sexuality. Curator and staff sexologist Dr. Carol Queen said the new exhibit “contextualizes the vibrators’ role in society and highlights how our attitudes around sex and female pleasure have evolved. It really gives us an appreciation for how far both society and technology have come, and it’s fitting to house the exhibit in the original female-friendly adult retail store.
The turn-of-the-century vibes seen in Hysteria were a far cry from the modern technology but paved the way for today's pleasure, which is why Good Vibrations, the legendary queer-run sex toy company co-sponsored the San Francisco premiere of Hysteria. Still with all the hubub this spring over sex toys, one can’t help but question whether the history of the vibrator is somehow yet to be discovered."
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Business Insider
Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum named one of the Coolest New Businesses San Francisco
Date: May 2012
Title: "Coolest New Businesses San Francisco"
Author: Barbie Davenporte
Summary: Business Insider identified Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum as one of the coolest new businesses in San Francisco.
Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum
What it is: Antique vibrator museum
Why it's cool: The museum, lead by Staff Sexologist Dr. Carol Queen, showcases vibrators from as far back as the 1880s. As one can imagine, the museum delves into the history of today's most popular sex toy. At their inception, vibrators were used to treat women with hysteria. But today, they're marketed as massagers, according to the museum."
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