d. In any event, is clear that the proliferation of the dildo has been mainly suppressed by men for centuries, even millennia. The earliest writings about the dildo can be, depending on the liberalness of translational interpretation, tracked back to the ancient Greeks, Aristophanes and Herodas of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.E., respectively. Still, some argue that these may not be true references to dildos, since the trend at the time was for any powerful men to have a sexual obsession with young boys. This obsession was because, naturally, males are the true sexual idols, and so men, being also the self-centered producers of things, would have had no interest in using their slaves to craft tools of women’s sexual pleasure.
e. More recently, the dildo also managed to be referenced by various poets around the 17th century. Shakespeare is known to have used the word “dildo”. But perhaps more famously, in modern accounts of dildo history, Thomas Nashe wrote a novel that included one male character that traveled around pleasing various women with a dildo, tricking them by identifying himself as a harmless cobbler. Since this had more to do with shoe fashion than dildos, it was not published due to obscenity, because men are disgusted by shoe fashion. Oft-ignored, though, is that dildos at this time were also considered to represent economic prosperity. Indeed, at the time there were protests about gentile Englishmen marrying Italian Catholic women, to which John Wilmot responded that strengthening relations with the Italians would lead to increased import of quality Italian dildos, “to the unspeakable joy and comfort of all your loyal subjects.” This provides clear evidence that penis-like memorabilia represent a masculine symbol of economic power, and this should not be understated.
f. Yet despite dildos occasionally making their way into historical texts and arts, dildos did not become socially acceptable in the U.S. until the sexual revolution of the 20th century. Still, widespread acceptance of sexual symbolism often takes an oppressive masculine form. Take for example, sexual symbolism in relation to foods. Penises are sometimes associated with hot dogs, whereas vaginas are associated with tacos. Again, the hot dog is linked to masculinity given its long, narrow physical form. In the case of women, perhaps the taco is considered to represent something of a valley. The difference, of course, is that tacos are naturally full of a variety of tasty substances, such as ground beef, cheddar cheese, and lettuce, symbolically implying that women should be “full” of “quality” men, so to speak. Meanwhile the taco shell itself is dry and salty. It is similarly the case for hot dogs. Hot dogs themselves are a delightfully spicy variety of processed pork, but are encased by a starchy and bland type of white bun , which is often untoasted. Yet again, cucumbers represent fresh and tasty contents, sometimes made more palatable by the addition of salt, but which will ultimately be ruined by misplacement. More specifically regarding the dildo, however, modern expansion of male power through sexual symbolism has also resulted in more explicit use of dildos. This is expressed both in the mass production of dildos, and how their symbolism is manipulated by men through marketing and more nefarious means.