History of Chastity Belts

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Today, there are plenty of sex toys that people use. Many of these play into people’s fantasies and are more of psychological devices than physical ones. One such toy is a chastity belt.

As is often the case, the information we have on the history of chastity belts is lacking. Their origin is not entirely clear. For instance, some people believe these items (which are more of a type of metal underwear than a belt) date all the way back to Roman times, when prostitutes wore them. Others say they originated in the Middle Ages when crusaders put them on their wives before leaving for the Holy Land. Still, if we look at the written references to chastity belts available to us, this could all well be just a 15th-century joke that got out of hand.

How It Began

In 2007, a historian Albrecht Classen wrote a book “Medieval Chastity Belt: A Myth-Making Process.” In it, he discusses a book from 1405, written by a certain Konrad Kyeser. That book is the first written source that mentions chastity belts, and it also contains a drawing of it. However, if you look at the book as a whole, it’s filled with jokes, and it’s fairly likely that the drawing was satirical. Additionally, there’s a 15th-century picture in the British Museum that depicts a man with donkey ears (cuckold) leaving with a key while his wife was going off with another man that had a spare key.

There are also some religious works that mention these belts. However, many believe the authors mentioned them metaphorically, rather than giving them a practical use.

Who Wore Chastity Belts?

Again, when we talk about this, we mustn’t neglect the fact that most chastity belts that are in museums date back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Classen states that people widely believe in the myth, thanks to our willingness to think that the Middle Ages lacked civility. Anyhow, as we’ve mentioned, the most common belief was that soldiers used it on their wives. Men, especially during crusades, would leave for several years, and women would wear chastity belts in order to stay faithful. Furthermore, they would also be in place to help women avoid any potential sexual assaults. As a result, many belts had sharp spikes on them to even further deter potential molesters.

Another possible use of chastity belts as a form of punishment. If there was a woman who’s been unfaithful or particularly liberal with her sexual adventures, people in power would put her in a belt. That way, her “evildoing” would come to an end, and she would no longer be able to feel pleasure. And to make things worse, these belts were extremely uncomfortable and could even cause physical damage to the wearer.

In some rare cases, men were the ones to rock the belt in order to prove their loyalty to their loved ones.

Modern Day Chastity

Today, outside of the bedroom, people often use chastity belts as a means of a joke (just look at Robin Hood: Men in Tights). However, as the nature of these garments were initially sexual, they’ve maintained their significance in the 21st century.

Nowadays, people are more and more willing to explore sexually. Consequently, chastity belts (their modern versions, that is) are a part of some people’s sex lives. That is especially true for those into BDSM. For instance, male chastity is common among submissive males who wear them in order to prove loyalty to their dom. That way, the dominant partner gets to control when the other one is allowed to masturbate (i.e., feel pleasure). Nowadays, male chastity belts usually come with a cock cage, which prevents an erection. For those into BDSM, that is a way to hand control of your pleasure over entirely to the dominant partner.

All in all, it’s relatively unclear whether medieval chastity belts really served the purpose we today believe they did. Many historians and experts on the subject think that these belts were not as common as we may think. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop people from developing chastity fantasies and employing the myth in their sex lives. Lastly, isn’t great that we don’t have to settle to ancient technology just to satisfy our chastity fantasies? We can easily order modern and stylish cages from LoVeGasm and immediately start the fun.