Gynecology Sexual health

Chastity belt Wikipedia

A chastity belt is a locksmithing|locking item of clothing designed to prevent sexual intercourse and possibly masturbation. The purpose may also be to protect the wearer from rape or temptation. Devices have been created for males and females.

The use of such devices against another's will would now be considered abusive in most western societies. (But see consent (BDSM) for "consensual non-consensuality")

The term "Chastity belt" is also used metaphorically in modern English to mean an overly protective device or practice. The term carries a derisive connotation and may also imply that the subject is antiquated.

Chastity belts are surrounded by myths and folklore, the most common of which is that they were first used by crusade|crusading knights on their wives. It is not known whether or not these referred to actual physical devices; their use is also not likely because the crude metalworking of the times would have made it difficult to produce a belt safe for long-term wear.

Image:Chastity belt Bellifortis.jpg|thumb|225px|right|The Bellifortis sketch.

The first known mention of chastity belts in the West is in Konrad Kyeser von Eichst??tt's Bellifortis, a book describing the military technology of the era. In it is included a rough drawing, accompanied by the Latin text: "Est florentinarum hoc bracile dominarum ferreum et durum ab antea sic reseratum." ("These are hard iron breeches of Florence|Florentine women which are closed at the front.")

In 1889, a leather-and-iron belt was found by A. M. Pachinger???a German collector of antiquities???in Linz, Austria in a grave on a skeleton of a young woman. The woman was purportedly buried sometime in the 16th century. Pachinger, however, could not find any record of the woman's burial in the town archives. The belt itself, along with most of the rest of Pachinger's collection, has been lost.

Two belts have been exhibited at the Mus??e de Cluny in Paris. The
first, a simple velvet-covered hoop and plate of iron, was supposedly worn by
Catherine de' Medici. The other???said to have been worn by Anna_of_Austria_(1601-1666)|Anna of Austria???is a hinged pair of plates held about the waist by metal straps, featuring intricately etched figures of Adam and Eve. There are other such belts at the :de:Germanisches Nationalmuseum|Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg and the British Museum in London. Most have been removed from display because the authenticity of these belts as medieval devices has since been called into question.

Image:Chastity_belt_Heyser_0.png|thumb|225px|Excerpt from United States|US Patent http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=995600.WKU.&OS=PN/995600&RS=PN/995600 995600 by Jonas E. Heyser. The entire patent document: :Image:Chastity_belt_Heyser_1.png|Page 1, :Image:Chastity belt_Heyser_2.png|2, :Image:Chastity_belt_Heyser_3.png|3, :Image:Chastity_belt_Heyser 4.png|4, :Image:Chastity_belt_Heyser_5.png|5, :Image:Chastity_belt_Heyser_6.png|6

During the Victorian era, masturbation came to be masturbation#Medical_attitudes|regarded as harmful in Western medicine. Numerous mentions can be found in medical journals of the time of the use of chastity belt-like devices to prevent masturbation in children and adolescents. Designs for many such devices were filed in the United States|US Patent|Patent Office.

Some Vaishnavan sadhus (ascetism|ascetic practioners of the Hindu faith) have a tradition of wearing arbandh???or metal balls or cups enclosing the penis???for decades at a time as a way of demonstrating their strict celibacy and dedication to austerity.http://www.tpe.com/~altarboy/note0831.htmhttp://www.adolphus.nl/sadhus/tapasv.html

Today, chastity belts are sometimes used in consensual BDSM play and as provocative items of fetish wear. They range from simple leather or plastic toys commonly sold by adult stores to expensive high-security steel devices made by a handful of specialist firms.

Although no reliable statistics are available on the use of chastity belts, anecdotal reports from manufacturers suggest that most belts sold are for men.

Image:Chastity_belt.jpg|thumb|right|225px|A modern female William Jones belt.

Modern, high-security chastity belts tend to be one of two types:

• A "cage"-type device which encloses the male genitals, intended to prevent stimulation and erection. "Metal-detector safe" models made entirely of plastic and may be fastened with tamper-evident plastic seals.

Modern chastity belts are designed for long-term, continuous wear. Before using a chastity belt, however, it is usually advisable to clarify one's goals and balance them against the potential physical and mental discomfort.

• Given large variations in human physiology, careful fitting and adjustment is normally required. Testing the belt itself carefully for wearability before relying upon it is recommended, as is checking regularly for bruising, edema and chafing.

• Ball bag

• Dingwall, Eric J (1931). http://www.tpe.com/~altarboy/girdle.htm The Girdle of Chastity: A Medico-Historical Study. London: Routledge.