AllMovie

The male-dominated fields of medicine and psychology didn't always display a tremendous understanding of women (or a sensitivity to their sexual needs) prior to the rise of the Sexual Revolution in the 1960s and the Women's Movement in the 1970s, and for decades the existence of the female orgasm wasn't even acknowledged in many circles. When a greater understanding of women's sexuality began to emerge, the realities of female autoeroticism became less of a mystery, and with this revelation came the not-so-little secret of the electromechanical vibrator, which first became available in 1883. While they were sold for years as massagers, many women found a more personal use for them, and while they were openly embraced as sexual aids in some quarters, in more conservative territories of the United States, selling a vibrator as a sex toy is still against the law. Documentary filmmakers Wendy Slick and Emiko Omori examine the public history of the female orgasm and how the vibrator became part of the story in Power and Passion: The Technology of Orgasm, a witty but informative film that focuses on female sexuality in both the past and the present.