A chastity belt is a
lockingLocksmithing began as the science and art of making and defeating locks. A lock is a mechanism that secures buildings, rooms, cabinets, objects, or other storage facilities. A key is often used to open a lock...
item of clothing designed to prevent
sexual intercourseSexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which the male reproductive organ enters the female reproductive tract. The two entities may be of opposite sexes or not, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. They may be used to protect the wearer from
rapeRape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or without sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
or
temptationA temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons: legal, social, psychological , health, economic, etc...
. Some devices have been designed with additional features to prevent
masturbationMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own genitals , often to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by other types of bodily contact , by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods...
. Chastity belts have been created for males and females.
The term "chastity belt" is also used as a
metaphorA metaphor is a figure of speech concisely comparing two things, saying that one is the other. The English metaphor derives from the 16th c...
in modern English to imply overprotectiveness. The term carries a derisive connotation and may also imply that the subject is antiquated, or is cumbersome, or provides unnecessary or unwanted protection.
According to modern myth the chastity belt was used as an anti-temptation device during the
CrusadesThe Crusades were a series of religiously-sanctioned military campaigns waged by much of Latin Christian Europe, particularly the Franks of France and the Holy Roman Empire. The specific crusades to restore Christian control of the Holy Land were fought over a period of nearly 200 years, between...
.
A chastity belt is a
lockingLocksmithing began as the science and art of making and defeating locks. A lock is a mechanism that secures buildings, rooms, cabinets, objects, or other storage facilities. A key is often used to open a lock...
item of clothing designed to prevent
sexual intercourseSexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which the male reproductive organ enters the female reproductive tract. The two entities may be of opposite sexes or not, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. They may be used to protect the wearer from
rapeRape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or without sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
or
temptationA temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons: legal, social, psychological , health, economic, etc...
. Some devices have been designed with additional features to prevent
masturbationMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own genitals , often to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by other types of bodily contact , by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods...
. Chastity belts have been created for males and females.
The term "chastity belt" is also used as a
metaphorA metaphor is a figure of speech concisely comparing two things, saying that one is the other. The English metaphor derives from the 16th c...
in modern English to imply overprotectiveness. The term carries a derisive connotation and may also imply that the subject is antiquated, or is cumbersome, or provides unnecessary or unwanted protection.
According to modern myth the chastity belt was used as an anti-temptation device during the
CrusadesThe Crusades were a series of religiously-sanctioned military campaigns waged by much of Latin Christian Europe, particularly the Franks of France and the Holy Roman Empire. The specific crusades to restore Christian control of the Holy Land were fought over a period of nearly 200 years, between...
. When the
knightA knight was a "gentleman soldier" or member of the warrior class of the Middle Ages in Europe. In other Indo-European languages, cognates of cavalier or rider are more prevalent suggesting a connection to the knight's mode of transport...
left for the Holy Lands on the Crusades, he would force his Lady to wear a chastity belt to preserve her faithfulness to him. There is no credible evidence that chastity belts existed before the 15th century, more than one hundred years after the last Crusade.
The actual use, if any, of medieval chastity belts would have been very limited, as the metalworking of the times would have made it difficult to fashion a belt safe for long-term wear.
Chastity belts were used as anti-masturbation devices from the 1700s to the 1930s. Nowadays chastity belts are used in some forms of
BDSMBDSM is a compound acronym derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , sadism and masochism ....
play. They are also used on television and in movies as humorous
propsA theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is any object held or used on stage by an actor for use in furthering the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The...
.
Historical usage
The first known mention of what could be interpreted as chastity belts in the West is in Konrad Kyeser von Eichstätt's
BellifortisBellifortis is the first fully illustrated manual of military technology, dating from the start of the 15th century...
, a ca. 1400 book describing the military technology of the era. The book includes a drawing that is accompanied by the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
text: "Est florentinarum hoc bracile dominarum ferreum et durum ab antea sic reseratum." ("These are hard iron breeches of
FlorentineFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence...
women which are closed at the front.") The belt in this drawing is described by Dingwall as "both clumsy and heavy", having "little in common with the later models which served the same use". The
Bellifortis account is not supported by any evidence or corroborating documents.
In 1889, a leather-and-iron belt was found by Anton Pachinger—a German collector of antiquities—in
LinzLinz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately 30 km south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube...
,
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
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
Musée de ClunyThe Musée de Cluny, officially known as Musée National du Moyen Âge , is a museum in Paris, France...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The first, a simple velvet-covered hoop and plate of iron, was supposedly worn by
Catherine de' MediciCatherine de' Medici was born in Florence, Italy, as Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de' Medici. Both of her parents, Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne, Countess of Boulogne, died within weeks of her birth...
. The other—said to have been worn by Anna of Austria—is a hinged pair of plates held about the waist by metal straps, featuring intricately etched figures of
Adam and EveAdam and Eve were, according to the Book of Genesis of the Bible, the first man and woman created by God...
. There are other such belts at the
Germanisches NationalmuseumThe Germanisches Nationalmuseum, founded in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1852, houses a significant collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day...
in
NurembergNuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich, at 49.27° N 11.5° E. The population is...
and the
British MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture situated in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from...
in London. Most have been removed from display to avoid any further embarrassment because the authenticity of these belts as
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
devices has since been called into question.
From the 1700s through the 1930s, masturbation was widely 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
masturbationMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own genitals , often to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by other types of bodily contact , by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods...
in children and adolescents.
Many designs for anti-masturbation devices were filed in the
USThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Patent OfficeA patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention....
until the debunking of masturbation as a mental health problem in the early 1930s.
Modern use
Today, chastity belts are sometimes used in
BDSMBDSM is a compound acronym derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , sadism and masochism ....
play and in consensual relationships. They are a means for the wearer to surrender control over their sexual behavior either for sexual play, or as a long-term method of preventing infidelity or masturbation. They range from simple leather or plastic toys commonly sold by adult stores to expensive high-security stainless steel devices made by a handful of specialist firms.
Chastity devices are also frequently used as a part of sexual
feminizationThe term feminization has been used to refer to a range of sexual practices and alternative lifestyle activities involving exchange of gender roles.-Feminization as an alternative lifestyle preference/fetish:...
, where the male is denied access to their penis as means of depriving them of sexual gratification such as masturbation and perceived masculinity.
Most modern chastity belt designs are descended from Hal Higginbottom's designs from 1956. Sometimes modern Florentine-style belts are described as "Tollyboy-style" or "Tollyboy-type" belts as references to his company's original design.
Human anatomy varies very widely from person to person and steel belts intended for long-term use are
bespokeBespoke is a term employed in a variety of applicationsto mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification.While applied to many items now,from computer software to luxury car appointments,...
items. The manufacture of such belts is necessarily a cottage industry. Many firms have come and gone over the years. Notable amongst those who have stopped manufacturing chastity belts since the 1980s are:
- Access Denied (Paul Tooker of New York
New York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; closed after his death)
- Herbert Rossmann (Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
)
- In Discretione Fortitudo (Nifrik Scylla of the Netherlands)
- Kastley (Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
) (reseller; original manufacturer unknown)
- Pourquoi Pas (Germany)
- Atelier Mode (Cologne, Germany)
Although no reliable statistics are available on the use of chastity belts, anecdotal reports from manufacturers suggest that most belts sold in Europe and the US are for men, and that of the female belts ordered, relatively few are used as rape prevention devices.
Belt types
Modern chastity belt designs generally follow the basic "Florentine" pattern (named after the Bellifortis reference), with a band around the waist or hips and a "shield" running between the legs to cover the genitals.
On belts intended for long-term wear, this shield must accommodate the wearer's hygienic needs:
- For females, the shield is commonly a flat band with a slot through which the labia can protrude and through which urine can pass. Some manufacturers fit a perforated cover (sometimes called the "secondary shield") over this slot to prevent the wearer from being pinched when sitting. The cover may also prevent direct masturbation by blocking the labia from touch.
- For males, the shield usually covers a tube in which the penis is held facing downward, with perforations at the bottom of the shield to allow urine to escape. Sometimes there are mechanisms that hold the head of the penis inside the tube. The testicles are usually left exposed on both sides of the tube, although some designs have an additional cup that prevents easy access to the entire genital area.
- Belts with a "thong" arrangement have a single strap running up between the buttocks to the waistband. On some, this is a plastic-coated cable or a thin, curved metal rod. This strap may or may not be loose enough to pull aside, depending on whether the fit of the belt is to protect against anal penetration. On other designs, the rear strap is solid with an aperture over the anus to allow passage of feces.
- Belts with a "V"-arrangement have a pair of chains attached together at the bottom of the shield and apart towards the back of waistband in a "V" to leave the rear open.
- On both male and female belts, the shield can be designed to work with genital piercings for greater security.
Most modern belts fasten with
padlockPadlocks are portable locks used to protect against theft, vandalism, sabotage, espionage, unauthorized use, and harm. They are designed to protect against some degree of forced and surreptitious entry.- History :...
s. Some high-security designs nest the lock within a shroud to make it more difficult to attack with
bolt cuttersA bolt cutter, sometimes called bolt cropper, is a tool used for cutting chains, padlocks, bolts and wire mesh. It typically has long handles and short blades, with compound hinges to maximize leverage and cutting force...
. A handful of manufacturers, however, do offer higher-priced models with integral locks for a sleeker profile.
Chastity tubes and cages
Chastity tubes or chastity cages are a category of device designed to prevent direct stimulation of male genitalia. Although they are designed for use without a supporting belt that goes around the wearer's waist, these devices are nevertheless frequently described as "chastity belts".
Most chastity tubes basically have two parts: A ring seated around the base of the penis behind the scrotum and a capped tube, into which the flaccid penis is inserted. The tube is perforated at the end to allow urine to drain easily. The two parts mate together on hinges or pins and are usually secured together with a padlock. The assembled device traps the testicles in a gap between the base of the tube and the ring. These devices are either adjustable or made to specification so that the gap is narrow enough to prevent the testes from being pulled out.
Some designs have a curved or angled tube to make erections uncomfortable. Other devices are sized for a flaccid sized penis, again to make erections uncomfortable.
Some chastity tubes have urethral inserts. Needless to say, extreme caution is advised when selecting a device to be inserted into the male urethra as severe medical injury could result from sharp edges or allergic reaction. Generally speaking, only medical grade stainless steel (316L) is considered safe enough for this application.
As with "regular" chastity belts, chastity tubes are also sometimes to designed to work with genital piercings for added security.
A popular example of the chastity tube was the CB-2000 and its descendants, introduced in 1999 by A. L. Enterprises, which were discreet to wear and affordable.
A new model of medical silicone cage called "Birdlocked" made its appearance in 2009. This cage is unbreakable and very comfortable. It offers a unique closure, no pain is found even during a night.
Recent developments
In April, 2002, the Uwe Koetter Jewellers company of
Cape TownCape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
completed and delivered a spectacular diamond and pearl-encrusted chastity belt made of gold to a British customer. The belt reportedly cost R160,000 and was a wedding gift from a husband-to-be for his bride to wear at their wedding.
On February 6, 2004,
USA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth...
reported that at
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
airport in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, a woman's steel chastity belt had triggered a security alarm at the metal detector. The woman explained that her husband had forced her to wear the device to prevent an extramarital affair while she was on vacation in Greece. She was allowed to continue her flight to London on the pilot's authority. The incident was said to have happened just before
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
in 2003. The incident was also reported by
Weekly World NewsThe Weekly World News was a supermarket tabloid published in the United States from 1979 to 2007, renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news that verged on the satirical...
.
In November 2006, photographs of Lucio Gubbio's hand-wrought iron chastity belts were published in newspapers including the Seoul Times, and CRI Online. Although Gubbio's company, MedioEvo, claims that their chastity belts' designs are from the Middle Ages on their website, a company spokesperson acknowledged that there is no proof that devices such as these were actually used.
See also
- Chastity piercing
-Females:A ring or similar device is used to hold the labia together, closing the entrance to the vagina preventing the wearer from having sexual intercourse and/or accessing the clitoris for stimulation.-Males:...
- Erotic sexual denial
Erotic sexual denial, also known as orgasm denial, is a sexual practice in which a person is kept in a heightened state of sexual arousal for an extended length of time, without being allowed to orgasm, and is commonly practiced in association with BDSM and sexual bondage...
- Purity ring
Purity rings originated in the United States in the 1990s among Christian-affiliated sexual abstinence groups...
- Sexual abstinence
Sexual abstinence is the practice of voluntarily refraining from some or all aspects of sexual activity.Common reasons for practicing sexual abstinence include:*religious or philosophical reasons...
External links