Talk:Ben Wa balls

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[edit] Link check request

can someone check the link for goodvibe. it is not working

lol I wonder why that guy didnt sign? I dont think I will coz im paranoid
There's still logged IPs... About the article: there's no estimation when they were invented? Were they historically used exlusively by courtesans or prostitutes or did wives also use them? Were they for pleasure or medical conditions (ref: bladder control)? And as I seem to be a clueless female: how could they be used to enlarge penis size? --Sumiko 23:41, 14 November 2006 (UTC)


Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex: But Were Afraid to Ask By David R. Reuben

By David R. Reuben

Published 1971 Bantam Books


433 pages ISBN:0553104365

67.166.123.190 (talk) 19:27, 9 May 2008 (UTC) N Coppin

[edit] Re-writing

The section describing use in lesbian sex should probably use more appropriate (less "slangy") language

The accuracy of this article should be checked against reputable sources. It should be noted that they are the same as Baoding Balls which were originally created to help medical hand and wrist problems such as arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome. The accurate history is in the Baoding Balls section of Wiki. The information here is western mythology perpetuating racist stereotyping of asian culture as exotic and sexual.DFZ (talk) 12:49, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ben-Wa in Everything you Always...

To clear things up... This is page 201 of the paperback edition of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). It has no ISBN, as it was printed in July 1970, as far as I can tell. Any typos are mine.

What's a ben-wa?

Japanese automated masturbation. Hundreds of years ago, clever Japanese women, possibly driven by desperation, developed a technique for masturbating that to this day remains unexcelled. When a Japanese lady wants to relieve her sexual tensions she reaches into a little plus-lined case and takes out two small, shiny metal balls. Though they may vary in size according to the effect desired, in the average ben-wa set, each ball is about the size of an apricot. Expensive sets are made of silver or even gold--the everyday variety is polished steel and these days, of course, plastic. One ball is hollow, the other is partially filled with mercury. The empty ball is inserted well into the vagina, the globe with mercury follows. The woman then lies down, or better yet, rocks in a chair. As she gently rolls her hips, the mercury slides back and forth in the other ball, constantly nudging the inner ball against the cervix. The vibrations are transmitted outward to the entire vagina, clitoris, labia, and inward to the uterus itself. Sometimes Japanese women continue these languid movements for hours, drifting from one orgasm to another.

--Ich (talk) 06:52, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Yet another example of racism through sexualization of asian cultures. This piece is out of disreputable sources and directly contradicts the claims in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DFZ (talk • contribs) 12:48, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Care to source this information that was removed? Unfounded claims of racism in the actual article are going to be seen as vandal edits. Can you show anywhere that this was used in treatment for wrist injuries as you stated? Wildthing61476 (talk) 12:58, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Compare them to the baoding balls. They are the same. If you do a google search you will notice only american marketers selling them as sex balls. If you search for baoding balls, chinese marketers sell them as medical balls. A quick google search has this history and if you read the following discussion, people do notice this. http://surveycentral.org/survey/26402.html. Of course, better sources will be needed, but I do not have the time right now to find them. As for the racism part, read the article on Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians in the United States. Go look at the hypersexualization of asian women. DFZ (talk) 13:05, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

These are not the same thing however. Nowhere in the Baoding Balls article does it make any mention of this, and I'd add that the link you sent is to a Survey site and it no way a reliable source to verify this. The information you've placed in the article also violation the NPOV policy with the claims of racism by the editors of this article. I am removing this unsourced, unverified, POV edit and would suggest dispute resolution as a way of sorting this out. Wildthing61476 (talk) 13:18, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Of course it's not a reliable source. I said it wasn't a reliable source and a better one needs to be found. At the very least it should be written that they should not be confused with the baoding balls, which they often are. Also, the sources in the article are hardly reputable themselves. DFZ (talk) 13:30, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

That last edit works a lot better, I just moved the location of the edit to make it easier to read. Wildthing61476 (talk) 13:37, 27 March 2008 (UTC)
With respect, Dfz, if yu think the source is bad, find one that contraverts it and bring it here (simply inserting it isn't going to help keep it in place until you explain why its a better source). I tend to think that the above source is incredibly unsourced, and since the Japanese aren't particularly as restrained as Westerners when it comes to ideas about sex (no Pilgrim guilt), there should be a fair amount of material to be found. - Arcayne (cast a spell) 18:36, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

First, my initial issue with this article was that it is entirely based on disreputable sources that violate Wikipedia's policies for publication. See Wikipedia:Verifiability. The sources cited are from sites such as self-published sex shop marketing schemes and a youtube video. Second, it's impossible to find sources to argue against something made up in an illegitimate source. For instance, if someone self-publishes a website claiming that ancient Europeans used to masturbate using sticks, there is no way that someone would be able to find a legitimate source to disprove that. Even if it spread and lots of people started saying it, it does not make it any more true (e.g. urban legends). Third, unless you can find a legitimate source to support your claim that "the Japanese aren't particularly as restrained as Westerners...", then that statement is simply another bad stereotype; once again supporting Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians in the United States. Furthermore, one can hardly argue that the vast majority of Westerners are still under the power of "Pilgrim guilt." Fourth, I was pointing out that the above contention that the ben wa balls originated in Japan directly contradicted the article which claimed that the ben wa balls originated in China. Once again, a problem of everyone using illegitimate sources. Finally, unless someone can come up with a legitimate source to show that ben wa balls did originate in China, Japan, or wherever it might be, it's best not to have it in the article at all because readers will absorb the false information which will (1) lead to confusion since baoding medical balls are often mistakenly perceived to be/sold/used as ben wa balls and (2) support offensive negative stereotypes of "exotic, hypersexual orientals."DFZ (talk) 04:55, 28 March 2008 (UTC)