# the hysterical paroxysm was never regarded as an orgasm as there was no penetration > Yet almost no one ever referred to the "hysterical paroxysm" as an orgasm – for how could it be? It was taken for granted in Victorian England that, in the absence of penetration, nothing sexual could possibly be taking place. A discreet veil of medical decorum survived until the late 1920s, when the appearance of vibrators in early porn films rendered the pretence untenable, and the vibrator promptly disappeared from polite public view.[[(Aitkenhead, 2012)#^aerv7]]