Probing the “Golden Age”

Hello Everyone,

There are some aspects of the so called “Golden Age of enemas” that I would like to understand more about, and that I think would bear some discussion, and open up some interesting debate.

Firstly, can any of the longer serving members, or perhaps the moderators give any information as to when the term golden age was first used on the board, and in what context? Which came first, the title of the topic, using the phrase “golden age”, or many readers speaking of history, and referring to it as the “golden age”.

Secondly, do we have a definition of “golden age”? Does it refer to the frequency of enema usage, particularly as a home remedy, or to the more historic and traditional equipment used to give an enema, or to the much larger volumes given, usually of soap and warm water, as opposed to the small volume chemical compounds like a Fleet enema? Perhaps the “golden age” is defined by all of the factors I have listed.

Thirdly, we probably all have some idea as to when it was transitioning from the “golden age” to the age of convenience, or whatever we choose to call the present. Probably, the twilight of the golden age began after WW2 and the fifties, or if we want a specific date, perhaps we should look for the first patent issued for a chemical low volume enema. My point being, that if we say that the golden age has passed, then we should be able to indicate when this transition took place - and clearly, it cannot be one discrete date.

Next, if we speak of a golden age, then we should be able to say when it began, just as we can say that the Dark Ages began with the fall of the Roman Empire, and continued until the Italian Renaissance. So, when can we say that the golden age of enemas began?

Now, given that there is a preponderance of members from the USA, is there an implied notion that the golden age was a solely American phenomenon, or indeed, as one might expect, was the golden age more universal across many countries, but coterminous, or indeed, might there have been numerous golden ages in different countries, at different times, rather like the so-called industrial revolutions?

Finally is it possible that there was not a golden age at all, but that enemas have been a medical mainstay since Egyptian times, and it is only in the latter part of the 20th Century that the normal practice began to morph into the age of convenience, or the age of the disposable or the throw away age?

I have some views of my own, and I think this could be the basis of some interesting debate and understandings, but like all discussions, shouldn’t we define our terms first, so that we have a common understanding of what we are referring to?

I think we need to have a little more definition here, and in developing a common understanding, of the meaning of the term the “golden age of enemas”, we can advance our understanding of the practice of, as well as the medical, social, and indeed, economic context of the enema.

What do other members think, and can we all help to forge a better understanding?*

Looking forward to responses, ideas, and discussion.

What do you think enema aficionados?

Kind regards,

Delia

Delia,

Yours is a very thorough discussion of what the term "golden age" may be interpreted as, but I have a much more simplistic take on the term.

To me, the golden age of enemas refers to a very specific period in history when the use of enemas were commonplace, an accepted remedy for a number of ailments in general society, a time when the absence of enema equipment in any household was the exception rather than the rule, and the practice of parents giving their kids enemas on a regular basis was nothing out of the ordinary. Also, a time when hospital enemas were given routinely as part of general healthcare.

I'm not based in the US, but I can tell you that in my neck of the woods this period was already long under way when I was born in the 1950's, and continued through the 60's until the early 70's, when I noticed a definite decline in its mention and administration, at least in the house I grew up in. I suspect this was a general trend everywhere else too, as the end of the golden age coincides with the sharp rise in the production of pharmaceuticals for constipation and all other ailments worldwide, previously treated with the trusted home enema. I would hazard a guess that the golden age of enemas probably spanned the same time period across most countries in the Western world.

From available literature the widespread use of enemas seems to have had its beginnings much earlier than the 1950's, dating back several centuries in places. But my own take on the era (considering a generally widespread availability of relatively modern enema equipment in pharmacies and drugstores) would be from the 1930's to the early 1970's in most places, give or take.

I am a "boomer" and when I was a kid, most bathrooms of my cousins and neighbors had a bulb or bag in them. And I learned to like the small enemas I got from time to time, enough to start giving myself enemas just because I wanted one.

I don't remember when the Fleet enema came on the market but I remember seeing the first add in the local newspaper for the Rexall Drugstore in about 1970 or so. When my wife gave birth to our first child in '72, they gave her a Fleet in the labor room. The nurse was holding it in her hand when she asked me to leave for a few minutes. It was maybe a couple of years later when I bought one to try, out of curiosity. I was not impressed. I have used them occasionally from time to time, but still much prefer the old-fashioned way with water, with or without additives like soap or salt.

My wife was not a fan of recreational enemas but she told me years ago she did not mind if I gave myself an enema when I felt I needed one, but she was not going to take them from me anymore. Too bad, but I tried.

I feel fortunate to have lived through what seemed like the golden years of enemas which for me was the '50s and '60s. At least that is the way I see it.

I suppose that many of us, of a similar vintage, have a rather simplistic perception of the "Golden Age" of enemas. The term is seemingly used in a general description of those times when enemas were quite commonly used in a broad range of circumstances. For those of us raised in the 40's, 50's, 60's, and perhaps the 70's, it was a time when hospitals, families, and clinicians, routinely used rubber/latex equipment to deliver an enema or douche as a treatment for digestive, reproductive, or preparatory to a procedure in a medical setting.

In a family setting, the procedural aspects and equipment needs, were likely passed down from generation to generation. Retail establishments routinely carried the necessary equipment and home medical texts provided instructions, including illustrations, on how to carry out those procedures.

In the hospital, or clinical setting, the procedure was delegated to nursing staff and the time and effort seemed quite substantial when patients required a bowel prep before various surgeries and other tests. Additionally, enemas were prescribed as a treatment during recovery and rehabilitation efforts. Today, an enema is discouraged, and likely unavailable, unless one undertakes the procedure outside of the medical setting.

As many of us on this site can attest, enema use, equipment, and open discussions were very common amongst those subjected to or carrying out the procedures. Because of potentially embarrassing circumstances, many of us also were hesitant to admit that we were on the receiving end. After all, sexual topics or other events involving the bum or genitals were kept pretty discrete and media was still quite limited.

Many of us discovered another aspect that transformed our views of the procedure. When we realized those "extra benefits" or sensations, could be available to us beyond a visit to the hospital, doctor, or under the watchful eyes of mom or grandma, our indulgences blossomed.

Aside from a few suppliers of equipment, fashioned after those items from our past, the rubber/latex equipment gradually was phased out and replaced with chemicals, disposables, and other "conveniences...?" The vintage items, commonly adorning a bathroom of the past, became harder and harder to find or observe. Thus, our perceptions of the "Golden Age" seemed to narrow to an earlier point of reference.

As child born in fifties i recount exposure to enemas early on. Virtually every home had enema bags and bulb syringes present either out in plain view in bathroom's or bath closets sometimes covered by towel or toward back of closet or hung in shower tub in plain sight.

They could also be used as a diversion to youth for misbehaving in some manner. Sleighest illness could bring on the administration of one by the giver. Apparently a cure all. I endured two during hospital stays in that it generally was conducted as a write off to your stay along with it being another addition to bill and cost regardless of their definate. need. Now you may be able to receive a fleet if approved or some form of pill laxative instead. Yes enemas were very prevalent at one point mainstream. Fretter

Ok, here is my take on it. Enemas have been around for centuries, even thousands of years going back to Egyptian times and they certainly seem to have had a general acceptance as being the norm in places like Louis 14th France. But as I understand it, it was not until the 1930s and the promotion of easily bought enema apparatus in rubber that they really took off as a household item.

I do remember overhearing an old guy telling us when I was a kid, and I am 73 now, that during the 30s there was actually an 'enema craze' in the US where everyone was giving themselves enemas and there were even enema parties and enemas between neighbours apparently, like handing a cup of sugar over the back fence.

No doubt some of that happened here too as the US was always the pre-cursor for everything over here.

So I am guessing that it started in the 30s as a normal procedure, like brushing your teeth and that enemas were still popular during the 40s when I was born, and the 50s when I got them, and I can remember people talking about having an enema in the 60's. But not after that.

I do remember some excellent chemist shop windows and display cabinets of higginson and bulb enemas laid out on white satin, the red rubber almost gleaming, and proudly so. I also remember our local chemist in the late 70's having a vivid geriatric display in his front window with a potty, a walking stick, a white enamel bowl and a big higginsons syringe draped over the display, with extremely long hoses on either end, just like the ones that excellent German cartoonist drew of 1930's German erotica that we all love.

But after that, it wasn't until I read about enemas as a fetish in Penthouse that I saw any reference to them, and that particular first letter to the editor on erotic enemas had me so wound up I was literally shaking with excitement. Here was the first ever sign that I was not the only one in the entire world that felt like this, so if I was a freak, now I knew there were two of us.

Ok, here is my take on it. Enemas have been around for centuries, even thousands of years going back to Egyptian times and they certainly seem to have had a general acceptance as being the norm in places like Louis 14th France. But as I understand it, it was not until the 1930s and the promotion of easily bought enema apparatus in rubber that they really took off as a household item.

I do remember overhearing an old guy telling us when I was a kid, and I am 73 now, that during the 30s there was actually an 'enema craze' in the US where everyone was giving themselves enemas and there were even enema parties and enemas between neighbours apparently, like handing a cup of sugar over the back fence.

No doubt some of that happened here too as the US was always the pre-cursor for everything over here.

So I am guessing that it started in the 30s as a normal procedure, like brushing your teeth and that enemas were still popular during the 40s when I was born, and the 50s when I got them, and I can remember people talking about having an enema in the 60's. But not after that.

I do remember some excellent chemist shop windows and display cabinets of higginson and bulb enemas laid out on white satin, the red rubber almost gleaming, and proudly so. I also remember our local chemist in the late 70's having a vivid geriatric display in his front window with a potty, a walking stick, a white enamel bowl and a big higginsons syringe draped over the display, with extremely long hoses on either end, just like the ones that excellent German cartoonist drew of 1930's German erotica that we all love.

But after that, it wasn't until I read about enemas as a fetish in Penthouse that I saw any reference to them, and that particular first letter to the editor on erotic enemas had me so wound up I was literally shaking with excitement. Here was the first ever sign that I was not the only one in the entire world that felt like this, so if I was a freak, now I knew there were two of us.

This post confirms what I have heard from people OTHER THAN enema fetishists. The true "Golden Age" was longer ago than most people here have guessed.

Remember her in UK, being in hospital and several people around me getting enemas, unfortunately i didnt ! There was one guy who seems to have legged it, a nurse came to his bed carrying a tray of something, she asked me if id seen mr so and so, i hadnt, oh silly man she said, its only an enema, she found him, and he got it, this was in the 70s

I was briefly in hospital too in the 1970's and recall having a suppository administered by a blushing nurse. Or maybe it was me who was red. Anyway, once my bowels had worked I was discharged

The Fleet Disposable enema hit the consumer market in 1954. Still the "golden age" continued.

I think it ended in the 1990s

The 1990s truly were the "decade of the brain" More was learned about the finer and deeper areas of human psychology than at any time before.

We as a society finally realized that physical pain and deliberately hurting a child only causes them to hurt others.

NO POSITIVE CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR EVER COMES FROM PUNISHMENT!!

Finally that awakening!

And in the early 2000s based on research done in the 1990s we were finally able to realize that most of our sexual proclivities are there from birth, if not conception. So, things like Klismophelia does not require much in the way of intervention from the culture.

Sounds more to me like someone who was abused as a child.

And in the early 2000s based on research done in the 1990s we were finally able to realize that most of our sexual proclivities are there from birth, if not conception. So, things like Klismophelia does not require much in the way of intervention from the culture.

What research? Do you have a reference??

Sounds more to me like someone who was abused as a child.

You hit the nail right on the head.

And in the early 2000s based on research done in the 1990s we were finally able to realize that most of our sexual proclivities are there from birth, if not conception. So, things like Klismophelia does not require much in the way of intervention from the culture.

More BS.

I, too, would like a reference.

To be perfectly honest I don't think a sharp smack on the bum does a child any harm at all, apart from to their dignity and a reminder to behave in future. It never did me any harm and there is a huge difference between a smack and a savage beating, which indicates there is something wrong with the adults brain.

I put a lot of the bad behaviour and lack of respect toward authority down to the current woke generation of no consequences. Life is not like that, it has consequences and the sooner kids learn that the better. It never did my generation any harm, why should latter generations be any different...? The real difference is the lack of parenting skills, the drugs, the savagery, the lamentable lack of financial control and everything else that comes with it.

To be perfectly honest I don't think a sharp smack on the bum does a child any harm at all, apart from to their dignity and a reminder to behave in future. It never did me any harm and there is a huge difference between a smack and a savage beating, which indicates there is something wrong with the adults brain.

I put a lot of the bad behaviour and lack of respect toward authority down to the current woke generation of no consequences. Life is not like that, it has consequences and the sooner kids learn that the better. It never did my generation any harm, why should latter generations be any different...? The real difference is the lack of parenting skills, the drugs, the savagery, the lamentable lack of financial control and everything else that comes with it.

If only more people had the intelligence to recognize that.

I have been an extremely permissive parent in some ways and more controlling in others to our daughters who turned out to be wonderful adults. As teenagers they demonstrated responsibility and earned many privileges including staying out overnight with responsible people and engaging in sex in our house by following the rules of the house. I would rather they have sex in the safety of our home than some dangerous lover's lane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBXjbDLK3yY

Thats a damn good clip, and funny too....😃

This is indeed an interesting topic and in my view and after consulting Mrs G who confirmed it, a "Golden Age is when an activity is at its peak.

I first encountered an enema when I was first given one, at I think seven years old in 1945.

There was no doubt that it was needed at the time but I simply don't remember if I actually sighted the black Higginson syringe before it was in my bottom pumping something into me which ended up with my bowels emptying, my Mother being satisfied, and me being totally startled by the process.

It was some years later that I actually viewed the syringe when my Mother removed it from a bathroom cupboard for personal use. Maybe 1948 but at that time in our household the enema was discussed reasonably openly by my mother and her friends and obviously in very common use by them too.

Many of the females in our family had been given (or maybe used) that Black "Perfex" syringe while I was living at home and it was in 1975 that a "Chemist Shop" (Ausi term) opposite my place of employment in a major Australian city was displaying the red rubber version in their store and it was subsequently purchased.

That's 30 years.

At some time later the Fleet enema emerged and was widely advertised in the US when "convenience" was king and I understand that it was and still is a big seller as a 5 minute constipation cure. When overseas and desperate I have bought a fleet but I frankly hate them.Their action is not without considerable discomfort compared to a warm water enema and that discomfort can linger for some time. A warm water enema works and is done with. No after effects except satisfaction and comfort BUT not as "convenient". Extensive preparation is required and it is not a 5 minute process.

I now carry an empty fleet and have used it with complete success with multiply injections of warm soapy water.

In order to answer the "Golden Age" question the answer would need to be tagged to an enema device rather than a term "enema" as it is a possibility that enema use is still as popular as ever. Nothing beats an immediate response to constipation discomfort. Waiting for a laxative to maybe work is just not the same.

Having said this it is however interesting that Higginson Syringes are now openly advertised on Amazon.

I think the big change has been that parents would no longer instantly reach for an enema device for their children as they might have in the 1940/50's. That has certainly changed for the better.....

A last thought would be of the word "Golden" which somehow implies "Great" "Good" "The Best"

Was it really??

emma

Saw a advertising picture of a 1929 ("model") Kantleek enema bags. Basically what most enema bags of the 1950's looked like. The porcelain "enema can" or pot seems to be a primarily European pre-- 1950's enema giving substitute for the rubber American 2 quart enema bag.

I know from finding out what I can about my own ancestors that, even in the 1960s ESPECIALLY if you were female but really everybody, it required a lot longer and a lot harder work to do a fraction as much as we can do with a laptop and cell phone today.

Dad says that, When you order something by mail 2 weeks before you ever saw it was totally normal.

Ordering it by phone 1 week was!

The big department stores like Sears and Penny's in the US and Eaton's in Canada offered in-store pick-up. For most things this was 3 days but you had to drive a 1970s pollution machine to the mall, park somewhere near the pickup desk and stand in line at the pickup desk

I think the golden days were probably the 50's. Every bathroom had a bag, usually hanging on the door. They were talked about by moms commonly. This started to fade by mid 60's although still common. Enemas in childbirth were mostly phased out by mid 80s although my wife got 3 in the 70s. As Emma said, Fleets became the go to even though they are crampy. Nowadays it's Puralax or its equivalent which just kept my wife regular after some surgery. Sad days!

The problem with a "Golden Age" is that you don't realized you living are in one.. I'm most familiar with the golden-age of girdles. To the uninitiated, just like people here are into enemas and spankings, there are those of us who have a fetish for traditional style girdles. Girdle manufacturing peaked late 1950's and early 1960's; just before mini-skirts and other changes put the kibosh on them. I have a feeling enema bag production also peaked then as well.

Just like we have this forum, there was a "Girdles and More" forum, along with "Zona, the Girdle Zone" - both long since gone.. In those forums we often went on about our golden age. With both golden ages, the beginning is not so easy to pinpoint; whereas, the ending winds down faster. In my opinion, the death knell for girdles was the mini-skirt; for enemas Dr. Spock's (not Star Trek Spock) book "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" that became increasingly popular with young mothers and doctors.

The 50's were certainly the Golden Age of enemas to me, but I suspect they started long before I was born. All one has to do is page through an antique Sears catalog.

The 50's were certainly the Golden Age of enemas to me, but I suspect they started long before I was born. All one has to do is page through an antique Sears catalog.

Somewhere in my collection I have the enema pages from a 1918, or so, Sears catalog.. Believe that catalog began with the company back in 1888!

This is such a fascinating question and topic. For many of us the "golden age" might well have been the 40's through the early 60's. Those are the years that I remember most for the use of many of the things being discussed here. Enemas, for example, were common place in many homes, I know that they were in my childhood home. However, I would argue that many younger people of today might look back to the 70's and 80's and conclude that this was the "golden age" for them. The term "golden age" is relative to the the generations who spent their youth and young adulthood in those years.

Enemas in child birth pretty much went away quietly when they started allowing fathers and sometimes the new mom's other family in the delivery room.

In the 1960s the fathers were sent to a "waiting room" with a "kinda sorta works" week old newspapers, years old magazines, and dirty ash trays. and in the next room some beat up vending machines, at least one a cigarette machine.

No wonder "Aloof" fathers were the norm!!

The white enamel Jones enema can was used well into the 60's in hospitals. I know because I was given an enema in a hospital in 1962. Also my parents had one and used it on me. I inherited it and my buddy and I use it now along with the red Davol open top bag.

As I said in an earlier post, I knew several of my cousins and friends also got enemas. I remember a time at my friends house, we were in the bathroom taking a piss when I saw their enema bulb sitting there in plain sight. I pointed to it and asked my friend if it was him who got the enema. He said, "Not this time, it was Mary (his sister), she gets them a lot".

I don't remember anyone admitting that they liked them. It wasn't until later when I saw the Special Preference letters in Penthouse that I realized there were others like me that took enemas just for fun. And of course, later places on the internet like this confirmed that although the general public considers us wierd, we are not alone.

I have had a lot of pleasant enemas over the years having been taught well by my mom and grandma that an enema done right does not have to be a traumatic experience. Too bad most people today don't have that.

Ahhh, the Golden Age? Can't personally say when it began since I'm only mid seventies not a hundred or thousand seventies. However, I did come through what many of you characterize as the end of the Golden Age. As stated, evidence of enemas could be found in most bathrooms. If not hanging in the shower then bulbs or bags found in a cabinet. Yes, as a very curious lad, I did sneak many a peek. Not nice, but certainly informative. Growing up we had all of it at home. Bulb, bag and the old Jones enema can as well. I cannot say if my parents or any others employed enemas for recreational purposes or strictly for health. Forced to guess, I'd say enemas were for health or constipation purposes only. Of course there are exceptions, as there always are.

The death of that age had several factors. Yes, as mentioned below the Fleet Enemas played a role as the alternative. Physicians would rather you not treat yourself back then. See the doctor, get some pills and of course pay the bill. Doctors also became weak kneed as lawyers came into their golden age of suing. Advising patients to take large enemas became risky as litigation increased against the medical profession due to the fact that physicians are regarded as both well off and insured. Better to recommend Fleets for those who thought enemas worked better.

So be it. We entered a short dark age. Now, I would argue that we are in a second Golden Age. Think about it. No more prowling sex shops for equipment. Or trying to get a surgical supply to sell you a colon tube without a script. It is no longer necessary to fill and connect two or more bags for high enema volumes. Plugs were around but very limited in sizes even more limited in imagination.

Consider today. It's the new Golden Age for recreational enemas. With a few tickles of your keyboard and mouse clicks you can have very high volume bags, short colon tubes a variety of interesting nozzles show up discretely packaged at your door rather quickly. Another company makes every length up to extremely long flexible colon tubes in a great variety of diameters sure to please the most demanding enthusiast. For added kink they make penis plugs and throat training inserts for oral enlargement. There are a few companies selling amazing anal toys. The list goes on and on. How do they do it you ask? The lawyers are still suing. Yes, but we now have corporate structuring strategies making suits less palatable for them. Not the least of which are certain internet protections.

Yes, we have it pretty good these days for those of us into the culture. What's next? Oh, who knows. Maybe robotic enema nurses of your gender choice administering your heart's desire. Well perhaps not your heart, some things a bit lower and higher in the anatomy. Your sex organs and your imagination.

I will occasionally log into the Wayback Machine and peruse the archives relative to enemas. I find many texts, articles, and periodicals where the utilization of enemas is discussed, advocated, and instructions are often given. Many of these sources go back into the later 1800's. Physicians of the day, as well as nurses and other naturopathic types, have published a multitude of articles related to the subject.

This topic is well covered and indicates that the use of enemas was rather common for the time period that likely reaches back to a generation or two prior to our current life experiences. Much of the equipment relating to enemas, is still likely found in possession of many of us who have had a fetish that reminds us of our own experiences many years ago.

I have had items that can be verified back to the late 1800's, although most of my rubber/latex items are easily traced to the 30's until the present. Many of my favorites are from the 50's and 60's. This is likely to correspond with my introduction to enemas as a youngster. I can recall being hospitalized in the 60's and observing a utility room where a variety of enema related equipment was hanging, ostensibly to dry as it was available for utilization. Fleets and disposable bags began to appear locally in the late 60's and essentially replaced rubber/latex by the early 70's. It was still a few years before bloodborne pathogens and latex allergies became a major concern to the general public.

The more recent attention to enemas and colon hydrotherapy in natural health and raw food circles, seemingly has rekindled some interest in the subject. I am glad for that although equipment is seldom found in the traditional locations and online or mail order seems to be the best bet.