Lady & Lube

[donnaimmaculata]

Because my f-list knows the answers to Important Questions:

a) What is the female equivalent of a "Lord Mayor"? Is she a "lady" or a "mayoress" or neither or both?

b) In your opinion: when did lube become an every-day product that can be bought in your friendly neighbourhood drugstore? I read "Life on Mars" slash occasionally, and whenever I encounter the casual mention of lube in the nightstand drawer, it strikes me as somewhat off. Wouldn't vaseline be more likely? I've honestly no idea - I can be dead wrong here. I just remember that when I was in my teens in the 1990s, it was "vaseline" that was associated with anal sex, because "lube" wasn't around all that much and could be only purchased in the rather more, ah, specialised shops. (When I was 17, I read about the use of Crisco as the product for anal fisting in a gay mag, and my then best friend and I bought some in a sex shop and used it to bake a cherry cake. We thought it was hilarious. But that's just by the bye.)

Comments

[penknife.livejournal.com]

I really think you're right about the lube -- although I can't find any reference to cite on this, I don't think water-based lube was widely available in the 1970s. And Vaseline was widely used for anal sex in the era before its tendency to break down latex condoms became such an issue.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

I didn't even think about the condoms, but that was the turning point, wasn't it? Before AIDS awareness, people probably didn't use condoms for anal sex all that much.

Thanks for your input. I'm not really looking for any citations or cast-iron confirmation, but am merely curious whether anyone shares my impression.

[shocolate.livejournal.com]

Lady Mayoress.

And I remember my mum buying my brother extra strong condoms and KY Jelly in teh local chemist in, um, the mid 80's... that is no help to you...

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, thanks. I suspected it was Lady Mayoress, but wasn't quite sure.

I don't need the lube for anything specific (fic-wise, that is). It's just something that, in a Life on Mars fic, makes me stop and think, "Surely, that can't be right?" - And I suspect London chemists were much more progressive than those in my provincial Catholic hometown. (Thank you, also, for the interesting insight into your family life!)

[shocolate.livejournal.com]

(uh, yeah - full marks to her, especially that long ago)

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

(A very responsible mother. I can see where you got it from.)

[missingkeys.livejournal.com]

Vexingly, the kid birthday photos in my most recent post have lube in some of them. (It's friends locked, but if you look again with her opening presents on the bed you can see a tube of lube standing up in the first few beforeI noticed it.) How embarrasing.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Heh! I did not notice it, of course. But I'm not very observant. :-D

[missingkeys.livejournal.com]

Same here. Neither of us noticed it for thirty photos or so. *blush*