'Chattanooga' explained as Lizzie Borden's Monsters raises questions over 19th century sex trends

Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story landed last week and it has unexpectedly sparked interest in old sex toys.

Starring Ella Beatty playing Lizzie Borden, the Massachusetts woman who was accused of murdering her father, Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby, with an axe in 1892. The Netflix series also stars Vicky Krieps, Sarah Paulson, Charlie Hunnam and Billie Lourd.

The real-life story is already chilling. Lizzie was charged with the murders and put on trial in 1893 but she was acquitted. More than 130 years later, the murders remain officially unsolved, although Lizzie has remained the most famous suspect and the subject of an infamous song.

Then there’s the show's biggest romantic storyline.

In Monster, Lizzie develops an intimate relationship with the Borden family's maid, Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan, played by Vicky Krieps. Their romance becomes increasingly intertwined with the violence unfolding inside the Borden household.

The catch? There's no historical evidence that Lizzie and Bridget were romantically involved.

The series has sparked interest in old sex toys (Netflix)

In the second episode, Bridget introduces Lizzie to a sex toy called Chattanooga. According to Bridget, Lizzie has a imperforate hymen, which is when the hymen completely covers the vaginal opening.

Bridget then seeks to open Lizzie’s hymen by ordering a Chattanooga. A newspaper ad in the show describes it as something that ‘gives heavy vibration’.

It is essentially a contraption that is controlled by a handle. When operated, the steam-powered device moves forwards and backwards in a thrusting motion.

A New York Times article published in 1999 described a Chattanooga as a real device that cost $200 in 1904.

And in episode one, Lizzie is introduced to a device called a Veedee vibrator, which was a real thing.

Bridget says that the wooden tool, that has a handle that makes it vibrate when you turn it, could help her with severe period pains.

(Netflix)

But what about Bridget and Lizzie’s relationship in the show and was it real? Bridget Sullivan was very much a real person. She was a live-in servant for the Borden family and was in the house on the morning of the murders. She later testified at Lizzie’s trial. But there is no reliable historical evidence establishing that she and Lizzie were lovers.

The romance portrayed in Monster appears to be a fictional creation for the series.

That hasn’t stopped questions about Lizzie’s sexuality from circulating for decades, including right now.

Lizzie never married, and her close relationship with actress Nance O’Neil has long fuelled speculation about her romantic life. The two met in 1904, more than a decade after Lizzie’s acquittal, when Lizzie attended one of O’Neil’s performances. They subsequently became close, with O’Neil and members of her theatrical circle visiting Lizzie at her home, Maplecroft.

But there’s also no definitive evidence that Lizzie and O’Neil were romantically or sexually involved, either. There’s also no surviving evidence that allows historians to confidently label Lizzie as lesbian or bisexual.

In fact, Monster takes some pretty major liberties with the O’Neil timeline too. Because Lizzie didn’t meet Nance until 1904.

So, was Lizzie Borden queer? We simply don’t know.