The origin of the term is contested, but may be derived from “George Stick”, named for a possible inventor.
I knew the device itself predated gaming, but I always assumed it gained the joystick name from some game company. I’m surprised to to learn its unrelated!
Between those two and “cockpit”, early aviators certainly had a bit of an obsession with male genitals.
An aeroplane is a flying penis.
The Wright Flyer was honestly quite labial by comparison.