Sex doll

Some of the first sex dolls were created by French (dame de voyage) and Spanish (dama de viaje) sailors in the sixteenth century who would be isolated during long voyages.[1] These masturbatory dolls were often made of sewn cloth or old clothes and were a direct predecessor to today's sex dolls.[2][3] Later, the Dutch sold some of these dolls to Japanese people during the Rangaku period, and the term "Dutch wives" is still sometimes used in Japan to refer to sex dolls.[1][4]

One of the earliest recorded appearances of manufactured sex dolls dates to 1908, in Iwan Bloch's The Sexual Life of Our Time. Bloch wrote:

In this connection we may refer to fornicatory acts effected with artificial imitations of the human body, or of individual parts of that body. There exist true Vaucansons in this province of pornographic technology, clever mechanics who, from rubber and other plastic materials, prepare entire male or female bodies, which, as hommes or dames de voyage, subserve fornicatory purposes. More especially are the genital organs represented in a manner true to nature. Even the secretion of Bartholin's glands is imitated, by means of a "pneumatic tube" filled with oil. Similarly, by means of fluid and suitable apparatus, the ejaculation of the semen is imitated. Such artificial human beings are actually offered for sale in the catalog of certain manufacturers of "Parisian rubber articles."[5]

In 1918, Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka commissioned a life-sized doll of Alma Mahler (whom Kokoschka was in love with) to German puppet maker Hermine Moos, while he was in Dresden.[1] Although intended to simulate Alma and receive his affection, the "Alma doll" did not satisfy Kokoschka and he destroyed it during a party.[6]

German surrealist artist Hans Bellmer has been described as “the father figure of the modern sex doll” for his sex puppets in the 1930s whose more realistic models moved sex dolls further into the future.[2][1] Bellmer made three dolls, increasingly sophisticated in design, which also made waves in the international art community.[2][1]

A report that, as part of the Borghild Project, Nazi Germany made sex dolls for soldiers during World War II has not been verified by reliable sources and is now considered to be a hoax.[7] It is however said that the commercial sex doll has its origins in Germany, especially since the creation of the Bild Lilli doll in the 1950s, which was in turn the inspiration for creating the famous Barbie doll.[1][3]

The production of human simulacra to substitute for human sexual partners took several technological leaps forward in the late twentieth century. By the 1970s, vinyl, latex and silicone had become the materials most frequently used in the manufacture of sex dolls; silicone, in particular, allowed a greater degree of realism.[8]

A 1982 attempt to import a consignment of sex dolls into Britain had the unintended consequence of ending the law against importing "obscene or indecent" items that were not illegal to sell within the UK. Having had the dolls seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise officers, David Sullivan's Conegate Ltd. took the case all the way to the European Court of Justice, and won in 1987.[9] Britain was forced to lift its stringent import prohibitions dating from 1876 because for imports from within the European Community they constituted a barrier to free trade under the terms of the Treaty of Rome.

Shin Takagi, founder of the company Trottla, manufactures lifelike child sex dolls in the belief that doing so provides a safe and legal outlet for men expressing pedophilic desires.[10][11] This has been disputed by paraphilia researcher Dr. Peter J. Fagan, who argues that contact with the products would likely have a reinforcing effect, increasing the risk of pedophilic action being taken.[11] Since 2013, Australian officials have confiscated imported shipments of juvenile sex dolls legally classified as child exploitation material.[12]

Sales of sex dolls increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

Simple inflatable vinyl sex doll

Cheaper sex dolls are inflatable, using air. These dolls, representing the lowest price-range (less than US$75), are usually made of welded vinyl and bear only a passing resemblance to actual people. They have an artificial and typically crudely designed vagina or penis, but due to their affordability, many users are willing to overlook their shortcomings. They often burst at the seams after a few uses, although they are commonly given as gag gifts and therefore many may not be used at all. In Russia, for some years the Bubble Baba Challenge humorously featured participants river rafting on blowup dolls as a matter of entertainment but in 2013 the race was canceled on "health and safety" grounds.[14]

At the middle market price-range ($100 to approximately $1,000), dolls are made of thicker vinyl or heavy latex without welded seams or a polyurethane and silicone mixture, typically surrounding a foam core. Most have plastic mannequin-style heads and styled wigs, plastic or glass eyes, and occasionally properly molded hands and feet. Some vinyl dolls can contain water-filled body areas such as the breasts or buttocks. Latex dolls were made in Hungary, China, and France but only the French manufacturer Domax now remains in production.

The manufacturing process causes most latex dolls to be delivered with a fine coating of zinc oxide covering the skin, which is usually removed by the consumer by placing the doll under the shower. Otherwise, latex is an inert and non-toxic natural material; although a small percentage of users may discover a latex allergy.

The most expensive sex dolls (approximately $1,200 and up) are usually made from silicone (usually above $3,000 at 2016 prices) or thermoplastic elastomer known as TPE (below $3,000). Dolls made of either material can be very lifelike, with faces and bodies modeled on real people in some instances, with realistic skin material (similar to that used for movie special effects), and with realistic (or even real) hair. These dolls usually have an articulated PVC or metal skeleton with flexible joints that allow them to be positioned in a variety of positions for display and for sexual acts. Silicone or TPE dolls are much heavier than vinyl or latex inflatable ones (which consist mostly of air), but are roughly half the weight of a real human being of comparable size.

Because of their ability to be posed in different positions silicone dolls are popular with artists and photographers as models.[15][16]

In Japan, sex dolls are known as "Dutch wives" (ダッチワイフ, datchi waifu), which now refers to relatively inexpensive dolls. Their name originates from the term, possibly English, for the thick rattan or bamboo bolster, used to aid sleep in humid countries by keeping one's limbs lifted above sweaty sheets. Orient Industry is considered to be the leading manufacturer of high-end silicone dolls in Japan,[17] which started using another term "love dolls" (ラブドール, rabu dōru) around 1998 to distinguish their dolls from the image of inflatable dolls associated with the term "Dutch wife".[18] The term has stuck and is now used generally to refer to any high-end product. There is a business, Doru no Mori (Doll Forest) in Tokyo, that rents love dolls and rooms to male customers.[19][20] In March 2007 the Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported that there are also rental businesses that bring the dolls to the customer's home, and that the specialist love-doll magazine i-doloid has a print-run of 10,000 copies per issue.[21]

The middle market and high-end market emerged in the USA around 1992. The market has grown for two main reasons. Firstly, the last twenty years have seen huge improvements over earlier types of sex dolls, and customers come to realize this through using the web. Secondly, the method of retail purchase has also improved, now showing customers what the actual doll, seams, hair, and even orifices look like.

In China the market has mushroomed on account of the demographic effects of the one child policy and accordingly numerous new Chinese manufacturers have appeared in recent years.[22]

In Japan one can purchase inflatable love pillows or "dakimakura" that are printed with a life-size picture of a porn star or anime character. Other less common novelty love dolls include overweight, intersex, elderly, and alien dolls, which are usable for pleasure but also tend to be given as gag gifts. Some inflatable dolls even have the form of children.

Some companies manufacture cloth sex dolls using the same technology that is used to create plush toys. With widespread cultural use of the internet amongst younger generations, numerous forums exist for amateurs who create their own sex dolls from fabric or other materials. There are even mailing lists for discussing techniques and experiences with MLDs (material love dolls) .

Some inflatable sex dolls are made in the form of animals, most notably sheep and cows. These dolls are more of a joke gift or party novelty and are often not suitable for sexual use.

Silicone dolls were at first made from tin-cure silicone but platinum technology has better longevity, less prone to tears and compression marks. For this reason, the "RealDoll" manufacturer reported switching from the tin to the platinum material in June 2009[23] and all other manufacturers have followed suit.

Since 2012 or so a thermoplastic elastomer alternative known as TPE has come into common use particularly by Chinese manufacturers which have enabled realistic dolls to be made which are cheaper than those composed of the high quality expensive platinum cure silicone.[24]

CybOrgasMatrix dolls used an elastic gel, which they claimed to be superior to silicone in elasticity, shape memory, and durability. Both this company and the company "First Androids" once offered pelvic thruster motor, audio capability, and heated orifices, though these options are no longer available. Several modern doll manufacturers now offer the last option on their silicone dolls, with the addition of an internal heating system.

In June 2006, Henrik Christensen of the European Robotics Research Network told the UK's Sunday Times that "people are going to be having sex with robots within five years."[33]

Reacting to the ongoing development of "sex robots" or "sexbots",[34] in September 2015, Kathleen Richardson of De Montfort University and Erik Billing of the University of Skövde created the Campaign Against Sex Robots, calling for a ban on the creation of anthropomorphic sex robots.[35][36][37][38] They argue that the introduction of such devices would be socially harmful, and demeaning to women and children.[36]

Compared to pornography for which thousands, and compared to sex robots for which dozens of scientific studies are available, sex dolls, their use and effects have been relatively little researched so far.[39] This is not surprising because sex dolls are a subtype of sex toys, and sex toys as material sexual objects are fairly under-researched in general.

Nevertheless, a systematic review from the year 2020 was able to identify 29 published academic studies on sex dolls.[40] These sex doll studies deal with the following five research questions:

1. What are appropriate theoretical conceptualizations of sex dolls?

2. How are sex dolls represented in art and media?

3. What empirical findings on the use and effect of sex dolls are available through interviews, surveys or analyses of sex doll online forums?

4. What therapeutic uses and effects of sex dolls are documented in clinical case studies?

5. Should there be a legal regulation of child sex dolls, and if yes, why and how?

Overall, the current state of research shows that sex doll owners (so far, the majority are men) and their uses are diverse and that sex dolls can be associated with negative and positive effects.[40] Likewise, the available empirical studies with sex doll owners indicate that they do not only regard and treat their dolls as “sex” dolls, but sometimes also as “love” dolls or social companions.[41][42][43] A clinical case study explained how living with a doll helped a divorced man to overcome relationship trauma and get ready to approach real women again.[44] Psychological theories that can explain the human-doll relationship are, among others,[40] the theory of transitional objects[45] or the theory of parasocial interactions and relationships usually applied to media personas.[46]

Notes

Further reading

• Alexandre, Elisabeth. Des Poupées et des hommes — enquete sur l'amour Artif. (2005). ISBN 2-84271-252-8 (Book is in French - 'Dolls and Men — Investigation into Artificial Love').
• Dorfman, Elana. Still Lovers (2005). ISBN 0-9766708-1-X. (Female art/fashion photographer photographs men and their dolls).
• Guys and Dolls: Art, Science, Fashion, and relationships. Royal Pavilion, Libraries, and Museums. (2005). (102-page catalog of a major exhibition at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, England).
• Moya, Cynthia Ann. (2006) "Artificial Vaginas and Sex Dolls: An Erotological Investigation." Dissertation, San Francisco, CA: Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. Available in hardcopy or CD-ROM.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sex dolls.

• "Just Like a Woman" - Salon.com article describing cultural phenomenon of RealDolls
  • "Real Dolls: Love in the Age of Silicone". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2005-10-23.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - original, more detailed version of the Salon article
• Sexbot slaves - Thanks to new technology, sex toys are becoming tools for connection - but will sexbots reverse that trend? (June 2014), Leah Reich, Aeon