Creepy.
On Alternet - Real Dolls ... Real Creepy.
Okay - I've heard of inflatable sex dolls before, and goodness knows there's a plethora of sex toys on the market these days for both sexes. But there's something slightly disturbing about purchasing a 100lbs or so of silicone shaped like a person.
It gets even creepier when you follow a link or two like this and find pictures of people treating these things as "dates".
Yes, I can understand all of the "loneliness" and other arguments in favour of these things, but for me it still comes down to just downright creepy.
I think in many respects its the notion that underlies the whole thing - that a relationship with a romantic partner is all about sexuality - is what really disturbs me. To reduce the notion of a partner to an inanimate object seems to me a reinforcement of the old feminist complaint about men "objectifying" women. Yes, men are horrendously visual creatures, and parts of their brain are clearly wired to find the female form pleasing. But when someone reduces their needs for companionship and human contact to a silicone doll, it seems to almost be 'reductio ad absurdium'. Frankly, these dolls are a sad statement, more than anything else.
The only good news about these dolls, is they are probably the most accurate creep detector in the world. (anyone who has spent US$ 6500 or so on one is a certifiable creepy case)
[Update 19/02/06]: While slightly off-topic, it's strange little situations like this that make me so uneasy with the social implications of what the "RealDoll" represents. I can't believe that someone would write a "contract" up to describe the behaviour they expect of their spouse. - especially in terms that are so blatantly juvenile. (The connection to the RealDoll story is merely temporal coincidence, but both make me shudder)
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1 comment:
You're right, this is nothing else but creepy.
I have to admit, I've chuckled at the occasional joke (usually from stand-up comics) about inflatable dolls and such, but once my ex-roommate and I got into a conversation about how there is a whole sector of the population that would have no (legal) sex life if it weren't for these dolls, and what the dolls could come to represent for them.
It gives me an uneasy feeling, though, in light of the objectification of the female in this scenario. Which leads right in, of course, to that SOB Frey. This is the type of guy who often goes out for a mail-order bride, to have a defenseless woman who depends on him for everything and for that reason must satisfy his every whim.
Yuck.
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