It was a typical Friday evening hangout with my friends when this conversation around sex dolls suddenly sprung up. Out of curiosity, I asked what it was all about. Little did I know what I was trying to uncover. Someone excitedly began talking about how “frighteningly realistic” these sex robots are. Raising an eyebrow I asked, why would anyone need one? Obviously, a few snickers and remarks followed, but some tried to be serious; they said for, seclusion, “non-judgmental” sex and a host of other reasons. My ears had heard enough, I couldn’t believe this was real.
My thoughts came to a screeching halt when they said these dolls are so realistic that some have even fallen in love with them. Instantly, I felt a surge of admiration mixed with pity thinking about the loneliness and desperation some people must be enduring to reach such measures. But then, I picked up on the disturbing notion that some stashes of these dolls had been found to have childlike features. That left me feeling chilled; I felt a mix of emotions brewing inside me – shock, fear, and loss for words. Was it ok to dismiss this so easily?
The things people do in the name of isolation and pleasure! I can only go as far as trying to make sense of it by saying some even argue that robots or dolls can be used as therapeutic tools for those with extreme sexual needs that can be too overwhelming or even dangerous for real people to fulfill. On the flip side, some even argue that robot dolls could help reduce violence and vibrators crime against real people – an idea I choose to agree with the least.
What started off as a friendly “let’s talk about Friday night” conversation had now become the most eye-opening discussion I’d ever had with my friends. I felt disconcerted. Here, I was looking through a dark filter at something I thought I should be okay neutral about (or even supportive of), but yet still feeling a heavy grip of ironically judgmental emotions. With all these mixed emotions drums so loudly in my head, I could barely hear myself think.
Then, Penis Rings the topic of ethics and morality started to arise. After a few heated debates and discussions, we all agreed that these dolls have a long way to go in terms of morality and acceptance. Some of us decided that it was totally cool, as long as it didn’t directly cause harm to anyone and the individuals using them still have control over what they choose to do with them. Still, there was a prevailing thought that this whole trend was too bizarre for our liking and it felt that we had nestled ourselves into a whole new grey area that I wasn’t sure I wanted to explore.
It’s safe to say that, I had a plethora of questions in my head by then. I started to wonder, if these dolls are indeed going to be mass-produced and available to all, who is going to take responsibility for monitoring the use of these dolls? Also, does this mean that humans now no longer need each other for intimacy or companionship?
The next part of the conversation was devoted to dolls created for particular orientations, lifestyles and budgets. This stirred a whole new set of understanding amongst us. Of course, many people would grab these dolls for their own superficial needs, but it was amazing to comprehend that real people are behind these dolls, stitching and creating them with minds and talents. I could visualise them all carefully solidifying the dolls into a form they could relate to, to invoke a sense of familiarity and pleasure; or simply just a hush of solace in the dark alleys of their minds.
It was becoming difficult to distinguish right from wrong, pleasure from pain or morality from depravity now. But one thing was for sure though, this conversation had awakened me to a whole new world of possibilities and I had been given a peephole into the changing perspectives of society.