Sex, Doll?

A world in which men don't need women? We already have robot floor cleaners; now fake women can do the rest. By the rest, I mean sex. Men, how would you like a sex doll that lets you rape her? Women, how do you feel about that? This could be the ultimate payback on uppity women. I was laughing a lot as I wrote this; yet it could wind up no laughing matter. Roxxxy the Sex Robot is here, and you can rape her if you like. She won't like it, and won't be "appreciative" - but she'll let you. Let that sink in. She'll let you rape her. Roxxxy is made by TrueCompanion. There she is, on their website, a woman with her legs open. "World's first sex robot. Always turned on and ready to talk or play," it says. When you give her the "Frigid Farrah"' personality, Roxxxy will be "not too appreciative" if you "touch her in a private area." But you can. Without consent. She may look and feel increasingly real. Unlike a real woman, however, she'll never object. Ripe. For a number of issues. It was coming. In books: "The Emasculation of Men in America: 50 Reasons Why Males are No Longer Men" (2006); "The End of Men: And the Rise of Women" (2012). It seemed quite shocking when Captain Kirk (William Shatner), updated as Denny Crane in "Boston Legal," lusted so for Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen) that he confessed he had a life-size doll like Shirley; he called it "Shirley Schmidt-ho." Boston Legal also featured a woman who loved a toaster, not too far from the approaching Internet of Things.

"Her" a movie about a guy who loved his OS, had five Oscar nominations. But the female love object was just a voice. Now, thanks to robotics, and AI (Artificial Intelligence), perhaps the biggest reason men need women is possibly being erased. That is, if you leave procreation out of the sexual equation. Roxxxy is a full-size interactive sex doll; development cost up to $1 million, according to TrueCompanion President Douglas Hines. And if you're wondering how thin they figured Roxxxy should be, she's 5'7" and weighs 120 pounds. Roxxxy can learn what her owner likes, and can feel touch; buyers customize hair, eye, and skin color, and breast size. Do men want custom-made passive women? My neighbor and close friend, Marge, was one of the best wives and mothers I've ever seen. We used to debate whether men would be happy with a Stepford wife. She believed yes, I felt no. She absolutely believed yes; I strongly believed no. Could I be so wrong? "She is also anatomically consistent with a human so you can have a talk or have sex," the website ingenuously says. Remember, sex dolls don't complain or talk back. A few issues: Would a doll that lets you rape her satisfy, or encourage, a rapist? If the doll resembled a child, would that embolden pedophiles? If the doll's skin color were black/brown, would it enable racists? Men addicted to porn may no longer be capable of enjoying sex with real women, according to statistics. Are 12-step groups for "sex doll addiction" in our future? "We should no more be encouraging rapists to find a supposedly safe outlet for it than we should facilitate murderers by giving them realistic, blood-spurting dummies to stab,” says Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project (NY Times).

About one quarter of young people surveyed in the U.K. would happily date a robot, according to the Independent. Does raping a sex-doll normalize rape? "Roxxxy is simply not programmed to participate in a rape scenario and the fact that she is, is pure conjecture on the part of others." (company rep in The Independent). Bates' reply? "Their creators are...effectively reproducing real women, complete with everything, except autonomy." As discussed on Facebook: Enabling: sex robots for rape. Disabling: cutting off the penises of rapists. Which would do more to stop rape? Think this is not happening now?A California company makes RealDolls, recreating appearance, weight, and texture of human women, and men. You can attach different faces; with removable inserts for the mouth and vagina. They also custom-order transgender dolls. They ship up to 600 sex dolls a year, Bates says. "There is a big difference between the right to dignity and privacy, the right to consensual sexual activity, and the idea that every man has some fundamental right to a woman’s body. By replicating women as realistically as possible, this is what such robots attempt to provide —down to every detail except the pesky necessity for an actual woman’s consent." A Canadian court is deciding if a man is guilty of possessing child pornography after ordering a child sex doll (Marie-Claire). Professor Noel Sharkey, University of Sheffield, created the Foundation for Responsible Robotics to research how robots impact sex. He quotes a child sex doll maker: "I am helping people express their desires, legally and ethically. It's not worth living if you have to live with repressed desire," he told The Atlantic. More "sex tech": A "fellatio cafe" promising to open in London: coffee plus fellatio for 60 Euros ($70). Next? One for women. Sex dolls for older people? For the disabled? Silicon replicas for long-distance couples?

After sex dolls, will we lose empathy if we're desensitized by robots? Will the ease of robot sex lessen desires for human intimacy? There's already a campaign against: campaignagainstsexrobots.org And a petition: "We need to stop normalizing sexual violence and start treating it as the violent crime it is." Their goal: 10,000. Currently: 9300 supporters. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/629/063/367/remove-sex-robot-feature-that-lets-men-simulate-rape/ Robot sex brothels? There already are! After LumiDolls started Europe's first robotic sex brothel in Spain, it was forced to move due to opposition from sex workers. Prof Sharkey: "I can tell you that the sex robots are certainly coming. I can't think of any other way to say it." I wonder if it will become like firemen in the early days of railroads: will prostitutes insist on "featherbedding," so they're needed? Would you use a sex robot? Who would ever know? You could keep her/him in a closet, or put them there when guests arrive. Or... maybe your guests will bring their own robots, kind of like guests who bring non-gluten food with them, and then maybe your robot could have a party with their robot? ______________________________________________©Carole Bell 2017 Carole Bell is a writer interested in everything. You can write to her at: [email protected]