In the booming sex doll industry, this heartbreaking desire for companionship may not be more obvious than this. Until a few years ago, sex dolls were a prank. Nowadays, sex dolls are almost everywhere, and they are becoming more and more common over time. The craftsmanship of the industry is still unable to meet market demand, and sex doll experience halls have appeared in countries such as Britain, France, and Germany, and even America. Before the Russia World Cup proved so popular, the owner of a sex doll experience hall opened in Russia was considering opening more venues. In Japan, sex dolls are breaking the deadlock between couples living under the same roof. Some Japanese men claim that they really like sex dolls, take it to the park and introduce it to friends.
A search on the Internet will reveal that Japan is by no means an exception in this boom of companion robots. But most psychiatrists still claim that sex dolls will do things against humans and that robots are re-personified in some way. For example, it is reported that about 30% of the sex doll experience centers in Spain have mental problems that prevent them from interacting with others normally. Experts assert that sex dolls will eventually help such groups learn to approach others and establish intimate relationships.
But is enhancing interpersonal interaction really the ultimate goal of this industry?
We are in an era of freedom and autonomy. We have rights and obligations; we will ask and we will give. We believe in Thomas’s “life is cruel”, and we believe in Paul’s “others are hell”. We desire intimacy, but we may also hate interpersonal relationships. We prefer an avatar, which can present a magical side of itself and can transform another self into an image on the screen. Those who buy sex dolls cannot allow themselves to bear the sad and regrettable form of interpersonal communication. Sex dolls have nothing to do with sex (because “sex” etymologically means the pairing of male and female). It is not even the ego, it is the sublimation of the ego onto an object, and the loneliness of the soul is integrated into the rubber material.
The fact is that these foreign objects are based on a basic lie we told ourselves. A person may request a “customized” interaction because they think they desire a unique “intimacy”, but in fact, they are afraid of intimacy, love, sharing, and commitment. It is necessary to use foreign objects to cover up the fear of opening up to another person in real-time, trying to temporarily relieve the suffocating communication vacuum brought about by his lonely life.
Thus, the sex doll represents the perfection of liberalism. With the rise of sex dolls, we may no longer need to know or love anyone-even ourselves.
