Although it’s not true for everyone, most of us feel a need to have sex. And, given that that drive, it’s no wonder that the development of wealth in almost every early society was swiftly followed by prostitution. This is why author Rudyard Kipling called it “the most ancient profession in the world” in 1888. Now, we all just call it the world’s oldest profession. And though the basics of the transactions haven’t changed in centuries, advancements in the design and creation of sex dolls indicates that sex workers may soon be placed in competition with silicone facsimiles — something that concerns them.
Sex doll brothels are real. When it comes to North America, Kinky S Dolls in Toronto has been open for a year with plans to open a location in Houston and one in Mississauga soon and Aura Dolls was set to open in Toronto this month before a city bylaw blocked the plan. Apparently, Toronto loves sex dolls. Though the move into the U.S. hasn’t commenced in earnest, licensed prostitutes are keenly aware of possible negative outcomes for their profession and human sexuality.
The issue is particularly interesting because we’re witnessing the industrial revolution of a basic physiological drive. Whereas installing self-checkout eliminates some jobs, it doesn’t fundamentally impact the sexual relationship between humans, which is one of the potential pitfalls of this tech. Sex workers worry the dolls will encourage an unhealthy sexual mindset, warping a man’s ability to relate to living partners.
Allissa, a sex worker at Sheri’s Ranch in Nevada said in a statement issued by the brothel, “When a client sees a human sex worker, he has a real, two-way experience with a woman that gives him feedback and enhances his ability to be intimate with other women in his current or future life. A man who becomes comfortable with a sex doll is alienating himself from healthy sexual experiences with real women and distancing himself from any possibility of a healthy sex life.”
By extension, alienation from sexual partners may also manifest in an increasingly violent attitude towards sex workers and women on the whole. Roxanna Price, who is well-known in the industry and has a large social media platform, added, “The idea that women should be like dolls — unresponsive and lethargic during sex — is downright dangerous. I feel that sex doll brothels support the idea that sex workers are mere objects, devoid of agency, to be used and abused by their patrons.”
The nuanced view these women and sex workers like them have of the profession endows them with an authority the average person doesn’t have. As they work in a legal brothel, they don’t engage in activities against their will and clients are expected to respect their boundaries. That isn’t the case for doll. So the notion that depersonalized sex will lead some patrons to lack empathy with partners and sex workers is a valid concern.
