I never heard that anyone does, so if something like that appears I will give you credit for that.

Are there dolls that have any form of speech technology at all? And how lifelike do you guys envisage the dolls of the future eventually becoming?

Well, your pardon, but I am more a cats person.
Yes, pets do provide good companionship. However what annoys me with a cat or a dog, same as with human beings, I have to be always "on". I mean, as living beings and being companions they just deserve attention. If my cats want to cuddle, I have to cuddle the cat, or she might get pissed. (And sometimes she expresses her feelings on my bed, duh )
So the nice thing about dolls is that I do not have to be "on" all the time. If I am not in the mood, I can just leave them alone, no harm done to anyone. And though I do not like this trait of me, quite often I just want to be left alone, and then it is no good pressing me into being more social.

Then, for example if one is in some kind of depression, pets are good help, while dolls are of no help at all.

Well, there is the Roxxy, but it is an understatement that most of the doll folks were not very impressed. It is some kind of "push button" technology, not very appealing (at least not to me).
On Davecats blog you can find a lot of information about the current development of Gynoids. One thing I do not expect in any of the near future is a robotic doll that can actually walk around and still look sexy. Learning to walk is a very difficult process.

In any case if a doll becomes interactive this will reduce the fantasy factor somewhat, as there are things the doll can actually do. And if they are doing a poor job on it I feel it is better if the dolls do not do it at all.
If I would get a robotic doll I guess I would be permanently distracted by wondering "How the heck did they implement that reaction" instead of trying to interact with her.

Oh, and anyway, while dolls are bloody expensive the costs of Gynoids are just mind boggling, somewhat by a factor of 100 or 1000. I do not expect them to be affordable in the short or medium time range even for halfway wealthy people, but for those who want such a Gynoid, there is always hope.

O Fenomeno wrote That is one of their uses, but not the only reason to get one. In fact, if all you want is sex I would NOT advise buying a high end doll. These dolls are expensive works of art, and not something you use, then toss in the corner for next time. They take regular maintenance if you want to keep them in good shape, not to mention the many accessories like wheeled chairs and stands to help dress /undress/display them. Speaking of dressing, you can't forget the clothes, makeup, jewery. etc ...etc.. that a woman - or man -would wear. By the time you're done, the accessories can darn near equal what you spent on the doll to begin with.
Appreciation of beauty is a large part of why we own dolls, and dress them up for photo shoots and go to meetings. We show off our dolls as would -for example- someone going to a car show. We share fellowship and care tips, and have a generally fun time.



societymax wrote Yes, someone did mention it, but I had to look it up before I could comment.
The uncanny valley is a matter of perception. Some people will fall into this valley quickly - others will not, it all depends upon how the individual sees these dolls, or any manufactured rendition of the human form. It seems I have a bridge across the uncanny Valley, LOL.

societymax wrote This is where imagination and fantasy come in. Obviously, the doll is not -nor will ever be a real woman, but for a short while you can pretend
The same goes with anything 'she'(the doll) says, or likes. It's play acting - getting the chance in this stressed out, grown up world, to practice a little escapism.
And yes, i am a kid at heart and I still ride the shopping cart down the parking lot.

Sigh.

I shoulda pretended my first wife was one of those dolls. I'd have saved a boatload of money.

there is at least one (besides Roxxxy) sillicone doll company that give the option for a speach module, I think it's "Honey dolls" a japanese manufacturer

I think it's something like a micro mp3 player built into her skull that you can upload your own sound clips onto, either speach, or sexy moans & groans

there wont be any kind of AI or speach patterns to it, just push a button & listen to the pre recorded message

what makes me think it was honey dolls is I remember they offer it as an option but can't fit it into the oral capable head, & I'm pretty sure it's only honey dolls that make an oral capable head out of the Japanese manufacturers

You speak of 'jerking off'...
Where is your mind when you do this?
What exactly are you visualizing to stimulate your masturbation?
Is not masturbation a form or fantasizing having sex with a sexy woman?

I contend that the majority of men would give a doll a go, but many only if no one else knew. There is some sort of astigmatism there. I do find it rather ironic that it is men and not women that seem to be the most outspoken against the dolls. As one wife put it, "I don't mind what my husband does with the doll, but if I catch him with another woman our marriage is over"

I also had an entire shop of mechanics that wanted to take jessica drake home with them when I showed up there with her in my car.

As in Alcohol, drugs, video games, poker and anything else, there are always people that can take it to excess, even to the point of addiction. However these people are a small minority in every community and not a reason to chastise the entire community. But it happens.

The problem with society is that when they see something different, they have a tendency to group everyone involved into the same stereotype.

I do find it rather ironic that it is men and not women that seem to be the most outspoken against the dolls. As one wife put it, "I don't mind what my husband does with the doll, but if I catch him with another woman our marriage is over"

The issues addressed and applications available using the the dolls are as widespread as a power tool or a car. Pure and simple...If something has nothing to offer someone, they should simply find something else rather than try to rationalize or criticize others' interest in it. Life's too short to spend time on things you don't enjoy or want to explore, when there are so many things yet untouched.

Short of a real human partner, dolls are the best 3D object stimulation for masturbation I have yet to encounter in my 57 years. For me, the jessica drake Wicked RealDoll is like she stepped out of her 2D video into my room. True, she because still life after stepping out, but that is where the imagination and fantasizing comes in, and it is a lot easier to boink a doll than a TV screen

I once had a friend that always chose female characters in Role playing games. We thought he was a latent transgender or transvestite. Then one day I decided to play a female elf. By the time I had played her through the first game chapter, I realized he was doing ti for the eye candy and I was very much enjoying myself. It was not what I was playing but what I was looking at that enhanced the game. I now play female characters most of the time. I even plan on ordering an Elf doll to further enhance my experiences when I am playing RPG's. If the RPG character, makes me horny, I can address the issue in full 3D, sort of extending the game.

So, while it was easy for me to criticize someone from a third person perspective, I truly just did not 'get it' until I jumped both feet in.

And yes, I also tried the grass brownies in Amsterdam. Didn't do anything for me, but I am still an advocate of legalization, if for no other reason than on the basis of economics. Morality has a cost and there comes a point when even society cannot afford to enforce every little thing they deem as not mainstream. Even morality is an evolutionary process.

Midiman

Just regarding this one point, I think "seem" is the operative word. Of course the wife of someone who owns these dolls is OK with it -- they wouldn't be married to the guy if they weren't.

But if you just took a random sampling of men and women, I think you'd find at least as many women as men being against the dolls at some level.

Also regarding the mechanics: I obviously wasn't there so I can't say for certain, but whenever anyone gives anecdotes like this I think that they're probably exaggerating things. More likely than not they were just having some fun and joking around. I'm sure if someone showed up with a doll like this at, for example, a chess club that I go to, as long as it was mostly younger males, we'd probably end up talking about that also. That doesn't mean that we would actually do such a thing or not think sex dolls are weird.

i'll admit that some of the dolls look pretty good (though most look ridiculous)..

don't you guys that form attachments to these things just start getting depressed that they're not real? like you couldn't pull someone that hot so you had to resort to buying a doll?

Fwiw, I'm a female and I would definitely be put off by a guy who has to resort to a doll to get his jollies.
I do see the merit in this "escapism" for some people, but I don't think I would be okay with, "Well, I'm either going to go **** a doll and imagine it's some other woman, or I'm going to go **** another woman." Neither are appealing options.

not me, I've never been that shallow

I'll take brains & a good sense of humour over beauty any day of the week

I don't know if it's related, but I've noticed that women are far more likely than men to use misogynist terms like "slut", "tramp", "skank", "whore"...perhaps because, deep down, they're jealous of those who are unencumbered by the culturally-imposed hangups that prevent them from enjoying sex for its own sake?

I think that some men view the idea of sex with dolls as a threat to their masculinity, that to do so means somehow being unable to "get" a real woman. Whereas for me, sex was never a conquest. Despite retaining my teenage libido even now in my 30s, I still find casual encounters incredibly unfulfilling. A person can have a voracious appetite, but if it's coupled with a passion for gourmet cuisine, then surely he'd rather cook his own meals than go to McDonald's if he can't afford the fancy restaurant (even if he can't cook as well as a professional chef). Likewise, I much prefer the fantasy of romantic intimacy with a doll to meaningless sex with any random woman who's willing to sleep with me.

On the other hand, I think a woman would have to be pretty insecure to see inanimate dolls as a threat to her femininity...

It's not a threat to her femininity that's the issue. If in a relationship, it would would be the discontinuity in that one person would no longer be "good enough" for the other person. Emotional affairs are still affairs.
That said, it would seem most of you dislike the trappings of a traditional relationship and as such, is why you've gone the route of the doll. The guy who dislikes the demands from even his cat, springs to mind.
I was merely offering an opinion that hasn't been seen in this thread previously.

imagine this scenario

your married & very much in love, but your other half suffers some form of injury or ailment that stops them from being able to have sex.

what would you do?

obviously you don't want to sleep with anybody else, but you still have needs, the simplest thing to do would be to get a sextoy of some kind & pleasure yourself

you don't have to be thinking of somebody else while you're doing it, you could just as easily be fantasising it's your other half doing it

now let me explain my story

I was young, fit, healthy, with a very beautifull woman who I adored verry much, A good job & all the other trappings of being a very happy man

untill one day I was involved in a very bad road traffic accident involving a car & a motorcycle, unfortunatly I was the one on the motorcycle, & to say I didn't come out of it too well would be a pretty fair coment,

I spent the next 6 months in hospital & it was almost 2 years befor I could walk again, & which I still can't do very well almost 9 years on

the girl I was with came to see me in the hospital about 3 weeks after the crash & waited till I snuck outside for a smoke to leave a dear John letter on my pillow for me to find when I got back to my bed

I've never had any trouble meeting women, but now I am pretty hideously scarred, all but one of the women I have dated since the accident have turned & fled the moment they have seen me naked,

since my last relationship fizzeled out, & I don't ever want to see that look of disgust on another womans face again I choose to stick to dolls for a while

I'm not ruling out real women but I won't go looking to start anything out of shear lonelyness either

I have some more corrective surgery planned next year, I've alredy mentioned a hip replacement in an earlier post

when I feel up to it I'll go looking for a new girl but I'm going to take my time & pick one that I know can handle my dissabilities without running a mile

uhh...your doll has a sense of humor?

tatler: you don't discuss this horrible scar with women before you have sex?

Tatler, like I said, I understand the necessity of the "escapism" for some people.

no, but I imagine she does

I do mention the scarrs but seing them up close is a bit too much for most & they cover most of me so they are pretty hard to ignore

I know, I was just trying to show a scenario where a doll might be acceptable within a relationship

not so much for extra marital sex, as you say, even an emotional affair is still an affair & aggree with you on that

I dunno if this is mean to say, but to me almost all the dolls just look really fake and weird to me. It's sorta hard for me to imagine someone being attracted to them, though I'm fine with the fact that you guys are and have found something that makes you happy.

In reading this thread, it seems like I might be alone in this?

I have been depressed for quite some time that I have failed in having relationships with real women, but for now I am over that (or so I hope). If I did not, I guess I would be quite depressed hanging around with a doll.
By they way I never pursued women who look as "hot" as these dolls., I knew we would not be a good match.

Oh, and I do not think the dolls are hot, but they are pretty cool.

Actually you are not - see e.g. wipers comment just above. I remember others expressing similar sentiments.
Well, everyone to her/his own. If you do not like the dolls but are fine with me liking them, then I am fine with you

Please see the cat owner containment thread.

lonely_but_rich,

you want to eat their tongues?

why not just get some liver from the butcher's and pretend to eat the rest of their organs while you're at it.

Interesting that some have indicated they have no problem with mindless jerk offs, one night stands or a trip to a hooker - all of which have generally left me with an empty feeling after - but introduce some fantasy, role play or romantic connotation and it is beyond them. Go figure?

At over 60 (and with a disability preventing me from dancing) is it reasonable to suggest I go regularly to frequent clubs and pubs and expend the time and effort on the off chance I may meet a suitable 'mate' to have a 'bang' when in the mood (which is generally during the day). I don't think so. After 3 long term relationship break ups (very expensive) I am not going down that path again.
And, as I have said before, the difference is not that big and in some instances better with a doll.

Some have said they are not that attractive. Sure they are fake but if not attractive then neither are the girls in playboy, penthouse and hustler.





If my ex's and other late middle age ladies knew the care and attention I lavish on my 'girls' then probably they would be quite envious and possibly wish 'if only'. And all they had / have to do is be nice, look good, dress well, not be lazy and not nag.

mugsy

If one partner on a relationship would resort to a doll because the other one is not attractive enough to him, I could completely understand the other is is pissed and quits. Actually I think this would be a disrespect to her femininity (and humanity).
However these dolls are just dolls. One thing I really like about the dolls is how they mock on the beauty standards which are imposed on woman by advertising and such. I mean this:
Yes, indeed. I mean with the dolls out there, there is not need for women trying to care overly much about their looks; if someone complains they do not put enough efforts into their looks, they can respond: "hey, if this is what you want, go get a doll and leave me alone."
Oh, and if women just like to dress up because they like it for themselves, not to fulfil the expectations imposed on them, that is something completely different.

Random side remark: it is not that I dislike the "trappings of a traditional relationship", I am just poor at coping with it. But, yes, that is why I am on the doll road, I feel it is better than frustrating a real human being with my inabilites.

btw:
Thanks for the pointer. Now I am away reading that thread for a while ...