Table Of ContentT S D
HE EX OLL
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T S D
HE EX OLL
A History
Anthony Ferguson
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Ferguson, Anthony, ¡963–
The sex doll : a history / Anthony Ferguson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-4794-7
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
¡. Sex dolls—History. I. Title.
HQ23.F47 2010
306.77—dc22 2010021493
British Library cataloguing data are available
©2010 Anthony Ferguson. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, i ncluding photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without p ermission in writing from the publisher.
Cover photograph ©2010 Nina Malyna
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
C
ONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Preface 1
Introduction 3
ONE. The Origin of the Species 9
TWO. She Ain’t Heavy, She’s Just Rubber 24
THREE. The Great Leap Forward 40
FOUR. I Am Your Automatic Lover 56
FIVE. Forever Young 71
SIX. Consumable Women 81
SEVEN. Sex Doll Stereotypes 93
EIGHT. The Vagaries of Masculine Desire 108
NINE. The Dark Side of Desire 127
TEN. Do Androids Dream of Electric Orgasm? 142
ELEVEN. Revulsion, Lust and Love 167
Conclusion: Disengage from Society and Plug into the Network 199
Chapter Notes 205
Bibliography 211
Index 217
v
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A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are a few people I would like to thank for their
assistance during the long process of putting this book together.
They include my good friend Ian Spenceley who first suggested
I should write and submit a paper on sex dolls while I was at
college many years ago and subsequently Professor John Fiske
of Curtin University, who appraised the work and made a num-
ber of useful suggestions. Matt McMullen and all the other
artists and technicians took the industry forward into the post-
industrial age and subsequently re-invigorated interest in sex
dolls, giving me a good approach to the topic. Benjamin Szum-
skyj, academic author and friend, encouraged me to persevere
when I was ready to give up, and Phillip Ellis indexed the text.
My wife Tracey put up with my continual absence, locked in
the study obsessing about sex dolls. Kharn and all the other
members of the Coverdoll website were kind enough to give
me their personal insight into why they are drawn to love dolls,
and allowed me to use some of their images. Finally, Rob and
Nick from Pipedream Products allowed me to use some images
of their celebrity inflatable dolls.
vii
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P
REFACE
It may come as a surprise that there is very little serious literature
available on the origins of sex dolls, yet the idea of creating an ideal love
object has recurred frequently in writings since ancient times. It is almost
as if this theme represents some dark and secret hidden quest surreptitiously
undertaken on behalf of men by other men, to create a woman who is per-
fectly controlled, silent and obedient.
In some ways this is understandable. From the germ of male desire
sprang the urge to create something which was female in appearance, but
completely receptive and non-judgmental. Yet getting men to talk about
this secret desire is another matter, or at least it was until recently. Little
has been written about sex dolls from their origins as cloth or sack effigies
(dames de voyage) utilized by randy sailors on lengthy and lonely sea jour-
neys to their sudden reappearance on the periphery of popular culture
around the 1970s as inflatable dolls.
Recently, the development of a global communications network in
conjunction with vast improvements in computer-generated imagery
(CGI) and other post-industrial technologies improved the quality of
humanoid reproduction. As a consequence, public interest in the artificial
women surged as they suddenly went very high tech and became excep-
tionally realistic. Now it seems that sex doll aficionados no longer keep
silent. The Internet has given them both anonymity and a plethora of like-
minded individuals with whom to compare their doll experiences.
The chapters in this book trace the genesis of the sex doll from its
original conception as an ideal love object to the robotic effigies which are
now becoming more readily available via the Internet, with an emphasis
on female dolls. The book also exposes the psychology behind the persistent
desire for gynoids and other non-responding sexual partners. It is my firm
belief that academic interest in sex dolls, sex doll technology and the psy-
chology of their users will become much more widespread as the gap
between dolls and what would properly be called androids continues to
close.
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