A Brief History of Sex Dolls 2: More Plastic Than a Porn Star

The 20^th Century Sex Doll Became More Realistic, Warm, and Pliable.

Europe is for Doll Lovers

“There is no fear of blackmail, jealousy, argument, or disease,” read the advertisement in the 1904 French catalogue. “They are always available, always obedient.” The “they” in question were sex dolls. With the discovery of plastics and rubber, it became possible to mass produce these dirty secrets of untold men. Because of these new materials, the dolls available were more life-like than ever before, including their sometimes-self-lubricating lady bits.

Two years earlier, a Paris pamphlet announced the availability of custom-made dolls whose arms, legs, buttocks, head, and eyes moved. Those who sent in a photograph of the man or woman they wanted to fuck were guaranteed “a perfect likeness.” All that, with a guarantee against breakage, for a mere 3000 francs. That’s $3,493.56 US today.

Austrian artist and poet Oskar Kokoschka and his lover Alma Mahler parted company in 1918. Initially infatuated, Alma was tired of his unpredictable outbursts and his obsessive grief after she terminated a pregnancy with him. Still, passionately in love with her, he decided never to go through the hell of love again. Instead, he did the only logical thing a man in his position could do. He commissioned Hermine Moos in Munich to make what may be the first custom doll for both sex and companionship. The doll resembled his lost love. She wore garments made by Alma’s former seamstress and posed for several of his paintings before he destroyed her during a party, desperate to stop thinking of the woman who would never return his love.

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German surrealist artist Hans Bellmer became the “father figure of the contemporary sex doll” during the 1930s when he created four lifelike erotic dolls with movable ball joints, three of which had mechanisms so advanced that the art world took notice. The dolls had no orifices although they were placed in compromising positions with one another. Penetration would not be possible until the end of WWII when the inflatable sex doll was invented. The technology developed for and implemented by doll makers continues to advance to better satisfy the mostly male but increasingly female customer base that seeks sexual release from, and sometimes even emotional connection with their dolls.

Inflatable Doll Facts and Fiction

The socio-sex doll's high weirdness didn’t stop with Oskar Kokoschka or Hans Bellmer. A 2016 post was rediscovered in 2020 and sparked a crazy rumor. The first inflatable doll, it claimed, was commissioned by Adolf Hitler for his troops in France. The tall tale says that in 1940, inspired by SS chief Henrich Himmler’s concern about German troops contracting syphilis from brothels and streetwise ladies of the night; small, synthetic “gynoids” were designed and produced from silicone. In 1942, the internet yarn insisted, the Borghild Project was abandoned and the evidence destroyed during the bombing of Dresden.

Regardless of who made the first inflatable doll, the 1960s saw them displayed in adult bookstores or ordered through adult magazines and mailed discreetly starting in 1968 when it became legal to use the USPS for the purpose. The primitive dolls did not have the most attractive or even recognizable faces, but during the 1970s inflatable replicas of famous porn stars became available. With their cartoonish faces and delicate constitutions, the lightweight vinyl or rubber dolls were mostly purchased as gag gifts for bachelor parties and the like.

In Japan, former moving company employee Hideo Tsuchiya began to work in the Tokyo mizu shobai industry. Hostess bars, strip clubs, and sensual massage parlors paid for his rice and miso. Then a former co-worker offered him a job at his adult toy shop. Tsuchiya took the job and, since he did not like the feel of the inflatable vinyl dolls of his time. He was inspired to open Orient Industry in 1977. It will stop producing dolls as of this month so that the 80-year-old Tsuchiya can retire. The company’s first silicone-based doll was named “Bisho” (subtle smile) and she was available for 38,000 yen ($254.20 US), a mere five months’ white collar workers’ salary. She was a hit.

TPE, PVC and the New Doll Reality

During the 1990s, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, Nelson Mandela became the first Black president of South Africa, and the Hubble telescope was launched. More importantly, sex dolls, including the inflatable variety, became much more sturdy, user-friendly, and human-looking. No longer made of cloth or in need of endless inflating breaths, TPE and silicone brought about a doll revolution. Dolls began to have articulated joints, option upgrades and features so realistic that onlookers had to do a double take.

Spearheading this was artist Matt McMullen, who created lifelike silicone female mannequins. It wasn’t a reach for his friends and customers to ponder the possibilities. In 1996, in response to multiple inquiries about anatomically correct mannequins, McMullen founded Abyss Creations. The following year, it released the very first female Real Doll. The poseable sex dolls were fabricated from silicone material with movable skeletons made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and steel joints.

The not inexpensive investment in safer sex (unless shared and not cleaned in between dicks), was nearly infinitely customizable. Everything from her shoe, breast, waist, and hip sizes to the color of her hair, skin, and eyes, as well as physical flaws and even the absence or presence of pubic hair became available so customers could create the girl of their dreams. For the first time, a doll both looked and felt like a human woman. Male Real Dolls met their public in 2008, and the company now also releases trans dolls in addition to silicone breasts for living, breathing trans women.

Inspired by the success of Abyss Creations, international manufacturers of pleasure dolls began to create their own solid-bodied models. Thanks to surges in technology and aesthetics, dolls became even softer, more affordable, and easier to maintain when made from thermoplastic elastomer (TPE).

Social attitudes about the sex doll industry and its clientele have improved, although some raise concerns about the risk that such dolls may contribute to violence against women and the objectification, dehumanization, and reinforcement of negative stereotypes and impossible physical expectations for women. The idea of sexuality being a commodity also offends some.

Others see the dolls as a harmless form of adult entertainment that, for some, provides valuable social companionship for those not ready to return to or begin dating, helps the deeply inhibited confront emotional barriers, and provides a safe way to experiment sexually on their own or with a partner. The possible reduction of prostitution because of doll availability is listed as a plus or a minus, depending on where one stands on the issue of sex worker rights.

Y2K to the Dawn of Sex Robots

At the most recent change of centuries, not only the dolls but how they can be purchased have improved. With online shopping, anonymity can be maintained while a wealth of doll options can be examined by a nearly international audience. Ranging in price from $100 to tens of thousands, consumers can choose a doll that can blink, wink, and move its lips. It can moan and even talk thanks to chip technology, as well as self-lubricate, simulate orgasms, and thrust its pelvis.

In response to the popularity of anime and manga cultures in Japan, dolls that look like popular characters from those genres are now available, complete with extra-large eyes and weird hair. Europe, North America, and Asia have opened what are called “doll brothels,” where enthusiasts, who call themselves iDollators, can pay for time alone in a private room with a realistic doll of their choice. Alas, public disapproval has caused several of those establishments to close shortly after they opened.

While everyone knows about the discomfort that many women have with the existence and use of realistic sex dolls, very little is known about what women desire from sex technologies. How would they be designed and marketed to reach couples, queer or straight women? What would they need for their female purchasers to feel healthy, fulfilled, and sexually empowered?

Based on what little we know about the male iDollator community, many hold their dolls in high regard. They praise their physical appearance, femininity, and personalities. They create rich backstories for them and even take them on trips and excursions. For those with disabilities, the dolls accept them as they are. Some men have even fallen in love with and become married to their favorite dolls. This is not a guarantee of monogamy, however, since some doll owners have human partners or other dolls in their lives.

In 2007, a Japanese doll company offered selections with a “Sexual Audio System,” which included an MP3 player and built-in sensor that allowed the dolls to respond to touch. Two years later, the Germans introduced “Nax,” a male sex doll with an automatic erect penis and artificial automatic ejaculation all for the low, low price of $10,000. In June of 2009, Real Dolls ceased being made from tin-cure silicone and adopted platinum technology. This improved the lifespan of the average doll and decreased the chances they would rip, tear, or develop compression scars.

The next year, China entered the sex doll market. Internal heating systems, audio systems, pelvic thruster motors, and TPE became available from companies no longer in business. They were less expensive and more realistic than ever, but nothing compared to what a 3D printer in 2016 could produce. The next year, speech was introduced, thus taking a big step away from being a sex doll and toward being a sex robot. When COVID-19 drove people indoors, the resulting isolation resulted in a boom in sales.

Still largely misunderstood, what little research exists on the subject suggests that iDollators are not simple-minded, immature, or unusually unhappy with their lives. They often report more than average issues regarding sexual functioning. Most popular in the USA, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom, the international interest in love dolls has only increased.

Where sex dolls will go from here is anybody's guess. The introduction of sex robots gives us some clues. Find out more in the next and final entry in A Brief History of Sex Dolls. And if you missed part 1, click here to check it out.