The ‘perfect’ partner: understanding the lived experiences of men who own sex dolls

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Lievesley, R. ORCID: 0000-0003-4957-258X, Reynolds, R. and Harper, C. ORCID: 0000-0002-3172-0129, 2023. The ‘perfect’ partner: understanding the lived experiences of men who own sex dolls. Sexuality and Culture. ISSN 1095-5143 (Forthcoming)

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Abstract

The ownership of sex dolls has become an increasingly discussed phenomenon in recent years, with legal scholars and legislators calling for increased regulation and criminalization of such articles. However, our knowledge of sex doll ownership is lacking, and the peer-reviewed literature is especially sparse on detailed phenomenological analyses of the motivations of sex doll owners and their experiences of owning a doll. In this study, we interviewed nine male owners of sex dolls to investigate these issues. Two main themes were elicited from the data: “the ‘perfect’ partner” and “sex doll or love doll?”. In understanding doll ownership in this way, we hope to add to ongoing social discussions about the types of people who own dolls, why they do so, and how dolls act as a functional aspect of their sexual (and nonsexual) lives.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

Sexuality and Culture

Creators:

Lievesley, R., Reynolds, R. and Harper, C.

Publisher:

Springer

Date:

28 February 2023

ISSN:

1095-5143