The Silicone Self: Examining Sexual Selfhood and Stigma within the Love and Sex Doll Community

Abstract

While previous research has theorized the potential benefits and consequences of intimate relationships with robots and dolls, little empirical research has been conducted on today's love and sex doll owners. By drawing on digital ethnographic data and interviews with 41 love and sex doll community members, I explore how love and sex doll owners account for their transgressive sex practice. I argue these accounts reveal the underlying sexual selfhood project of doll owners, what I term the silicone self. I analyze silicone selves to show how doll community members manage stigma by emphasizing sexual individualism and drawing on pro-sex, feminist, and anti-feminist discourses. I further highlight tensions within the community that stem from conflicting views about gender and sexuality.