“Frigid Farrah” sex doll, danger to women
She can speak four different languages fluently, listens to you, can be sexy and flirty or mothering and nurturing. To some she might be the perfect companion, to others she is stereotyping women by being the world’s first sex robot. By Edwina Carr.
RealDolls may be replaced in the future by sex robots with personalities. Image: robotman1974
“Roxxxy” is the beginning of the commercialisation of humanoid robots, yet experts are concerned that the sex robot is projecting a negative view of women.
Adult entertainment company, Truecompanion, unveiled Roxxxy at the Las Vegas Adult Entertainment Expo this January.
The robot comes with different personalities, including “Young Yoko”, a beginner at the sex game, and “S&M Susan”, an experienced lover who will have no problem with causing a little pain if requested.
Roxxxy can also be programmed into a “Frigid Farrah” personality where according to Truecompanion website, “if you touched her in a private area, more than likely, she will not be too appreciative of your advance”.
Nina Funnell, Board Member of the NSW Rape Crisis Centre and Researcher in the Journalism and Media Centre at the University of New South Wales, says that while she thinks that it is “perfectly acceptable for people to explore their sexuality in safe, respectful and consensual ways,” Roxxxy’s personality settings have the potential to incite inappropriate behaviour in social settings.
“While I don’t think they will necessarily encourage sexual assault, they certainly won’t discourage it…the fact that this robot has a “Frigid Farrah” setting, where men can have sex with ‘her’ when she makes it clear she doesn’t want to, normalises and reinforces rape-positive attitudes.”
Funnell says that while she has no problem with people using sex toys, she says that as a society, we need to take a more critical approach to how women are viewed.
“I also think it’s important to be critical of the many ways in which women today are treated like voiceless mannequins,” Funnel says.
“This [sex robots], to me, is the extreme form of that. I’m also anxious about men who want to substitute real live women with voiceless, passive, inanimate objects who serve as a constantly sexually avaliable servant.”
Whether she will encourage misogynistic attitudes or not, Roxxxy could be a source of company for single people.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirms that having a companion, particularly in one’s elder years, can increase life expectancy.
When comparing the rate of death per 1000 for married people versus single people, married people were shown to live longer in the majority of age groups.
Could robotic dolls help some people to overcome loneliness? Jade Alexander, CEO of Sydney Sex Therapy, thinks so.
“The potential is there for robot dolls like Roxxxy to meet some companionship needs in a minority of lonely individuals,” she says.
“In an age where we have vibrators to meet sexual needs and expensive cars for egotistical needs, how far-fetched is it to consider a pre-programmed, interactive lover to fill sexual and/or companionship needs?”
Gordon Griggs, 43, lives in Virginia and owns two RealDolls (realistic human dolls similar to Roxxxy) called Ginger Brooke and Kelly Sue.
While he’s not in a rush to buy Roxxxy, he believes that robotic sex dolls with inbuilt personalities could make their non-robotic sisters obsolete.
Griggs, who describes himself as “antisocial”, relies heavily on his dolls for companionship and prefers the company of Ginger Brooke and Kelly Sue because the lives of real women are too complicated for him.
“I like peace and quiet and for things to be simple,” he says.
“Most people always have some kind of problem going on. As soon as they solve one, they get themselves into another. I’m not into that.”
A typical weekend for Griggs is spending time with his dolls “lying in bed watching TV.”
“I dress them up and take photos or make videos for Youtube,” he says.
Alexander says that despite Roxxxy’s potential to fill a void in some individual’s sex or personal lives, the robot’s likeness to a woman could discourage people from socialising with real people.
“The danger in having programmable personalities is the increased risk that vulnerable individuals may stop seeking the companionship of actual people and become further isolated and trapped by their dependence on the artificial,” she says.
Peter Nowak, Science and Technology Reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News Online and author of Sex, Bombs and Burgers, was present for the unveiling of Roxxxy in Las Vegas.
While Nowak thinks Roxxxy’s debut was “a bit of a letdown,” he believes she represents the first steps towards attracting mainstream interest in robotic dolls.
Although most people aren’t aware of it, robotic technology has already become widely used in our society.
“iRobot has sold more than 3 million Roomba vacuum cleaners, and there are more and more household robots coming every day, from pool cleaners to lawn mowers,” he says.
“The bottom line is that everyone has tasks they hate doing – I hate cleaning the toilet, for example – so it’s only a question of the technology getting cheap enough to allow robots to take those over.”
Nowak says innovations in the adult industry almost always stem from breakthroughs in military technology which he says is where Roxxxy’s technology originates.
“Military Research and Development has definitely provided the sex industry with all of its technology…If we’re talking about sex robots being next, military R&D is definitely doing all the heavy lifting here in terms of recruiting people to work on robotics, spreading the knowledge and bringing the cost down”.
Nowak believes that it would be smart for sex doll makers (like RealDoll) to keep updated on military advances in robotics.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if, say fifteen years from now, there’s a Time magazine cover story on the man who invented the world’s first commercially successful sex robot, and it turns out that he, and it will almost definitely be a “he”, came from a military R&D background,” Nowak says.
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Very interesting stuff!
I’ll be eager to see how far these sex robots will go and better yet how far the household robots will go.
A great read!
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Very interesting stuff!
I’ll be eager to see how far these sex robots will go and better yet how far the household robots will go.
A great read!
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A interesting story ! It’s sad that someone would want to spend their time with a doll – although it not necessarily in itself a problem. Funnell is right however. She can be “sexy and flirty or mothering and nurturing” – all feminine stereotpyes but can she take the initiatve, argue back, make suggestions, play an equal role or is the only other options frigidity.
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Honest John Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 1:04 am
Well, that would pretty much defeat the whole point of it. While I wouldn’t trade human interaction for robo-boning, there is hardly a man out there who hasn’t, at least once, dreamed of having a hot, ever-willing woman please him when he needs it, without having to go through the finding and dating of this unexisting lady – not to speak of the “problems” of long emotional talks, fighting ect that come with having a girlfrind/wife. Again, you wont find me with one of these things any time soon, seeing how I really love women, be it talking or amazing, real, unique sex – but this thing will be immensely popular for exactly the same reason as hookers are still earning their money around the world and harems are the bread and butter of sexual fantasies – men will rather have 20 blow jobs a day for no work at all, rather than one every once in a while, after having satisfied the needs and expenses that come with engaging with a real woman. I am of course generalizing here, but my point is that even though this won’t make women (not counting prostitudes) more or less obsolete, it certainly does give you more “bang for the buck”, to use a shameless pun, than your average house wife. The only real alternative is either a utopia where everyone can have their sex as freely as they want to – or just a bunch of legalized prostitution, whichever fits the best. Besides, there will always be people (like Griggs, or old people) who loose out in the dating-game, but who would still like to have sex, which is only fair in my book, however creepy the thought of it.
*English isn’t my first language, typos are now irrelevant
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A interesting story ! It’s sad that someone would want to spend their time with a doll – although it not necessarily in itself a problem. Funnell is right however. She can be “sexy and flirty or mothering and nurturing” – all feminine stereotpyes but can she take the initiatve, argue back, make suggestions, play an equal role or is the only other options frigidity.
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[...] (similar to Roxxxy but not robotic) to find out some answers. See my story on the Reportage website here. RealDolls are the non-robotic sisters of Roxxxy, the world's first sex robot. Image: [...]
I just hope it takes these men out of the gene pool.
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I just hope it takes these men out of the gene pool.
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You want to avert this whole robot thing
Then stop all the social engineering by Govts and get rid of no fault divorce and make family courts fairer to all parties concerned and get rid of the child support agency and go back to court orders.
Why would a man want to marry a ‘real’ woman when theere is a greater than 50% chance of getting divorced, losing just about everything you worked for, get denied access to your children and have your pay garnished at an exorbitant rate by child support agency.
Instead of do gooders putting effort into blind sided social engineering we should be working on brining back traditional values, then you may find that this whole bot thing will not be an issue in the future.
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Speshuu Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
when your with the sexbot you wont have kids? or you will adopt them? or have robot kids that you have sex with? ITS OK THEY ARE ROBOTS!
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You want to avert this whole robot thing
Then stop all the social engineering by Govts and get rid of no fault divorce and make family courts fairer to all parties concerned and get rid of the child support agency and go back to court orders.
Why would a man want to marry a ‘real’ woman when theere is a greater than 50% chance of getting divorced, losing just about everything you worked for, get denied access to your children and have your pay garnished at an exorbitant rate by child support agency.
Instead of do gooders putting effort into blind sided social engineering we should be working on brining back traditional values, then you may find that this whole bot thing will not be an issue in the future.
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Agree with Joez. These things wouldn’t even exist if the current attitudes in the dating scene weren’t so borderline insane. Women are so ultra picky. They act as if most men are subhuman scum from the start. Even if you get the date, pay for everything, and do a perfect balancing act while jumping through hoops of fire, you still have a 50/50 shot of being divorced. Actually before the age of 25, its more like 80% chance of divorce. Its north of 55% if its your second marriage.
The family courts usually give her the house, custody of the kids, half of everything you earned, child support and alimony. Thats a huge risk to take for a 50% chance of staying married. And lets be honest, the sex dries up after marriage and you’ve got to deal with all the problems and excess baggage that comes with it. Thats a tall order.
So its natural that such insanity would create a vacuum somewhere. Technology is being used to fill the void. That is why there is a market for stand ins such as dolls and robots. If things were different, men wouldn’t be resorting to such methods.
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Agree with Joez. These things wouldn’t even exist if the current attitudes in the dating scene weren’t so borderline insane. Women are so ultra picky. They act as if most men are subhuman scum from the start. Even if you get the date, pay for everything, and do a perfect balancing act while jumping through hoops of fire, you still have a 50/50 shot of being divorced. Actually before the age of 25, its more like 80% chance of divorce. Its north of 55% if its your second marriage.
The family courts usually give her the house, custody of the kids, half of everything you earned, child support and alimony. Thats a huge risk to take for a 50% chance of staying married. And lets be honest, the sex dries up after marriage and you’ve got to deal with all the problems and excess baggage that comes with it. Thats a tall order.
So its natural that such insanity would create a vacuum somewhere. Technology is being used to fill the void. That is why there is a market for stand ins such as dolls and robots. If things were different, men wouldn’t be resorting to such methods.
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Psycho-babbling transference projection parody piece.
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This is horrible and such a shame to belive you can replace people with robots, just look at that George guy, he’s a total peice if trash if he can’t find a girl and needs to replace them with dolls, like come on if everyone did this soon socialising will be forgotten and sex will be as common as breathing. It just make love seem so cheap, and if there per programed they’d never suprise you with little gifts; and it makes it funner when you have to work to get with some one. And yea sometimes it dosint work out and your left broken but where would we be if we didn’t learn from our mistakes?
If they keep doing shit like this it’ll be the end of real love and change us for the worst
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Gdlee Reply:
November 25th, 2010 at 3:54 am
Hate to tell you this Shephano…but sex IS as common as breathing….at least in my life.
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Yes, the mainpage and ‘face’ is of the female doll and I agree that the way womyn’s bodies are displayed is wrong but the whol epicture isn’t here. The company also sells male dolls where you can choose the face, skin tone, and *most* importantly, penis size/shape. They’re revolutionising the sex toys industry, however disturbing it is.
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Look.
The people who would replace their significant other with a robot aren’t the kind of people I want procreating anyway! So good, let those freaks stay hidden in their parents’ basement screwing Roxxxy. That way, their cesspool of a genetic line won’t be passed on.
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“get denied access to your children”
Sarah, are you stupid?
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…do they really think EVERYONE is gonna jump on the creepy sex-doll bandwagon?? This seems like a doll that only serial killers would buy lol….
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Yeah, that’s a fair assumption. It’s been proven time and again that at the moment there is nothing even close to a balanced family court. It is assumed that the woman will get the kid(s), and it’s not up to dad to prove that he *can* take care of his kid(s), but also that SHE can’t. Generally drug use needs to be involved.
Don’t just assume that because the standard judgement was handed down in FC that there was a reason for it.
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Speshuu Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
How did raping a robot turn into all women are bitches and take the kids?Would having a robot that you can rape and have robot kids that you can rape be better?
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His comments were more based in the bias seen in the family courts perfectly illustrated in Kramer vs. Kramer. The courts treat the situation like it’s still the 60s-70s and most women aren’t working, therefore needing the house (how could she get one on her own? She’s just a woman) and alimony. That’s what he’s talking about being different.
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The courts are an obvious case of systematic misandry.
“Great comment” isn’t a sentence.
Oh, it is sarcasm! That is just awesome!
“…who apperently has no idea what n actual female human is like.” So you’re saying that all human females are alike? That has not been MY expeience. There are as many types of woen as there are women. Try to keep your blanket statements about the behaviors and attitudes of women out of this. I’m sure women in the South and women in Portland, Oregon have little interest in being lumped together, for any reason.
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It won’t take over. There are too many people who are good at getting sex. “X being an option” does not equal “X is mandatory,” but it seems that it’s still not clear to people. I heard the same thing from a cat in my Ethics class about gay marriage leading to the end of the species. Apparently, as soon as gay marriage is legal he’s going to get married and start banging a dude in the but.
And good Lord! Stop calling them robots. If they were robots they would, I dunno, do something other than get sexed at, like vacuum the floor, take out the trash, edit my AppleScript, and make me breakfast. Whatever they are technically called (bi-pedal automatons?), is irrelevant. They are dolls. Sex dolls. Masturbation equipment. Really expensive masturbation equipment, but nothing more. The guys who are living with them and treating them like people and so forth? Do you think they were out and about and wining and dining with fine ladies every night, or do you think they were taking Spank Breaks from their WoW marathon? Let them get their sex that is superior to their hand. Who cares? Just to be clear : THESE GUYS AREADY WERE OUT OF THE GENE POOL, THAT’S WHY THEY BOUGHT A 5 FIGURE SEX DOLL!!!
Thumbs Up wins for the best comment with sentence structure, and Jane wins for being awesome.
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did you do stuff to your children? cuz it wouldnt matter if it was a robot kid cuz robots cant say no, i mean if they have the voice to say no, they dont have rights, becuase they are robots.
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Cherry 2000 is turning in her recycle skip.
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This is the best comment in the history if the GD Internet.
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Lolz.
You wimminz are just afraid of some good ole’ robot competition. You’re afraid the men en masse would choose to hump sexbots instead of you. And then where would the gravy train be? No more man to leach off of. No more hubby to ‘divorce rape’.
Western society can be saved if we acquire the following:
1.) functional, inexpensive sex bots, 2.) male contraceptive pill 3.) artificial wombs.
-> consequence: No more divorce rape. Equality for all, finally. And women – by and large – would be out of business. Why put up with all their tantrums, moodswings, false rape allegations etc. if you have a cheaper, more rational and effective alternative?
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Bobggb Reply:
July 1st, 2012 at 10:37 am
Women buy dildos. What’s the difference?
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Johngiger@gmail.com Reply:
July 21st, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Artificial wombs would help men have children without worrying about divorce, there are lawyers out there who incourge there clients to accuse there husband of child sexual abuse, rape and other horrible acts to secure custody. I love my wife and never would think she would do such a thing however there are women out there that simply are so vindictive and self righteous that they believe that they will do anything, lie about anything to obtain custody and the child support that comes with it. If the man is in prison he cannot challenge custody, the sale of the home, draining of the bank account or what ever else she decides to do. Personally I think the women that bitch the hardest are simply afraid that the control via threats and fear will slip away. Bring on the sex dolls, the male contraceptives and test tube cloned babies.
And fellas. The SECOND your wife, partner or SO hints at filing a false police report get a good lawyer and start divorce precedents. Also get the kids to a shrink so they can be interviewed and let them know the facts. If they are old enough let the know what mom is planning. Protect yourself.
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“I’m also anxious about men who want to substitute real live women with voiceless, passive, inanimate objects who serve as a constantly sexually avaliable servant.”
Such as a woman’s dildo.
Yet another woman wanting to hold the keys to a males sexual gratification, probably to make him marry her, while she plays hard to get and uses a dildo. Yet tries to prevent him from using prostitutes or sex dolls.
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