The people who purchase and use sex dolls (irrespective of the model or skin type, either TPE or silicone) usually refer to themselves as doll lovers, doll owners, or doll daddies/mommies, while a group of them are called doll circles.
This doll circle, as they call themselves, can be further classified into two groups. While one group is mainly interested in using sex dolls to satisfy their bodily needs, the other group is focused on using the dolls for psychological needs. They use the dolls as life companions. They take good care of the lifesize dolls, dress them up, make their hair, and apply makeup. They usually take many pictures of their dolls in provocative or natural positions. Sometimes, childless couples or parents who lose their kids buy realistic child-sized dolls to take care of and raise. Also, there are some people who live alone and find it difficult to interact with others in their everyday lives. These users need dolls to fulfill both psychological and physical needs.
Dr Yang also notes that not only single or lonely individuals make use of sex dolls; in his research, he posits that a staggering 30% of sex doll users have partners and families.
In 1977, a popular Japanese adult doll manufacturing company, Orient Industry, introduced its maiden sex doll. This doll was an inflatable one, unlike the silicone and TPE ones currently available. Orient Industry targeted their inflatable sex dolls to retirees, elderly, and disabled people. As the dolls were expensive for a small percentage of their target market, they even went as far as to create a special discount for the physically and mentally challenged people. This discount was aimed at reducing the cost of the dolls for this group of people, and it was a successful attempt. Various people from different areas of life purchased the doll. One of the downsides of inflatable dolls was how large and difficult it was to inflate and deflate the dolls before and after each use.
A contemporary sex doll company created a poll a few months ago to understand its buyers’ needs and reasons for purchasing a sex doll. From the research pool, it was evaluated that approximately 42% of buyers use the sex doll only for sexual release, 39% use dolls as a partner or companion. There is also a small percentage of buyers who cannot afford brand-new dolls and purchase used ones.
A well-known psychologist, Dr Aaron Ze’ev, wrote in one of his publications how much more important intimacy is to the human mind. He ranks its importance higher than sex! While sexual intercourse ends with a climax, it is often a temporary activity and superficial. It can be performed by any person, or even oneself, when they masturbate! Intimacy, on the other hand, is a significant, deep-rooted feeling that isn’t easily replaceable.
Recently, even as sex dolls are becoming more popular in society, some people still see them as immoral or twisted. This idea is entrenched in the belief that sexual fantasies are perverted and shouldn’t be talked about in society. Because of this assumption that sex is dirty, both TPE and silicone dolls are taken as shameful purchases. Because society has placed some sort of stigma, this, in turn, causes people who purchase sex dolls or sex toys to hide them and feel guilty when receiving their package and someone sees them. But this shouldn’t be so. Sex is a great thing, so why should sex doll owners who don’t steal or commit crimes of any sort be judged or called perverts? Sex doll owners have needs and hobbies, and their dolls keep them happy without causing any harm to others.