The blow-up doll of angsty teen movies has evolved. Bridget as she is called, is a love doll made from 100% silicone.

All we can say is thank goodness, she’s not cheap.

She looks like you – heck she could look like Angelina Jolie if you wanted.

Worse, she feels just like you after a silky smooth shave.

Oh, and she can bend over like a pretzel. Women everywhere are in trouble.

Costing R80000, Bridget is made to order. You can have her made into a replica of your favourite movie star, ex-girlfriend or any other creepy image.

The future of sex dolls, indeed of sex and society, is about to turn a corner.

The evolution of sex dolls and the effects it could have on relationships was a topic discussed recently on Carte Blanche.

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Presenter Bongani Bingwa took viewers into a world where sex meets technology.

The bottom line is that advancements in adult entertainment mean big bucks.

The adult entertainment industry is worth about $23billion internationally and technological advancements are set to bolster those figures.

Adult World owner Arthur Calamaras knows this and is tapping into the market.

Recently Abyss Creations, the US company behind the world famous RealDoll, released Harmony AI, an app with a “brain” to help your silicone RealDoll cater to your every whim.

There’s a new robot in town…. Meet Realbotix Harmony 2 #realdoll #realbotix #sexrobot

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Created by the company’s subsidiary called Realbotix, the AI app is the precursor to Abyss’s future female sexbots.

Chief executive Matt McMullen told publication Future Of Sex that the app’s foundation is genderless – once “the male version of the app is complete, subscribers will be able to choose different genders when creating their AIs,” he said.

Technically this could make men redundant as well, but if there’s a gender which would blow R80000 on a doll, our money’s on the guys.

What effect will this have on interpersonal relationships?

Relationship expert Kas Naidoo says it can only spell disaster.

“We live in a world where human connection has been replaced by apps and social media. We have fewer conversations where we can see the expression on a loved one’s face or hear the emotion in their voice,” she says.

However, she says there is no replacement for the human touch.

“A doll is certainly not going to love you back; it’s not going to appreciate you or acknowledge you in the way we all crave.”

Maybe, as a society, we’re hooked on instant gratification, and a doll fills this desire?

Naidoo disagrees: “A doll may give you short-term ecstasy but it cannot give you the deep, loving, intimate relationship you desire.”

Trottla, a company that produces anatomically correct imitations of girls as young as five, courted controversy when owner Shin Takagi said it would start manufacturing sex dolls for paedophiles to control their urges.

Takagi said they were a tool for those who, like him, struggled with sexual attraction towards children.

One could also argue that the creation of these life-like dolls may lead to a decrease in human trafficking or even rape cases.

But one UK prison inmate has gone further.

Jack Swarez, serving 17 years in jail, started a campaign calling for all prisoners to be issued with sex dolls because UK prisons don’t allow conjugal visits.

On a lighter note, sex dolls might come to the rescue of lonely hearts or couples in long-distance relationships.

For example new advancements in technology are aimed at allowing couples who live on opposite ends of the world to have intercourse or be intimate in virtual reality.

The Kissenger allows users to transmit realistic kissing sensations to a partner in real time; while immersive sensual suits are fitted with haptic feedback to enhance a feeling of presence.

More alternatives and less reason to compromise could make us more complacent in our relationships. In fact they might negate them.

Naidoo says we’re going at it wrong. “We need to create more opportunities to socialise and meet new people if we are lonely instead of creating one more way to survive alone.”

Custom realdoll2 male. #realdoll #madeinusa #therealdeal

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As human beings become commodities and space and flesh lose value, there are those of us who will surely make the relationships we have more meaningful and sadly, those who may never get the chance.

Categories: Sex