The sex doll community can be divided into two categories of people. The first category mainly uses sex dolls for psychological needs, having a partner, a presence, and companionship. The second category focuses more on fulfilling physical needs, sex itself.
The first category/type enjoys dressing life-size dolls, role-playing, and taking photos of the dolls, or simply having them at home. Some people in this category seek spiritual support, others are childless couples who buy a realistic love doll to raise as a daughter, and there are also widowers who use a sex doll as a replacement for their deceased wife.
The second category focuses more on fulfilling physical needs. However, many users combine both needs.
The emergence of the categories
In 1977, Orient Industry, the famous Japanese manufacturer of adult sex dolls, launched its first "premium sex doll" called Smile.
(1)
The goal was to make using sex dolls easier for a specific group of people. At the time, only inflatable dolls were available in Japan, and they were used mainly by people with disabilities and single seniors. However, these inflatable dolls were large and difficult to secure, making them hard to use. At the time, "Smiles" were expensive, and Orient Industry had a discount program for people with physical and mental disabilities to ease the burden on this group.
Despite the "sexual" stigma attached to the perception of silicone dolls, a silicone doll is actually much more than just that label. It encompasses much, much more than just an adult object.
PubMed has calculated that approximately 70% use the doll as a sexual aid. Additionally, approximately 80% of buyers are willing to treat a life-size doll as a "lover," projecting their emotions and desires onto the doll and thereby fulfilling the need for companionship of both soul and body. (2)
Even today, when silicone dolls are increasingly seen as more than mere "sex toys," many people's initial reaction to them may still be "strange."
The stereotype of the sex doll customer
This stereotype is rooted in the sense of shame society feels about sexuality, as well as the fact that people talk about sex in different ways. In this way of thinking, TPE and silicone dolls are automatically associated with sex, making them seem just as shameful and strange as sex itself, along with the people who use them.
The consequence of this stereotyping
As a result, owners of sex dolls feel inhibited from openly expressing their feelings, unlike people with other hobbies. But apart from these stereotypes, should owners of dolls that harm no one, cross no moral boundaries, or cause no harm to others really bear the stigma of being "perverts"? We don't think so.
What type of people buy sex dolls?
Demographically, they are all kinds of people, highly or less educated, working in law or show business, young and old, with or without a partner, extroverted or introverted.
There is no specific type of person who buys sex dolls; people from every walk of life can encounter them and feel attracted to them.
Sources
- 1. Japan Today:
Japan Today. (26/08/2024). Japan’s premier love doll maker is closing; says goodbye to fans with heartfelt message. Retrieved on 19/11/2025, from https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/japan%E2%80%99s-premier-love-doll-maker-is-closing-says-goodbye-to-fans-with-heartfelt-message - 2. PubMed / PMC:
Harper, C. A., & Lievesley, R. (15/08/2020). Sex doll ownership: An agenda for research. Current Psychiatry Reports, 22(10), 54. Retrieved on 19/11/2025, from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7429526/
