The sex doll community can be divided into two categories. The first category primarily uses sex dolls for psychological needs, such as having a partner, presence, and companionship. The second category focuses more on fulfilling physical needs, such as sex itself.
The first category/type enjoys dressing up life-size dolls, role-playing, and taking photos of them, or simply as a presence in the home. Some people in this category seek spiritual support ; others are childless couples who purchase 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 meeting physical needs. However, many users combine both needs.
The origin of the categories
In 1977, Orient Industry, the famous Japanese manufacturer of adult sex dolls, launched their first “premium sex doll” called Smile.
( 1 )
The goal was to make sex dolls easier to use for a specific group of people. At the time, only inflatable dolls were available in Japan, and they were primarily used by people with disabilities and single seniors. However, these inflatable dolls were large and cumbersome to secure, making them difficult to use. At the time, "Smiles" were expensive, and Orient Industry offered a discount program for the physically and mentally challenged to ease the burden on this group.
Despite the "sexual" stigma that has been 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 about 70% use the doll as a sexual aid. In addition, about 80% of buyers are willing to treat a life-size doll as a "lover," projecting their emotions and desires onto the doll and thus satisfying the need for mutual companionship of mind and body. ( 2 )
Even today, when silicone dolls are seen less and less as mere "sex instruments," many people's initial reaction to them may still be "weird."
The stereotype of the sex doll customer
This stereotype is rooted in society's sense of shame surrounding 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 just as shameful and strange as sex itself, as are the people who use them.
The consequence of this stereotyping
This makes sex doll owners feel inhibited from openly expressing their feelings, just as people with other hobbies can. But beyond these stereotypes, should owners of dolls who don't harm anyone, cross moral lines, or harm others really bear the stigma of "pervert"? We don't think so.
What type of people buy sex dolls?
Demographically, they are all kinds of people, highly or less educated, legal profession or show business, young and old, with or without a partner, extroverted or introverted.
There is no specific type of people who buy sex dolls; any level of society can come into contact with them and feel attracted to them.
Sources
- 1. Japan Today:
Japan Today. (August 26, 2024). Japan's premier love doll maker is closing; says goodbye to fans with heartfelt message. Retrieved November 19, 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, CA, & Lievesley, R. (2020-08-15). Sex doll ownership: An agenda for research. Current Psychiatry Reports, 22(10), 54. Retrieved 2025-11-19, from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7429526/
