Inside the Real Doll factory

July 10, 2010 3:25 PM

A photographic essay, a glimpse inside the Real Doll factory. Video interview with Matt McMullen (6m) , Real Doll creator. Guys And Dolls (46m), a BBC documentary about Real Dolls and their owners. (All links pretty much NSFW)

Previously, previously, previously and previously

posted by hippybear (81 comments total)

Wow, that is creep city. Wouldn't it just be easier to unconsciously project your fantasies on a real person?

I wish Lyotard had written about RealDolls. And now I'm sad because I just discovered he passed away in 1998.
posted by mecran01 at 3:28 PM on July 10, 2010

There's my night terror fuel for the next few nights.
posted by pjern at 3:28 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Six THOUSAND Five Hundred Dollars? Guys. With that kind of disposable income, you could probably get a date. wow.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:31 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

That's one HAWT doorknob!
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:41 PM on July 10, 2010

I may not understand this entirely, but - wouldn't this be like having sex with a corpse? They don't move, they stare blankly toward the ceiling, they're completely silent... I could understand a realistic sex-robot kind of thing, but this just seems a little creepy.
posted by twirlypen at 3:46 PM on July 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

I lived in and went to high school in the town these are made in (San Marcos, CA). My high school boyfriend delivered pizza to the Abyss warehouse a lot and since this was the mid-90's no one had really heard of Real Dolls, at least not the way they have now. I remember the first time he delivered there he told me that it was this weird warehouse full of really anatomically correct mannequins hanging from the ceiling and like some dudes and their wives there and toddlers running around. We were always trying to figure out what it was. We would drive over there after he got off work and try to look in the windows and figure out exactly *what* it was they were making. Eventually one night I had stayed up late and was watching dirty things on cable and on an episode of "Real Sex" on HBO they did a segment about the future of sex dolls and I FINALLY had my answer!

Then I got a job at the drug store up the street and I remember some of the guys who worked there coming in and I would always have to suppress my teenage giggles.
posted by primalux at 3:50 PM on July 10, 2010 [5 favorites]

They don't move, they stare blankly toward the ceiling, they're completely silent...


Add in some derisive laughter afterward and hey, it's just like high school.



But I think their kind of customer might be the sort who doesn't really know that that's not how sex usually is. Or (shudder) prefers it that way.
posted by logicpunk at 4:01 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Six THOUSAND Five Hundred Dollars? Guys. With that kind of disposable income, you could probably get a date. wow.

I think this is what gets lost amidst our knee-jerk reaction to the elemental distilled creepiness of uncanny valley sex dolls... these guys CAN'T get a date. Like, ever. The sort of deep, lasting loneliness that makes somebody willing to spend six thousand dollars on a scary girlfriend doll... I bet it's pretty hard for most of us to even imagine.
posted by killdevil at 4:05 PM on July 10, 2010 [8 favorites]

Ever seen Lars and the Real Girl?

Yeah.
posted by Malice at 4:05 PM on July 10, 2010

Man, Guys and Dolls is a hell of a documentary simply because it is just an outline of human sadness. All the guys speak about how happy they are with these inanimate objects and, yet, you can see in their eyes that they're just unspeakably lonely.
posted by griphus at 4:06 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Kibo once found and commented on a pretty funny RealDoll review.

[warning: only read this article if you don't mind thinking about having carnal relations with someone who has "new car smell".]

> and all of them have quality control problems because there is no financial
> incentive for them to care. This makes every inflatable doll purchase a
> gamble.

"I'm not addicted to sex with blowup dolls, I'm addicted to GAMBLING!"
posted by straight at 4:08 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

> Six THOUSAND Five Hundred Dollars? Guys. With that kind of disposable income, you could probably get a date. wow.


These guys can't or don't want to have a date with a real human. Humans talk back, have different opinions, look you in the eye, and otherwise have a whole retinue of behaviors that let you know in no uncertain terms that you are not the only person to have ever existed. Most of these these guys probably are skimming on the boundaries or are fully into diagnosable conditions.
posted by Burhanistan at 4:11 PM on July 10, 2010 [3 favorites]

"Abyss Creations", yes.
posted by emhutchinson at 4:11 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Egads, people are doing strange things in the name of sexual gratification.
posted by fire&wings at 4:14 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Kibo once found and commented on a pretty funny RealDoll review.

inflatable sex doll != Real Doll
posted by hippybear at 4:14 PM on July 10, 2010

The Real Doll factory looks uncannily like a meat processing factory. I was also struck by the dearth of body and skin color diversity.
posted by emilyd22222 at 4:18 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Really, the "Guys and Dolls" video is quite shocking--much more than any slasher film.
posted by Burhanistan at 4:20 PM on July 10, 2010

I wish they'd spend those thousands on therapy instead, but oh well.

The human psyche is a scary place, sometimes.
posted by emjaybee at 4:34 PM on July 10, 2010

The Real Doll factory looks uncannily like a meat processing factory.

How sausage (receptacles) are made.
posted by homuncula at 4:39 PM on July 10, 2010 [3 favorites]

I had always assumed inflatable dolls are for novelty/gag value, not trying to have sex with. The purpose of Real Doll is pretty clear though, which makes me wonder if I have that right.
posted by cj_ at 4:43 PM on July 10, 2010

Wow, they have a pubic hair replacement service (I suppose it gets rubbed off regularly) that, um, is actual human pubic hair.
posted by Burhanistan at 4:43 PM on July 10, 2010

Wouldn't it just be easier to unconsciously project your fantasies on a real person?

Uhh....I think we are all better off if they don't.
posted by DU at 4:44 PM on July 10, 2010 [4 favorites]

Be kind, people. These guys, they're struggling to be like everyone else. This is the best they can do, for whatever reason, physical or emotional, to get their needs met. I'm sure they've been abused all their lives; don't add to it.
posted by SPrintF at 4:44 PM on July 10, 2010 [25 favorites]

How utterly eerie and sad. Especially this one. I feel a great pity for anyone who has been reduced to this.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 4:50 PM on July 10, 2010

Having these things get animated and come after people would be a perfect horror movie.

Also: shrug - people spending lots of money on sex toys that aren't hurting anyone. I suspect if these were more just a straight up sex toy like the Sybian, and not a human shaped sex toy, the freakout factor would drop by 100x.
posted by yeloson at 5:00 PM on July 10, 2010

> Also: shrug - people spending lots of money on sex toys that aren't hurting anyone. I suspect if these were more just a straight up sex toy like the Sybian, and not a human shaped sex toy, the freakout factor would drop by 100x.

Well, you missed this by 100x then. They're not expensive vibrating fake vaginas or something. They occupy a huge psychic space in their owners lives. Not at all the same as a masturbation toy, although they do insert their penises in them.
posted by Burhanistan at 5:03 PM on July 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

whenever i hear/read people's reactions to Real Dolls, i am reminded of Pedro Almodóvar's MATADOR. if the people who buy these dolls do so as an alternative to corpses, then more power to them. at least they have enough sanity to understand this is a more socially acceptable proposition.

btw: i seem to remember that the company has refused to make dolls that look like children. does any know for sure?
posted by liza at 5:06 PM on July 10, 2010

To me, more fascinating than the men who own and have "relationships" with Real Dolls are the women who, in turn, have relationships with these men. That's the thing that sets my eyebrow to twitching.

I find it pretty impossible to judge these people in any way; they're so far down a road I've never taken, I can't quite figure out how to think about it. I don't know that I find any of it sad so much as I do just plain fascinating.
posted by heyho at 5:09 PM on July 10, 2010

Oh, fuck, rewind 60 years and we'd be talking about those horrible pictures in that young upstart Hugh Hefner's magazine.

I salute the Real Doll buyer. A person who knows what they want, are willing to pay top dollar and probably derive large amounts of satisfaction from their purchase without hurting another living soul.
posted by telstar at 5:14 PM on July 10, 2010 [7 favorites]

> To me, more fascinating than the men who own and have "relationships" with Real Dolls are the women who, in turn, have relationships with these men.

[SPOILER ALERT]








The woman who was girlfriend to one of the subjects in the documentary leaves him pretty soon after she finally gets to see them. Anecdotal, but there's that.
posted by Burhanistan at 5:15 PM on July 10, 2010

The Amelie-esque music in the interview clip is the strangest thing about it.
posted by pinky at 5:17 PM on July 10, 2010

Yes, I saw that doc on cable recently. If there's one woman in that film, then there are plenty more floating around out there. I would like to see that documentary.
posted by heyho at 5:27 PM on July 10, 2010

They occupy a huge psychic space in their owners lives.

I'm not saying these folks don't have issues- I'm saying people who keep their issues to themselves, mostly, as opposed to subjecting others to their issues, are not big on my trip-out meter.

If I'm going to be worried about psychological effects being had on people, I'm much more worried about body imagery messages being put out in movies, tv, and advertising, rather than a very expensive sex toy. (Which isn't to say you can't worry about both, it's just... so what? They're individuals doing a thing. It's weird, but so is a lot of things people do.)
posted by yeloson at 5:37 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Have to say, I was pretty shocked at: 1) How static the dolls are; 2) How much individual attention each one gets.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:38 PM on July 10, 2010

btw: i seem to remember that the company has refused to make dolls that look like children. does any know for sure?

Funny ... we were just discussing this the other day. I'm seem to remember that the company refuses to make child size dolls, but I theorize that someone out there has already reverse-engineered the process and does make child versions. I imagine that if someone would be willing to drop 6.5K on an adult woman model, then there has to be someone out there willing to spend at least that much (if not much, much more) for a RealChildDoll. If so, they wouldn't be advertising on the internet (too dangerous); it'd be a strictly word-of-mouth referrals from one customer to another.

I need some brain bleach. Now. Please.
posted by echolalia67 at 5:38 PM on July 10, 2010

Just think of Real Doll as 'practice before the big game'.

At least then the bench-warmers don't feel totally left out.
posted by bwg at 5:39 PM on July 10, 2010

[Spoiler!]



The ending of Guys and Dolls, when Mike invites his new girlfriend Jo over to meet his dolls for the first time, is really devastating. Jo's a catch—smart, compassionate, GGG—but ultimately the reality of Mike's Real Doll obsession (and what it reveals about his ability to form a partnership with an actual woman) is too much.
posted by hot soup girl at 5:49 PM on July 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

Meanwhile, backstage at Westworld...
posted by Trochanter at 5:50 PM on July 10, 2010

wouldn't this be like having sex with a corpse? They don't move, they stare blankly toward the ceiling, they're completely silent...

Basically.
posted by Evilspork at 5:56 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

echolalia, I can personally attest to have seen a clearly young pre-teen old doll in an Akihabara sex store. Granted, this is a place where you can buy videos of scorpions fighting tarantulas (PLEASE, BRAIN, IT'S BEEN YEARS AND YOU ONLY SAW 60 SECONDS, PLEASE LET THAT MEMORY GO), and that counts as good-natured family fun...

...so probably not mainstream. But yes, they absolutely do exist.

(And now let's all have a huge 7000 comment argument about whether that kind of thing provides a safe outlet for pedophiles or whether it actually encourages predatory behaviour.)
posted by Tiresias at 6:04 PM on July 10, 2010

I theorize that someone out there has already reverse-engineered the process and does make child versions

Japan leads the way.
posted by Tenuki at 6:05 PM on July 10, 2010

I once stumbled across a photoset some elderly gentleman had done of his wife--who looked to be in her early 70s--and their doll. She was putting makeup on the doll, dressed up in some flapperesque lingerie. And she looked incredibly happy. I'd snarked on the creepiness of Real Dolls before, but I keep thinking back to that one photoset, and how, for one couple at least, they clearly are a Good Thing.

So who am I to judge?
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:10 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Japan leads the way.
posted by Tenuki at 9:05 PM on July 10

lawd have mercy! what is it about Japan and their penchant for pushing the boundaries of sexual deviancy?!?!? it's like a fucking one-up-manship sport of fetishes they have out there. any links to previous FPPs are more than welcome.

and i need mental bleach. they've taken animé (that doll looked like right out of Sailor Moon or Pokémon) and turn it into a sex doll.
posted by liza at 6:35 PM on July 10, 2010

I can personally attest to have seen a clearly young pre-teen old doll in an Akihabara sex store.

I read this first as Alabama (the scorpions fighting tarantulas as good-natured family fun didn't clear this up for me) and was all NUH-UH because this would very clearly be against pedophilic porn laws. I'm not sure whether to be relieved it turned out to not be in the US or appalled that my trivial proof that you dreamt this was false.
posted by DU at 6:37 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

I was struck by the way most of the doll owners seemed to enjoy grooming them (not to mention shopping for clothes/accessories). I never particularly liked playing with dolls, but my best friend and I went through a Barbie period (early 70's) that mostly revolved around grooming and clothing. This documentary reminded me of a set of "heads and wigs" my mother gave me inexplicably as some gift or other (on sale probably) that creeped me out even when I was nine. That said, boys like to brush hair. My husband brushes mine from time to time and I like it too. I guess that makes me an "organic woman."
posted by emhutchinson at 6:39 PM on July 10, 2010

I don't know what's more disturbing to me, the guys who pay fawning attention to the doll as if she's alive, or Mike leaving some of his eight dolls laying around discarded.

I did think that it was terribly sad that all of these guys (except for Mike) seem to think that they can't get a girlfriend because of their looks, when this is sooo not the problem.

I felt the worst for the British guy. He had, to me, the strangest mix of self-awareness and self-delusion.
posted by desuetude at 7:09 PM on July 10, 2010

When I watched "Guys and Dolls," one thing that really struck me is how crazily the men did the dolls' makeup. Guys, is that REALLY how you want a woman's makeup to look? Because if so, I think I'm doing it wrong.
posted by rebel_rebel at 8:51 PM on July 10, 2010

That video was a mind-bender for sure. I truly encourage everyone to watch the whole thing. If you've ever wondered about your own odd sexual proclivities, it will make you feel as normal and boring as dry toast. If you've ever felt like a social misfit, it will make you feel like an extrovert and a casanova. If you've ever wondered how far out there sexual deviancies can get, you'll start to understand that they go all the way.
posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 9:03 PM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

I don't know why I found this so fascinating, but Davecat has a webpage and appears to no longer live at home.

Also this.
posted by cucumber at 9:05 PM on July 10, 2010

rebel_rebel: you're using guys who have RealDolls as your metric for what normal guys want makeup to look like? Yeah, you're doin' it wrong.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 9:14 PM on July 10, 2010

> I felt the worst for the British guy. He had, to me, the strangest mix of self-awareness and self-delusion.

Yeah, I couldn't really figure out what his malfunction was until he went on the hang gliding run and started fancying himself as some kind of hero above mere mortal beer drinking soap opera watching guys and was just too much man for women.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:20 PM on July 10, 2010

These guys can't or don't want to have a date with a real human. Humans talk back, have different opinions, look you in the eye, and otherwise have a whole retinue of behaviors that let you know in no uncertain terms that you are not the only person to have ever existed. Most of these these guys probably are skimming on the boundaries or are fully into diagnosable conditions.

So it's the type of person that liked Atlas Shrugged?
posted by zephyr_words at 9:30 PM on July 10, 2010 [3 favorites]

Haha, spaceman_spiff. I mean, my fiance has never asked me to smash an entire tube of frosted pink lipstick onto my face, so I was assuming it was just a RealDoll owner thing, but I just wanted to confirm.
posted by rebel_rebel at 9:35 PM on July 10, 2010

I watched this the other day and was mostly impressed by the demure skanks guy. He clearly knows what he likes in a woman and it was granny knickers, modest blouses and legs wide open.

Not sure how many real people he could find like that so good luck to him if he's found the ideal for him.

I did feel sorry for the GGG lady who couldn't really take it. If he'd been demure skank guy instead of 80s-fishnet-outfits guy maybe she wouldn't have been so weirded out.

What I did find creepy was the Asian doll. I have no idea why I find that so much skeevier than a White improbably-boobed doll but there was this horrible undercurrent of nastiness I didn't get from the other guys.
posted by shinybaum at 11:37 PM on July 10, 2010

When I watched "Guys and Dolls," one thing that really struck me is how crazily the men did the dolls' makeup. Guys, is that REALLY how you want a woman's makeup to look? Because if so, I think I'm doing it wrong.

I took that as crazy naivete. After all, they have no experience with how applying makeup works. But yeah, crazily.

Yeah, I couldn't really figure out what his malfunction was until he went on the hang gliding run and started fancying himself as some kind of hero above mere mortal beer drinking soap opera watching guys and was just too much man for women.

Yeah, he seemed the most aware that the stuff like the photographs and "oh, she's sleeping" is a conscious coping mechanism and that this doll is a crutch because he's lonely. He points out that he seems to (basically) skeeve people out and I think that he's exaggerating.

But then this odd picture starts to emerge. He has notes to himself on how to maintain his mom's room as a shrine as if there are others around (that note on the trash can?) and then wham, he's a hangglider (in a US Army uniform?!) who's a superhero? Guuuh? I don't think he was being hyperbolic, I think he actually thinks he's a superhero.
posted by desuetude at 12:08 AM on July 11, 2010

Too bad Kubrick didn't live long enough to film in that factory.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 12:28 AM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

I was laughing as I was looking through the choices on offer...shaven or trimmed...expresssion or usable mouth...elf ears or martian color??
I stopped laughing when I saw the special 'repair kit' in the accessories for those who buy their dolls second hand. Oh my god...second hand. That's disgusting!!
posted by GamesRmeLife at 4:30 AM on July 11, 2010

More like second vag, eh?
posted by Burhanistan at 5:31 AM on July 11, 2010

It's funny what outrages MeFites, and what doesn't.
posted by fourcheesemac at 6:03 AM on July 11, 2010 [8 favorites]

My official position (lol) is that people can have sex however they want, with anything they want, as long as every partner consents. So, RealDolls are no big deal. Human sexuality is a varied thing. But then I looked at the link posted cucumber posted above - specifically, the doll role playing forum, called "Dolls alive".

Within, you can find dolls discussing how much they love their owners, their choice of browser (and how they need their owners to help them with their computer problems), and how lucky they are that their owners gave up up real girls (!!!).Having sex with inanimate objects doesn't disturb me. Laying all your anti-female masculine insecurities out there for everyone to see, as a form of entertainment? That disturbs me.
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 6:16 AM on July 11, 2010 [4 favorites]

These people are dinosaurs - the future is here. (selbst link)
posted by Meatbomb at 7:27 AM on July 11, 2010

liza: dolls that look like children. does any know for sure?

They're not sex dolls, but in one of the previous FPP discussions there's mention of "Reborns", realistic dolls of newborn babies made for women. Different from RealDolls in that they're targeted towards female maternal urges, not male sexual urges, but just as twisted and creepy IMHO.

Apparently there's also a documentary on Reborns called "My Fake Baby"; haven't seen it myself but it would be quite interesting to see how differently or similarly the subject matter is treated in comparison to RealDolls.
posted by PsychoKick at 8:22 AM on July 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

You think if there were such a thing as a holotank, guys like this would recreate real women...or their dolls in there? Before seeing this, I would have thought real women...but maybe not.

What would actually end up appearing in many holotanks is probably a very scary thing to contemplate, on reflection.
posted by umberto at 8:26 AM on July 11, 2010

What would actually end up appearing in many holotanks is probably a very scary thing to contemplate, on reflection.

A holotank/deck would simply be a reflection of the user's psyche. And the human psyche is a very, very scary weird thing, even those of "normal" humans.
posted by PsychoKick at 8:30 AM on July 11, 2010

They're not sex dolls, but in one of the previous FPP discussions there's mention of "Reborns", realistic dolls of newborn babies made for women. Different from RealDolls in that they're targeted towards female maternal urges, not male sexual urges, but just as twisted and creepy IMHO.

I have to say that the RealDoll photosets I've seen really don't seem that different from the Dolfie photosets I've stumbled across--particularly in terms of the narratives that the photographers invent.

Though there is the whole sex part of it. I guess that's different.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:32 AM on July 11, 2010

Having these things get animated and come after people would be a perfect horror porno movie.
posted by chundo at 10:19 PM on July 11, 2010

A generation from now, you'll all look like judgmental reactionaries. Begrudge other people's happiness while it's still socially acceptable.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:08 PM on July 11, 2010

I'm pretty sure not everyone in this thread is going to look like that in a generation. I'm pretty sure of this because I read the thread. Some of them? Yeah. All? No.
posted by cucumber at 12:45 AM on July 12, 2010

That English guy.
posted by cucumber at 1:21 AM on July 12, 2010

> A generation from now, you'll all look like judgmental reactionaries. Begrudge other people's happiness while it's still socially acceptable.

Feh on concern trolling like this. Did you watch the documentary? If you came away with the notion that those men were "happy" then your empathy unit might be out of phase. They were desperately out of touch, and using the Real Doll as a crutch. Their lack of happiness didn't stem from their "relationship" not being socially acceptable. People accepted them, more or less. No one here is begrudging happiness. Besides, if this is considered within "normal" range within a generation it will only mean that humans will have become further isolated from themselves.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:46 AM on July 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

No one here is begrudging happiness.

Please, you're on your high horse, playing Internet psychologist. Don't deny it. Revel in it.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:05 AM on July 12, 2010

> Please, you're on your high horse, playing Internet psychologist. Don't deny it. Revel in it.

Ok, Mr. Troll. But you just tossed a grenade in the thread after activity had died down proclaiming how backwards we were. Nice try.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:07 AM on July 12, 2010

Having these things get animated and come after people would be a perfect porno movie.

Ask -> Receive.

It is a movie called "Chiquita Lopez fuck doll". Is that NSFW? Make your own call.

What are you doing reading this thread at work?!
posted by Meatbomb at 9:26 AM on July 12, 2010

Burhanistan, you're in no place to call anyone a troll. Your judgmental tone in this thread is proof of that.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:33 AM on July 12, 2010

> you're in no place to call anyone a troll. Your judgmental tone in this thread is proof of that.

How is being judgmental of a Real Doll owner equal trolling? You're not making much sense, and then you're digging your heels into imaginary ground. Good luck with that.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:35 AM on July 12, 2010

Meh, you're twisting my words again like you always do. I was pretty clear that your tone is the issue.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:43 AM on July 12, 2010

> Meh, you're twisting my words again like you always do. I was pretty clear that your tone is the issue.

No, you weren't very clear at all. You were being deliberately antagonistic and abrasive. If you meant my tone then use your words.

I don't twist your words at all. You're quite mistaken, and are operating from a really weird grudge. Too bad for you.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:08 AM on July 12, 2010

The My Fake Baby documentary is on youtube if anyone's interested.
posted by two or three cars parked under the stars at 10:11 AM on July 12, 2010

Get a room you two.
posted by Meatbomb at 11:44 AM on July 12, 2010

Burhanistan, you're in no place to call anyone a troll. Your judgmental tone in this thread is proof of that.

Whoaaaah there. What on earth does a judgmental tone have to do with trolling? I can't see how anything that Burhanistan is saying is intended to be intentionally inflammatory. I mean, you not liking his tone doesn't mean that he's doing it just to bug you, y'know?

I think you're perfectly within your rights to consider the tone of most of this thread judgmental toward the dudes in the documentary. (My own comments included.) If you want to defend these guys and their Real Doll relationships, that's cool, I think there's room for more of that in the thread.
posted by desuetude at 12:03 PM on July 12, 2010

Freakishly relevant:

A lonely shy tortoise who was regularly bullied by his own species has finally found love with a plastic toy.

posted by bryn at 5:03 AM on July 13, 2010 [3 favorites]