“Astonishing” number of individuals consider “love dolls” their ideal romantic partner

Man snuggling and kissing a mannequin
Man snuggling and kissing a mannequin Photo credit Getty Images/ajr_images

They always say there is someone out there for everyone; their soulmate, life-partner what have you.

But new research shows that an “astonishing” number of folks are finding love, in what some may consider all the wrong places: in the arms of a plastic doll.

Live On-Air
Ask Your Smart Speaker to Play Ninety eight point seven K Love
98.7 KLUV
Listen Now
Now Playing
Now Playing

New research published in The Journal of Sex Research finds that a surprising number of people who own these female “sex dolls,” life-size dolls with realistic human features, consider them to be their “ideal romantic partner.”

Approximately 50% of those surveyed said that they considered their doll as “the ideal partner for me and I feel emotionally attached to it,” or that their doll served as a temporary substitute for a human partner.

The other half of said they used their dolls merely as sex toys.

Those participants in a relationship with a doll were also more likely to agree with statements such as “I am in love with my doll,” “Having a sex doll improved my mental health,” and “I use dolls because I find the bodies of my potential human sexual partners less attractive.”

Interestingly enough,t hey also were more likely to be single or divorced.

Unfortunately, the research also found that folks who attribute more human-like characteristics to their sex dolls tend to have more hostile attitudes towards women.

Study author Jeanne C. Desbuleux, a researcher at the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Sex Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen, explained per PsyPost, “We have been concerned about the emerging debate in the media and academia about the use of highly realistic ‘sex’ dolls without much empirical data to address the main criticisms.”

LISTEN on the Audacy App

Sign Up and Follow 98.7 KLUV

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images/ajr_images