Tara
If you’re a follower of sextech (which being a SEXTECHGUIDE reader, I’m sure you are), the word Harmony will likely conjure up an image of a sex robot before anything else.
Now, The Sun has reported that Harmony’s male counterpart, Henry, is in production. The creation of sexbot manufacturer Realbotix, Henry is an AI-ready sexbot with a default British accent and a striking resemblance to Brad Pitt or Jude Law (if the actors were made from silicone, of course).
Matt McMullen, the chief executive of Abyss Creations (which owns Realbotix), said the reasons women want a sexbot in their lives are similar to why men might like one – for some company.
McMullen told the Daily Mail: “Women have the same issues of loneliness as men. People call them sex dolls but mostly it’s about companionship. In this world of computers people are missing out on human interaction.”
A study by the University of Duisburg-Essen in 2016 found that more than 40 per cent of 263 heterosexual men asked said they could imagine using a sex robot.
But is there really a mass market for women wanting to buy a male sex robot?
In a video for Vice, sex blogger Karley Sciortino spoke with adult entertainer Jessica Ryan who told her that her male sex doll was “so much easier than going on a Tinder date.”
Journalist Allison P. Davies concluded in her article about a date with the ‘Henry’ sexbot on The Cut: “I did not have sex with Henry today. But to answer the question on everyone’s mind: I’m not not going to have sex with Henry in the ever-nearing future.”
But what’s the general thinking from women who aren’t journalists and haven’t spent some one-on-one time with the prototype?
McMullen is quoted in The Sun suggesting that women would want the bots to help out with housework: “We’ve had a lot more inquiries than you would think from women who want not a sex partner but a companion – someone to talk to.
“I said, ‘Well, you know, he could listen to you, he’ll remember everything, but he’s not going to be able to take out the trash just yet, or fix the sink or anything like that.'”
SEXTECHGUIDE took to Reddit to ask women what they’d want from a male sex robot – and if there was any demand for them at all?
One user said: “Men are into sex robots because they like to pretend they are making a woman feel good. Women on the other hand generally actually want to make a man feel good. So I don’t understand how this is a thing.”
Another user wrote that she’d “try one, but wouldn’t have a reason to buy one (I have a husband I have sex with)”.
One woman said: “I haven’t had a date in 16 years. If this was in my price range, I would buy one. I’d certainly try it out.”
A fourth user commented: “They freak me out. The uncanny valley factor is too strong. I can’t imagine they’d be worth the upsell over a regular dildo either.”
And, as McMullen claimed, another joked she’d be into the idea so long as it could cook her breakfast in the morning.
However, over on the RealDoll forum, one fan believes McMullen is setting himself up to be the Henry Ford of humanoid robots. But proving there’s a market for any sort of sex robot hasn’t yet been achieved.
