Seeking Interview Participants

discipline_+_punish · Post by **discipline_+_punish** » Mon Jun 01, 2020 3:01 pm

NormalHuman wrote:I will let you know when my doll arrives and perhaps you can meet her, since we live so near by

That would be awesome! Yes let me know. And congrats again on making the purchase

Racer_x · Post by **Racer_x** » Mon Jun 01, 2020 10:28 pm

Ken, I can be available for interview if needed.

Also, I’m not to far from Eugene and could work a meet up with you for doll viewing.

amytyl · Post by **amytyl** » Tue Jun 02, 2020 12:58 pm

I did an interview and I can recommend it. Ken seems to honestly listen to your perspectives on our hobby and not display any sense of judgement. An honest sharing of opinions is going to be important in shaping the narrative towards eventually widespread acceptance of our interest, so let's help.

NormalHuman · Post by **NormalHuman** » Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:58 pm

amytyl wrote:I did an interview and I can recommend it. Ken seems to honestly listen to your perspectives on our hobby and not display any sense of judgement. An honest sharing of opinions is going to be important in shaping the narrative towards eventually widespread acceptance of our interest, so let's help.

I can attest to that. It was a good conversation, with solid questions with no agenda/pre-conceived notions coming across. Just compiling perspectives from the people who have dolls.

discipline_+_punish · Post by **discipline_+_punish** » Tue Jun 02, 2020 2:14 pm

You're gonna make me blush

curiousswede · Post by **curiousswede** » Tue Jun 02, 2020 2:27 pm

discipline_+_punish wrote:
Ztar073 wrote:For the purpose of your research, you should buy a doll and try living with it for a little while .
This is something I have been considering! With Covid, things are a bit tough right now, but I would like to see one in-person first. I would like to go to a meetup, or a convention, or a manufacturing plant, or even someone's house! Because from what people tell me, actually SEEING a doll is a major moment. I tried going to my local adult store but they didn't have any

Seeing a full-sized sex doll is a truly mind-blowing experience for most people and many people react differently and experience very mixed emotions due to conflicts between what their sexual urges experience and what their cultural and mainstream minds should think.

In a nutshell, a man can experience sexual urges to bang the doll because of how much she resembles the real thing and then his logical mind kicks in telling him, "WTF is wrong with you? You shouldn't feel a biological urge for a synthetic thing!".

Another thing that also kicks in, for some people, is their fear of what other people would think if they ever found out what you truly felt for a realistic looking full-sized doll. It is a very interesting and fast psychological process that occurs.

I am very interested in the psychology of sex dolls and different processes people go through. Personally, I have not gone through the emotional bonding of sex dolls as of yet. That might happen, or it might not happen. As of now I am pretty satisfied, I just wished my doll had bigger boobs! :haha4:

Also, it is my personal opinion that sex dolls will never become mainstream accepted, but I might very well be wrong, because I believe it is just too many mixed conflicting feelings for people to handle so they rather not and it is already a political issue. I think it is best to keep it as a sub-culture just like "furries" is its own sub-culture, which I btw have never been involved in.

I might join a furry-forum just to ask where I can find high quality furry tails for LoL Ahri cosplay for future cosplaying my doll.

discipline_+_punish · Post by **discipline_+_punish** » Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:16 pm

Also, it is my personal opinion that sex dolls will never become mainstream accepted, but I might very well be wrong, because I believe it is just too many mixed conflicting feelings for people to handle so they rather not and it is already a political issue. I think it is best to keep it as a sub-culture just like "furries" is its own sub-culture, which I btw have never been involved in.

I might join a furry-forum just to ask where I can find high quality furry tails for LoL Ahri cosplay for future cosplaying my doll.[/quote]

Funny that you bring furries up, I think they hold their convention in my hometown. Or at least they did when I was a kid.

Post by **RainLover** » Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:21 am

discipline_+_punish wrote:Hello TDF members.

My name is Ken Hanson and I am a PhD student at the University of Oregon conducting a study on the doll community. I am currently looking to recruit people for interviews as part of this research. If you are interested, please contact me privately through direct messaging here or via my email, khanson@uoregon.edu

***edit****

some folks have commented on my username. It is an academic pun of sorts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_and_Punish

Michel Foucault was a French philosopher whose book Discipline and Punish is considered -must- read by PhD students.

anyways....

Before you agree to be interviewed, here is some pertinent information that you should read. I am also happy to answer other questions you have about the research either on this thread or privately.

1. Participation in this study is 100% voluntary in whole and in part, which means that you will not be monetarily compensated for participating in this study and that you do NOT have to answer all the questions. You are free to provide as much or as little detail as you feel comfortable giving on any question.

2. In order to be eligible for this study, you do not necessarily have to own a doll. All people who are part of the community are welcome including: owners, vendors, prospective buyers, photographers, repairers, all are welcome!

3. All contact with me (from initial contact up to and including the interviews or any post-interview follow-ups) is kept confidential. I do not discuss with other doll community members who I have (or have not) interviewed. I do not publish people’s names. I do not publish people’s usernames or their dolls names. All my records use pseudonyms and, as necessary, some identifiable information is altered to protect people. In short, I am the only person who knows who said what!

4. I am flexible in how I conduct interviews. I strongly prefer synchronous interviews over the phone or online platforms such as Skype, Zoom or Facebook messenger, and can usually work out any timing arrangements necessary (weekdays, weekends, mornings, afternoons, evenings, etc.). Interviews typically take 1-2 hours. With your permission, interviews are recorded and transcribed. Once transcribed I delete the audio file. In cases where need is demonstrated, I am willing to conduct asynchronous interviews (where I email the questions and you type answers). However, as mentioned, over the phone generally provides a much better interview, as it allows a back-and-forth that generates a more productive conversation. If you would like to review the questions before being interviewed, I am happy to send them to you.

5. It is my intention and goal to publish several academic papers and one book which will use direct quotes from the people I interview as data (attributed to pseudonyms, of course). While publication is never guaranteed, it is my professional and personal goal to get this information ‘out there.’ The timeline for publication on any given material is anywhere from a year to five years down the road. Academia is never accused of moving quickly!

6. As for ‘what’ any article or publication may say or argue ‘about’ the doll community, I cannot say now. That would be rather unscientific, putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. HOWEVER, I will say that I am NOT looking to make what some might call a ‘hit piece.’ It is not my intention to portray the doll community negatively. Instead, it is my goal to EXPLAIN from the perspective of the doll community itself, what dolls mean to people, what dolls do for people, why dolls matter to people, how dolls work, etc. As a sociologist, I will also connect these data points to relevant scholarship. As a social-scientist I am interested in the PEOPLE themselves, not the ‘morality’ of doll ownership.

7. As for who ‘I’ am and why I am interested in this research. I will first disclose that I am not a doll owner. I came across dolls about three years ago and was immediately amazed by the technology. At the time I was working on my MA research on dating apps (forthcoming publication). I was not in dissertation ‘head space’ at the time but made a mental note to circle back. A few years later I was in the process of figuring out what I wanted to study and came back to dolls. Again, I was amazed at both the technology but also the customization possibilities! As a researcher, I dove into the scientific literature to see what had already been done and found myself rather disappointed. Little had been written, and what was written seemed more interested in proving that either 1. Sex robots are ‘bad’ or 2. Technology will save us all from certain doom. I found that both of these perspectives lacked any concrete ‘data.’ The authors of those studies had not surveyed, interviewed or spoken with anyone in the community. The authors of those studies hadn’t measured a doll for themselves, let alone taken any systematic approach to understand the technology or people involved. So, I have set out to correct, as I see it, the social scientific study of dolls and the doll community.

8. The scope of this project is not limited to TDF. I am also measuring dolls by using the online catalogues that vendors have made available (what is the average weight of dolls?). I am also recruiting people via social media (Twitter and Instagram mostly). I am in talks with some manufactures to hopefully schedule a visit to one or more factories to get an idea of how dolls are built. I am applying for a fellowship to visit the Kinsey Institute’s archive on sex toys, which exhibits, among other things, some of the first known artificial vaginas and authentic 1970s inflatables. I am hoping to attend some meetups that doll owners organize. (If you are organizing one, and might be interested, let me know!). You might also see me at some upcoming expos including EXXXOCITA and AVN.

Hope to hear from you soon - Ken

I find myself fascinated by this research and I wish Ken the best in getting useful data for his study.

Post by **RainLover** » Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:47 am

discipline_+_punish wrote:Also, it is my personal opinion that sex dolls will never become mainstream accepted, but I might very well be wrong, because I believe it is just too many mixed conflicting feelings for people to handle so they rather not and it is already a political issue. I think it is best to keep it as a sub-culture just like "furries" is its own sub-culture, which I btw have never been involved in.

Never is a strong word. It's probably more of a generational thing, where time will bring general acceptance. Subcultures like ours need time and exposure to gain acceptance, imho. It won't be easy, and it's probably going to take 30 years or so, but consider Stonewall and how gay marriage is now legal. I don't expect a riot because we're all so sequestered in our homes keeping our dolls private (for the most part), so there's no opportunity to protest, and what exactly would that look like? I'm not sure.

I'd also like to make a note about the terminology. Note that we are "the world's definitive resource on love dolls and erotic dolls for adults since 2001." Love dolls and erotic dolls, but not sex dolls. I personally think it's the term "sex doll" that turns off a lot of people. Sounds gross. "Eww, you have sex with a doll?" I've had that question put to me before in a public post on Facebook. Not very conversation-friendly. Besides, I don't have sex with my doll anyway. She is a companion doll, which is not only true, but has a better ring to it than "sex doll."

No one that I know particularly cares how many partners a man or woman has had before having sex with them, but a virgin silicone doll who has never had sex before is somehow the purview of "dirty old men," or similar monikers. The same is true of used dolls for sale. You'd think doll owners were flashers in public. It's ridiculous. Besides, not only am I not dirty, I'm not a man, so now what? A woman and her doll. That's me!

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Fri Jun 26, 2020 11:43 am

Maybe Love Dolls won't be wholly accepted, but they will be tolerated. As the world of robotics and AI advances is just natural that there will be synthetic humans and pets to some degree. Also as isolation from violence, disease and other social issues evolve more people will opt out of relationships. At least the traditional marriage and 2.2 kids. If men can get the sexual satisfaction they want for 20+ yrs for the price of a new car that is another matter. Most the world may still see dolls as this:

: blow up doll.jpg (23.43 KiB) Viewed 1615 times

When advanced robotic sex dolls will soon be the alternative.

: solana.PNG (343.67 KiB) Viewed 1615 times

discipline_+_punish · Post by **discipline_+_punish** » Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:16 pm

RainLover wrote:
discipline_+_punish wrote:Also, it is my personal opinion that sex dolls will never become mainstream accepted, but I might very well be wrong, because I believe it is just too many mixed conflicting feelings for people to handle so they rather not and it is already a political issue. I think it is best to keep it as a sub-culture just like "furries" is its own sub-culture, which I btw have never been involved in.
Never is a strong word. It's probably more of a generational thing, where time will bring general acceptance. Subcultures like ours need time and exposure to gain acceptance, imho. It won't be easy, and it's probably going to take 30 years or so, but consider Stonewall and how gay marriage is now legal. I don't expect a riot because we're all so sequestered in our homes keeping our dolls private (for the most part), so there's no opportunity to protest, and what exactly would that look like? I'm not sure.

I'd also like to make a note about the terminology. Note that we are "the world's definitive resource on love dolls and erotic dolls for adults since 2001." Love dolls and erotic dolls, but not sex dolls. I personally think it's the term "sex doll" that turns off a lot of people. Sounds gross. "Eww, you have sex with a doll?" I've had that question put to me before in a public post on Facebook. Not very conversation-friendly. Besides, I don't have sex with my doll anyway. She is a companion doll, which is not only true, but has a better ring to it than "sex doll."

No one that I know particularly cares how many partners a man or woman has had before having sex with them, but a virgin silicone doll who has never had sex before is somehow the purview of "dirty old men," or similar monikers. The same is true of used dolls for sale. You'd think doll owners were flashers in public. It's ridiculous. Besides, not only am I not dirty, I'm not a man, so now what? A woman and her doll. That's me!

You raise some good points. Even since I've posted that reply my thinking has changed with some of the interviews I've conducted.

Most importantly, I've pretty much moved away from 'sex' doll entirely. Now I say my dissertation is on the "doll community" because people really do think about their dolls in more complex and interesting ways than 'sex' dolls.

As for acceptance, never is a strong word, so maybe I can rephrase to say that it will take some time and who knows how we will get there. But I think dolls are becoming part of a growing conversation!

discipline_+_punish · Post by **discipline_+_punish** » Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:19 pm

rubherkitty wrote:Maybe Love Dolls won't be wholly accepted, but they will be tolerated. As the world of robotics and AI advances is just natural that there will be synthetic humans and pets to some degree. Also as isolation from violence, disease and other social issues evolve more people will opt out of relationships. At least the traditional marriage and 2.2 kids. If men can get the sexual satisfaction they want for 20+ yrs for the price of a new car that is another matter. Most the world may still see dolls as this:
blow up doll.jpg
When advanced robotic sex dolls will soon be the alternative.
solana.PNG

This raises something I've been thinking about. Soon I'll be giving research talks on this project, aside from any doll owners in the audience, I think most people will think "blow up dolls." But they are SO different today! That will make for an interesting conversation in academia

gonestill77 · Post by **gonestill77** » Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:32 pm

NormalHuman wrote:
amytyl wrote:I did an interview and I can recommend it. Ken seems to honestly listen to your perspectives on our hobby and not display any sense of judgement. An honest sharing of opinions is going to be important in shaping the narrative towards eventually widespread acceptance of our interest, so let's help.
I can attest to that. It was a good conversation, with solid questions with no agenda/pre-conceived notions coming across. Just compiling perspectives from the people who have dolls.

I agree with all said above.

I did an interview and it was a good conversation and didn't take long.
Ken doesn't judge and his research is in the right place.
Hope he gets a doll eventually......

urinedanger · Post by **urinedanger** » Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:36 pm

People look at dolls as perverted for just sex. But I read quite a few blogs and thoughts from people on here. A lot of them care for their dolls. I would say its close to 99%. And they learn a lot from them. And i think learning how to deal with a doll can actually help them on understanding what woman have to go through to look beautiful on a date with them.

They learn how dress them, put make up on them, accessorize them, take beautiful pics of them, how to make their skin softer etc. And they care for these dolls because a lot of time and effort into taking care of them. I think its a great step to start with before dating a woman so they understand what it takes to maintain an attractive item. Im not saying their is not a lot more to a woman then a doll but it gives them a understanding of the hard work u have to put into just a doll and the cost. Its not easy maintaining them and it takes time and effort. I have a doll coming and i was looking right now for clothing. Trying to find the most beautiful outfit for her. Nothing makes a woman feel more special then feeling beautiful inside and out.

I lost that with my ex. I didn't think about buying her stuff only her birthday or christmas. I never surprised her. But as I am looking now I should of thought about her more and finding things that I know would look beautiful on her that I know would of made her happy. And the relationship would of been better. I don't even have the doll yet but its already helping me understand I should of done for more for my ex. Thats my 2 cents that its educational too not just something to have sex with but I am not doing a interview. Seeing how much i see people care for the dolls like davecat made me very intrigued into why that connection was there. But I get it now. When you put your effort into something you become apart of it.

discipline_+_punish · Post by **discipline_+_punish** » Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:37 pm

gonestill77 wrote:
NormalHuman wrote:
amytyl wrote:I did an interview and I can recommend it. Ken seems to honestly listen to your perspectives on our hobby and not display any sense of judgement. An honest sharing of opinions is going to be important in shaping the narrative towards eventually widespread acceptance of our interest, so let's help.
I can attest to that. It was a good conversation, with solid questions with no agenda/pre-conceived notions coming across. Just compiling perspectives from the people who have dolls.

I agree with all said above.
I did an interview and it was a good conversation and didn't take long.
Ken doesn't judge and his research is in the right place.
Hope he gets a doll eventually......

I enjoyed our chat a lot gonestill. Thanks for chatting.

And fwiw, I entered into a doll contest to win one. Actual purchase? Still haven't seen one in person yet, which I think would be best. But I did order tickets to AVN in January, hoping to see one there.