A bit of an old hand on the subject

typed for your pleasure on 28 October 2007, at 7.39 pm

Sdtrk: ‘Souvenir’ by Orchestral manoeuvres in the dark

Geraldo’s loss is the San Diego Union Tribune’s gain.

Heart to part
People find a lot of love in their Realdolls

By John Wilkens
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER | October 28, 2007

The new movie “Lars and the Real Girl” is pulling back the curtain on an unusual world where people find companionship in the arms of eerily lifelike silicone dolls.

At the center of that world is a small San Marcos company, Abyss Creations, which has been making “RealDolls” since 1996 and has so much business that the wait for a new prosthetic partner is three to five months.

Cost per doll: About $6,500, plus shipping. Dolls with custom faces and bodies can run up to $50,000.

That’s a lot of money for a sex toy. And don’t be fooled by the chaste nature of Lars’ relationship with Bianca – most of the customers use their anatomically correct dolls for erotic fantasies.

But Bronwen Keller, a company spokeswoman, said some owners use them as art objects, photography subjects, and as training devices in cosmetology and crime-scene investigation. RealDolls have appeared in the TV shows “My Name Is Earl” and “nip/tuck.”

[…] There are owners who buy clothes and makeup for their dolls. They move them around the house as the day unfolds – to the breakfast table, in front of the TV, out in the yard.

The dolls are so realistic, light years beyond the cartoonish vinyl blow-ups of gag-gift fame, that some owners treat them as spouses – even to the point of calling themselves “doll husbands.”
the rest of the article is here

This would be the result of a pleasant twenty minute phone interview that I did two Fridays ago; as you’ll see, I was quoted along with Stacy Leigh, Elena Dorfman, Gordon Griggs, and a couple of other luminaries of Doll culture. Sometimes, interacting with the Faceless Media Juggernaut can be rather nice!
On the other hand, those poor staffers at Abyss have to be the busiest they’ve ever been, ever

Technorati tags: Abyss Creations, RealDolls, iDollators, Elena Dorfman, Still Lovers, Lars and the Real Girl

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6 have spoken to “A bit of an old hand on the subject”

  1. PBShelley writes:

    Ta for the link; great to see more exposure to the dim and huddled masses. It’s interesting how even though the article is more open-minded than most, you still get the twit who is “both saddened and disgusted” LOL

    Wow, both at the same time??? :-O I think she should be sad that she’s disgusted but she’s probably too busy avoiding the mirror LMAO

    Anyway, another (small) step for (hu)mankind… I think I’m going to go give Pink Floyd’s “Animals” a listen… “Dogs” “Pigs” and “Sheep.” What more do you need to know about Society? I’ll be staying in, thank you very much…

    PBS, Lily, and Eden (amongst others)

  2. Miss Hyde writes:

    I wonder how long it will take for the hype to come over here? Hyde x

  3. PBShelley writes:

    Hi Miss Hyde,
    I believe that the hype is already over there as we have lots of doll owners in the U.K.! They probably have better sense than we at staying “under the covers”. As it were. Has “Lars” been released over there yet? I’ve been watching my U.K.-based Kate B. Klub but no-one’s mentioned it yet…
    It’s a scary thing raising one’s quite-different head into the open!
    Regards, and keep us informed 😉
    PBS & the etcs

  4. Mahtek writes:

    Basicly a good article, but it continues the impression given by most of these articles that the choise between a woman and a RD is an either/or thing.

    The idea that the reader is left with is that an idollator shuns all female contact. I have and have had many close friendships with women over the years. I need female interaction in my life. I just suck at intimate physical relationships, so my dolls fill that void. The writers don’t want to write about your non-sexual relationships with women.

  5. Davecat writes:

    Mahtek –
    That is a valid point — people don’t want to hear or believe that a male iDollator can have Organik female friends… it’s either all or nothing with us, it seems. But then, I’m fairly sure it seems strange for a woman to 1) have a Doll at all, and 2) refer to them as attractive, hot, sexy, etc. Much as I hate the phrase, iDollators are more likely to think ‘outside the box’, and that fact is something it’ll take the general populace to get used to.

    Honestly, that shit kills me. I have a number of Organik female friends that I enjoy hanging out with now and again, but just because we’re friends doesn’t mean we have to date. I love them to death, but there’s obviously some incompatibility on some level that prevents us from being a couple, and you’re going to find that in any interaction between two or more people. Men and women aren’t magnets — just because you place them into close proximity doesn’t guarantee they’ll stick to each other.

    PBS and girlies –
    Unfortunately, there’s always going to be some tiny-minded ‘individual’ hatin’ on us Doll lovers. Personally, I liked their complete and total lack of explanation. ‘I am saddened and disgusted.’ Well, that sure tells us a lot, bunky. You really can’t argue with such clear and well-reasoned logic like that. Heh.

    But yes, it is a small step for society, which is always a good thing. A future where everyone who wants a partner or a companion can have one?? Unpossible!!

    Hyde-chan –
    According to Dr Goldfoot, the UK won’t be getting ‘Lars etc etc’! Which I find hard to believe. I mean, Britain has to put up with the rest of the shite Hollowood squirts out, so why not some quality now and again? Keep your fingers crossed, missy…

  6. Miss Hyde writes:

    Well! I can’t believe were not getting it! Maybe they don’t want to poison our pure minds. Ha! I’m sure my mind is more corrupt then half the people out there! Its a shame, i think its about time the narrow-minded people among up learnt thatDollators don’t have 3 heads and are some of the nicest people around. I mean heak, look at george bush! Hyde x

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