Posters for a new R-rated business idea are making their way around Vancouver.
BellaDolls, which opened this month, offers the services of six sex dolls, billing itself as the first “brothel” to do so in Western Canada.
The business has six “silicone ladies” to choose from, with each tailored to whatever experience the buyer might want, and “no limitations.”
There’s Naomi, “a gorgeous young model with a beautiful face, fit tight body, and silky tanned skin.”
There’s Violet, who is a “classy lady… Not only is she available to satisfy your needs, she is also a great listener.”
The dolls are advertised as ranging from 21 to 23 years old, with breast sizes between a B-cup and an E-cup, heights between four-foot-eight and five-foot-four and a list of what type of sex they’re up for.
The dolls may open up more ways to fulfill client’s desires, but University of British Columbia economics professor Marina Adshade thinks they’ll be a very niche market.
“They’re attracting men who may be a little bit nervous about using traditional sex workers because they’re worried about being arrested, sexually transmitted diseases or that women are being exploited,” said Adshade, who authored a book about how robots could fill a need for sexual intimacy in marriages of the future. But she said she doesn’t think these sex dolls will fill that role.
“Many of the things that people want to do with another human, these dolls will not be able to do,” she said, calling them a ‘novelty.’ “It’s surprisingly expensive given what it is… I’m not sure why men wouldn’t just go buy one for themselves.”
The price for a BellaDoll ranges from $90 for 30 minutes to $240 for two hours. On Amazon or eBay, a sex doll ranges from $82 to well over $2,000.
“The website says that the advantage of these dolls is that there’s ‘no limitations,’ but of course there’s all sorts of limitations,” said Adshade. “It is only an expensive fleshlight,” she added, referring to the popular sex toy.
She acknowledged serious concerns about what men may learn from a doll that cannot provide consent.
“Their main selling point is that the dolls can’t say no… that you can do anything you want to them,” Adshade said.
But at the same time, she pointed to similar ideas in how scientists are treating pedophilia.
Some researchers, she said, have begun to use child sex robots, or “fleshlights that are connected to child porn,” as a way for pedophiles to safely indulge their desires.
There’s no proof it works, Adshade said, but the same argument could perhaps be made for men who dominate women.
“Will they use this as a substitute or will it encourage more domination? We just don’t know.”
