Page 38 - AVN Intimate Winter 2020

Another doll that XR Brands offers is the branded Jesse Jane doll that was
sculpted after the porn star herself. “We’re really proud of the whole line of
Jesse Jane toys, including her namesake, full-sized doll,” Weinberg said. “We
worked really hard to create her likeness and I think we succeeded quite well.
The customers love her and Jesse loves the way she was made for everyone to
enjoy. Our Jesse doll is selling really well.”
So who exactly is buying these dolls?
Several years ago, the British Broadcasting Corporation aired a one-hour
documentary, Guys and Dolls (now on YouTube), featuring several men in
the United Kingdom and United States detailing their passion for these
“synthetic humans,” as many of them call their dolls. The documentary
shows a compassionate and sincere view of these men, who come off as quite
“normal.”
A gentleman in the film, Everard, expresses his affection for the dolls by
sharing, “It’s better than going without any female company at all.” Another,
Gordon, brought up some other concerns which most likely have crossed
the minds of many men who enjoy using their dolls for sex. “When I had sex
with a real woman, I’d have to think ‘Damn, I hope I don’t get her pregnant. I
hope she doesn’t have any diseases.’” Obviously, a sex doll can provide relief
from those concerns.
Ultimate Fantasy Dolls’ Phaneuf mused, “We’ve found most of our
customers are a little older. Maybe they’ve either given up on women or
experienced a death or end of a relationship, maybe they’re looking for
companionship—and, well, in other words, they’re pretty normal guys.”
XR Brands’ Weinberg sees “a slightly younger demographic for our buyers.
They might have thought about getting a doll and then they actually do.
From what I can tell, we get a lot of first-time doll buyers, which is fine with
us because they get to experience them without breaking the bank.”
While many companies offer realistic, full-sized sex dolls, the industry
leader has always been the Real Doll, made popular in the 2007 mainstream
film Lars and the Real Girl, starring Ryan Gosling in the title role. In the
movie, he plays an introverted guy who meets a companion on the internet
who turns out to be a Real Doll. He learns relationship skills with her when
Crate Expectations Below, a Real Doll in the making. Above, a finished model ready for shipping.
Somewhat surprisingly, the male dolls outsell their female
counterparts, which is something XR did not expect when it began
selling the line. Weinberg expanded, “We do know that the majority
of buyers are men but one cannot assume that all of the men are
going to buy female dolls. We found this pretty interesting.”
Also included in the line is Terry, the transgender love doll who
sports a vagina and what is basically a strapless strap-on removable
dildo that fits inside her vaginal cavity and extends outside of her
body where a real penis would be. “We’re the first to offer this type
of doll to our customers and she’s proven to be quite popular, too.”
Most NextGen dolls are offered with three different wigs to
change the personalities and looks of the dolls. Weinberg stated,
“Customers are always saying how much they like the versatility
these dolls offer them. They can fantasize about the same doll, but
while providing different looks. It keeps our customers very happy
with their dolls.”
Another distinctive difference is that the NextGen dolls are
all presented in retail packaging, making them easy to show in
traditional bricks-and-mortar stores. Retailers can buy the dolls
through their wholesale distributors and display them in the store
without having them touched and poked by curious customers,
which usually poses a problem with such an expensive offering. “By
having them shown this way in stores, customers can get a good
idea of the dolls and even buy them and take them home without
messing them up. The retailers really appreciate that,” Weinberg
shared. “The retail box is also a great way to store them at home.”
38 | INTIMATE | WINTER 2020