Last month, we noticed this interesting yet strange piece on Jezebel concerning “activists” and a supposed French sex doll brothel. Yes, you read that correctly — a sex. doll. brothel.
The issue
Xdolls is registered as a gaming center, Jezebel reported, but some French activists (communist party members, feminist groups) think the business is, basically, a sex doll brothel.
Joaquin Lousy, Xdolls owner, says that most of Xdolls clients are “men aged between 30 and 50, usually executive types, clean, as well as a few couples who come for a new sexual experience,” the Telegraph reported.
“Bookings are made online and the exact address is kept secret,” Lousy said via the Telegraph.
The activists
Nicolas Bonnet Oulaldj, a communist councillor, wants Xdolls shutdown because he thinks that the business portrays a degrading image of women. Bonnet Oulaldj also argued that Xdolls is more “like a place of prostitution with an owner who can be regarded as a pimp.”
Prostitution is now a finable offense in France and owning a brothel is illegal, the Telegraph reported.
Lorraine Questiaux, lawyer and spokesperson for Mouvement du Nid (Nest Movement), a Paris feminist association, also is against Xdolls’ operation. She contends that the business is not a “sex shop,” but a place where patrons can simulate “the rape of a woman” reported the Telegraph.
Questiaux punctuates her opinion by adding that “86,000 women are raped in France every year.”
Sex dolls aren’t women
Sure, Xdolls may seem like a creepy place to some, but it’s hardly a place where people simulate “the rape of a woman.” This is because dolls aren’t people. And because dolls aren’t people, a person cannot rape a doll.
Although we don’t necessarily fault these so-called activists’ opinions concerning Xdolls, we are a bit irked they are making the “doll sex equates human rape” comparison.
First, you do not have to ask a doll for consent because a doll is a doll—it isn’t human. Second, when a person does equate having sex with a doll to rape, they belittle the women who are raped every day.
This got us thinking…
Do you use sex dolls in any of your work? If so, have you ever received complaints from “fans” about sex doll consent?
And we know… That last sentence reads a bit funny, but we’re curious if this obsession with sex doll rights is trending.
If you have any insight, reach out to me at abbie@ynotcam.com.
Pictured: Hot, but still not a living being.
—
Abbie Stutzer is a writer and editor from Lawrence, Kansas. Find her on Twitter at @abbiestutzer and on Insta at @abbiestutzer. Email her at abbie@ynotcam.com.
Image via Jean Scheijen.
