New documentary "Silicone Soul" is a film not for the faint-hearted. Produced by Minnesota filmmaker Melody Gilbert. The documentary gives an in-depth look into the lives of people who have relationships with dolls.
Creepy, and sometimes bordering on the absurd, one of Gilbert's subjects is Chicago couple John and Jackie. The two have been together for 10 years. The difference between them and other heterosexual couples is that Jackie is a sex doll.
During the documentary, John speaks openly about being wed to a silicone doll. But others, it seems, don't have the same outlook like him.
“My sister-in-law… didn’t say so much as hello to Jackie,” said John, who declined to give his age or last name for privacy reasons. “And Jackie had brought her a live orchid plant.”
Devoted sex-doll spouses like John have fallen for increasingly realistic-looking plastic partners, who in turn provide unconditional companionship. And frankly, if they had emotions, the feeling would likely be mutual for sex dolls like Jackie, Gilbert told The New York Post.
“He treats her beautifully and takes her out in the world, he goes to the zoo with her, and to restaurants,” added Gilbert, who is also a professor at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
Another man featured in the film is Davecat. He paid about $6 000 (about R90 800) each for his wife Sidore Kuroneko and girlfriend Elena Vostrikova. The three are in a "hierarchical polyamorous relationship".
Dr Danielle Knafo, a psychoanalyst and professor at Long Island University who studies sexuality and technology, told The Post that relationships like these won't be so rare in the foreseeable future.
“People are becoming more and more accustomed to technology-driven lives,” she said. “It’s a natural development that they’re going to enter our intimate lives as well.”