John expected his family to embrace his wife of 10 years, Jackie, with open arms — even though she’s a sex doll.
The Chicago couple has been living blissfully as man and silicone doll since April 2009, when they were wed on an episode of “The Jerry Springer Show.”
A recent Thanksgiving dinner, however, was a painful reminder that others don’t see their non-traditional union that way, says John, one of the stars of “Silicone Soul,” a new documentary about doting doll partners that premiered in October on Starz.
“My sister-in-law … didn’t say so much as hello to Jackie,” says John, who declines to give his age or last name for privacy reasons, in the doc. “And Jackie had brought her a live orchid plant.”
Devoted sex-doll spouses like John have fallen hard for increasingly realistic-looking plastic partners, who in turn provide totally unconditional companionship — unlike their fleshy counterparts. And frankly, if they had emotions, the feeling would likely be mutual for sex dolls like Jackie, documentary director-producer Melody Gilbert tells The Post.
“He treats her beautifully and takes her out in the world, he goes to the zoo with her, and to restaurants,” says Gilbert, a professor at the Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
The documentary delves into the subculture of proto-robot relationships, which are typically made up of heterosexual men who fall for fake women, says Dr. Danielle Knafo, a psychoanalyst and professor at Long Island University who studies sexuality and technology.
Doll owners have their reasons — and they aren’t always purely sexual, she says. John’s first wife, for example, cheated on him, as he tells gawkers in the film. Jackie would never.
“Some men feel too hurt or rejected by women to try again,” Knafo says. “A person can hurt you, they can leave you, they might be temperamental, they have their own desires. In a human-to-doll relationship, the doll will always be there.”
“Most of them are lonely and scared to take the plunge into human relationships,” Gilbert says.
Also, one never has to worry about the messy complications of traditional relationships, says Davecat, a Detroit man featured in the film who hasn’t been “actively looking for an organic girlfriend for the past eight years.”
He paid around $6,000 each for his wife Sidore Kuroneko, and girlfriend Elena Vostrikova. The three are in a “hierarchical polyamorous relationship … we’re all in love, it’s all equal … but [Sidore] is number one,” according to Davecat, who calls himself an advocate for “synthetic love.”
Former Wall Street broker Stacy Leigh, who is married to a human man, photographs and paints her dolls for solo and group exhibitions in New York and calls herself “a huge feminist.” Leigh sees her 15 sex dolls as grown-up versions of the Barbies she used as an escape during her parents’ divorce. Now, they serve as “a crutch for my lack of relationships with women.”
Dolls can also fill in the gaps when life with humans gets complicated. Among the more touching examples in the doc was one man who introduced dolls into his marriage after his wife underwent chemotherapy. The dolls helped spice up their relationship during a time when sex was physically challenging.
Sarah Mellman, a Denver, Colorado-based artist who creates lifelike baby dolls, loans her creations to the Alzheimer’s ward of a local nursing home. The dolls provide cuddle therapy to residents, who aren’t the wiser that the babies aren’t real. “I hope you’ll help take care of her,” says Mellman to one patient.
Barring dementia, Gilbert insists the men featured in the film “do know that what they are loving is a sex doll, but they have amazing imaginations and true-to-life relationships with them.”
Knafo says relationships like the ones in the film may not be so rare in the future.
“People are becoming more and more accustomed to technology-driven lives,” she says, noting that many couples complain of their partner being too “married” to their cellphone. “It’s a natural development that they’re going to enter our intimate lives as well.”
Davecat, who has bought Sidore three replacement bodies, agrees.
“It’s just a matter of time before people say ‘OK, this whole synthetic option that he keeps going on about is something that I should look into.’ ”
The Chicago couple has been living blissfully as man and silicone doll since April 2009, when they were wed on an episode of “The Jerry Springer Show.”
A recent Thanksgiving dinner, however, was a painful reminder that others don’t see their non-traditional union that way, says John, one of the stars of “Silicone Soul,” a new documentary about doting doll partners that premiered in October on Starz.
“My sister-in-law … didn’t say so much as hello to Jackie,” says John, who declines to give his age or last name for privacy reasons, in the doc. “And Jackie had brought her a live orchid plant.”
Devoted sex-doll spouses like John have fallen hard for increasingly realistic-looking plastic partners, who in turn provide totally unconditional companionship — unlike their fleshy counterparts. And frankly, if they had emotions, the feeling would likely be mutual for sex dolls like Jackie, documentary director-producer Melody Gilbert tells The Post.
“He treats her beautifully and takes her out in the world, he goes to the zoo with her, and to restaurants,” says Gilbert, a professor at the Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
The documentary delves into the subculture of proto-robot relationships, which are typically made up of heterosexual men who fall for fake women, says Dr. Danielle Knafo, a psychoanalyst and professor at Long Island University who studies sexuality and technology.
Doll owners have their reasons — and they aren’t always purely sexual, she says. John’s first wife, for example, cheated on him, as he tells gawkers in the film. Jackie would never.
“Some men feel too hurt or rejected by women to try again,” Knafo says. “A person can hurt you, they can leave you, they might be temperamental, they have their own desires. In a human-to-doll relationship, the doll will always be there.”
“Most of them are lonely and scared to take the plunge into human relationships,” Gilbert says.
Also, one never has to worry about the messy complications of traditional relationships, says Davecat, a Detroit man featured in the film who hasn’t been “actively looking for an organic girlfriend for the past eight years.”
He paid around $6,000 each for his wife Sidore Kuroneko, and girlfriend Elena Vostrikova. The three are in a “hierarchical polyamorous relationship … we’re all in love, it’s all equal … but [Sidore] is number one,” according to Davecat, who calls himself an advocate for “synthetic love.”
Former Wall Street broker Stacy Leigh, who is married to a human man, photographs and paints her dolls for solo and group exhibitions in New York and calls herself “a huge feminist.” Leigh sees her 15 sex dolls as grown-up versions of the Barbies she used as an escape during her parents’ divorce. Now, they serve as “a crutch for my lack of relationships with women.”
Dolls can also fill in the gaps when life with humans gets complicated. Among the more touching examples in the doc was one man who introduced dolls into his marriage after his wife underwent chemotherapy. The dolls helped spice up their relationship during a time when sex was physically challenging.
Sarah Mellman, a Denver, Colorado-based artist who creates lifelike baby dolls, loans her creations to the Alzheimer’s ward of a local nursing home. The dolls provide cuddle therapy to residents, who aren’t the wiser that the babies aren’t real. “I hope you’ll help take care of her,” says Mellman to one patient.
Barring dementia, Gilbert insists the men featured in the film “do know that what they are loving is a sex doll, but they have amazing imaginations and true-to-life relationships with them.”
Knafo says relationships like the ones in the film may not be so rare in the future.
“People are becoming more and more accustomed to technology-driven lives,” she says, noting that many couples complain of their partner being too “married” to their cellphone. “It’s a natural development that they’re going to enter our intimate lives as well.”
Davecat, who has bought Sidore three replacement bodies, agrees.
“It’s just a matter of time before people say ‘OK, this whole synthetic option that he keeps going on about is something that I should look into.’ ”
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