To me, these tiny figurines can never be just another toy. You can’t ignore the fact that behind the bright colors and the doll like features, there’s a level of voyeurism at play. Do people have no choice but conform to objectification? Do they really have to accept being reduced to an actionable figure with no personality or character?
Plus, with micro doll sex toys, you’re no longer able to keep your private life private. Whatever actions you take with the toy become part of a public record. People could be exposed, judged and shamed for the actions they take with these dolls. To me, that feels wrong – not to mention intrusive.
And then I started to think about how this type of a toy could shape a relationship, particularly one based on emotional connections, rather than physical ones. With these dolls, our understanding of pleasure shifts. You create a false image of whereby physical needs are of the utmost importance, instead of providing emotional connections first that give purposeful experiences.
As an independent woman, I strongly believe in destination-based relationships that focus on shared values and mutual respect. But these micro doll sex toys have the potential to lead us down a slippery slope towards a culture where intimacy is reduced to insert A into slot B mentality.
It feels like we have a choice, here: either make a stand against the objectification that these dolls encourage, or just start treating it as a regular toy. I’m not sure if I want to do either of those things.
So I decided to do some research. I asked my friends what they thought of micro doll sex toys – whether they felt comfortable with it as a practice. Most of them admitted that, while they found them interesting, they weren’t sure if it could ever replace the intimacy of a traditional relationship.
I read through some comments on forums and even blog posts of people who were in support of these dolls and their purposes. Some argued that these dolls created a safe space for vibrators people who may feel that typical methods of arousal could trigger past events and anxiety.
At the end of it all, I’m still not sure what to make of these dolls – are they a revolution or an exploitation? Do they provide a necessary outlet for people who feel isolated and misunderstood? Or do they trivialize and truly diminish outlets for intimacy? I guess it’s something that I’m still trying to figure out.