Sex dolls: Nigerian men won’t choose robots over making love to women

In recent days, only few topics on the Internet and social media have elicited the type of interest the introduction of male and female sex dolls has generated. Apart from gaining traction by the day and becoming a hot topic of discourse across many gatherings, especially among youths, the trend appears to be raising new questions concerning the future of human to human relationship, not only in the country, but in other parts of the world as well.

For example, while a sizeable number of Nigerian men have hailed the new development, stating that it would end all ill treatments suffered in the hands of women, the ladies, on the other hand, see the arrival of sex dolls in local markets as a threat to their place in the hearts of their male lovers.

The female dolls, with striking features such as well-rounded breasts and large, firm buttocks of different sizes, reportedly cost around N800, 000 each in Nigeria. But some are even more expensive than that. According to some reports, a sophisticated version, with AI app that syncs up with a robotic head system, allowing them to talk, learn and satisfy customer’s sexual desires, can cost as much as N5m.

The robots, fitted with Artificial Intelligence, are said to be mostly manufactured by Realbotix, a company based in California, United States.

Founder of the company and designer of the sex dolls, Matt McMullen, has hinted on the introduction of male sex robots with bionic penises before the end of 2018.

“We’re working on a male version of the robot AI,” McMullen said. “We’ll eventually have a male and a female platform available,” he added.

Following the introduction of the female version into the global market, some notable citizens, especially entertainers, have been reacting to the issue. For example, award-winning hip hop artiste, Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, while reacting in a post on Twitter, said “Bazy say the people wey make sex doll… Be like dem no know how much olosho be for street (sic).”

The popular, African China, said that the innovation should be something to be frowned upon.

“I think the innovation of sex dolls should be something we should frown upon because it is absolute rubbish. When we don’t have scarcity of women or even men in the land, why should people opt for sex dolls? I know that there are some sex starved people but I doubt that they would stoop so low to the extent of acquiring a sex doll. It is not something for the Nigerian market; it could work in the western world.

“However, on a second thought, it would not even work there as well because their women also need men to comfort them, especially due to their harsh weather,” he said.

The singer noted that sex doll business would not thrive in the country because a typical Nigerian man would get tired of having sex with a doll after some time.

“The market would not thrive in Nigeria simply because whoever buys it would get tired of it eventually. To avoid being tired of the sex doll, a person would need to buy as many as possible and that would be ridiculous. Our women may nag and complain a lot but that is the beauty of a relationship. If a woman complains or nags, it only shows that she still cares about you.

“There are times you would want to touch your woman and she would play hard to get; that is the beauty of the sexual relationship because if you get it easily, you would not value it.

“The sex doll cannot go out with you to parties or events. If it is not flesh and blood, it can never be the real thing,” he added.

For budding singer, Adokiye Kyrian, the launch of the sex doll did not come to her as a surprise because of civilisation and westernisation. She said that no man can ever derive a satisfactory level of pleasure with dolls.

Citing herself as an example, she said that even if her boyfriend bought the doll, he could never experience the same level of ‘enjoyment’ as he would with her.

“We are in the computer age, so things like these are expected to happen; even though, it is very funny.

“One thing I know for sure is that having sex with a doll can never be as satisfactory as being with a human being. When you make love to a human being, there are some sounds and even emotions attached to the act which you would never get from a sex doll, regardless of the technological advancement and applications built into the doll.

“A sex doll may moan while having sex but subconsciously, you would know that it is not due to your actions but it’s programming. It can never be as pleasurable as having sex with a human being; even when you press its breasts, you would know that they are just rubber and not the real boobs. Having sex with the doll is the same thing as masturbating or using sex toys to have an orgasm.

“If you tell me that they use it so that they don’t cheat on their partners, who are away, then I would understand, but it can never replace sexual relationship between humans.

“My boyfriend cannot have a sex doll that would be like me, never, even if its body modification is like Kim Kardashian, the sex dolls can never be like me. When we have sex, I would scream, moan, hold him and rub all the sensitive parts of his body, but a sex doll would never do that.

“The sex doll would not give you all the sex positions that excite men; it just can never be like being with a real woman. God created us and designed it such that a man and woman would have sex together; so this sex doll thing is just rubbish. When they are tired of having the sex doll, they will still go out in search of real women,” she said.

Like African China, Adokiye believes that sales of the sex dolls might thrive abroad but not in Nigeria.

“I don’t believe that the market would thrive in Nigeria because our men love action. It may work in the western world, but certainly not Nigeria.

“Nigerian men love to hear their women scream during sex; they are very adventurous and they cannot get the desired satisfaction from dolls. It would not work; anyone who invests in this kind of business would run at a loss.

“Some might say that they would buy the sex doll because women nag or complain, but the truth is that nagging is part of what makes us a woman. It is our nature and if the men want to be sincere, they love it when we nag. When a woman nags, you know that she cares about you. It is in our nature, God created us this way and it is part of the beauty of a woman to nag, but it is not enough to think that you can replace a woman with sex dolls.”

The actor, IK Ogbonna, went a bit philosophical.

According to him, “The world is evolving and for this reason, new things would come and become the trend. It just depends on how we accept or reject the trend.

“I do not think that sex dolls can ever replace a woman because there are no emotions involved in their relations. Sex is normally between people that have some sort of feelings for themselves, be it love or lust. It may be okay for randy men who already subscribe to masturbation because they would just substitute their hand for the dolls.

“Personally, I think it is just another way of enslaving the human mind. It might first seem like a joke but later, it evolves into something serious and before you know it we begin to lose our culture and values as humans.

“I have come to believe that these things are wrapped around some evil forces trying to bring down the creations of God. It just starts with the little things that they introduce and before you know it, we begin to ignore the things that God gave us for free. The person that is meant to be our companion would turn to a stranger. Already, homosexuality is everywhere, now they are introducing sex dolls. Before long, people would start marrying sex dolls.”

Ogbonna said that people who compare women to sex dolls should endeavor to settle with people with like minds; those that are compatible with them.

“I read comments online where some Nigerian men were listing reasons why the sex dolls are better than women. Some cited reasons like nagging or financial demands, but they forget that a square peg can never fit into a round hole. There is no bad man or woman in this world; in the same vein as there is no good man or woman in this world, you just have to look for someone that suits you.

“Settle down with someone that is compatible with you, someone you can co-exist with. There are about seven billion people in the world, so you cannot say that there is no one that suits you. There are some women that are loud and nag a lot but the truth is that there are men out there that love women with such characteristics. Different strokes for different folks.

“I don’t think this innovation would work in Nigeria because Nigerian men love sex a lot. We have men who would work for a month and give their salary to a woman just because of sex. A man would spend any amount of money to have sex with a woman and most people are even settling for sex workers. I don’t think the business would thrive in Nigeria,” he said.

Actress, Foluke Daramola-Salako, said that when she first heard about the new trend, she laughed but after looking at it closely, she thought that it would have an adverse effect on human beings.

She said, “When I saw the thread online about the sex dolls, I just felt it was something funny but giving it a closer look, I realised that it is something that would have a catastrophic effect on us.

“The truth of the matter is that whether consciously or subconsciously, we are streamlining the functions of human beings. Very soon, people would not have any form of emotion for one another and everyone would soon be in a state of numbness.

“What makes life interesting are what we pass through and the emotions that we exhibit when we are happy, sad, hurt or excited. At the end of the day, when you have sex dolls that can fulfil your sexual needs, the role of man is being narrowed. In as much as it sounds exciting and different, I am not a fan of the innovation.

“When you launch a product like that, it is another way to subtly encourage homosexuality. For instance, a man can buy the male version of the sex doll and practise homosexuality with it, the same way a woman can practise lesbianism with the female version of the sex dolls. I am looking beyond the surface when it comes to this issue,” she said.

Speaking further, Daramola-Salako said that she believed the trend would sneak into the Nigerian culture like many other trends that had become the norm in the nation.

“The trend would not come to Nigeria suddenly, it would creep in. It would creep into our system gradually not immediately and before we know it, it would become the norm.

“People who look at the negative side of women simply because there is a sex doll make me laugh. They forget that women have more positives than negative sides. At the end of the day, you would have someone to talk with, someone to share your bed with and not a lifeless device,” she added.

In my marriage for instance, even when we are stressing ourselves, we still have fun with it. It is a good thing to have someone you laugh, fight, play and argue with. You cannot do that with a sex doll.”

Interestingly, while female sex dolls appears to have excited some men and angered dozens of women around the world, the production of male sex dolls have equally elicited similar reactions as well. Ladies, eager to even the scores, have been expressing excitement over the latest development – according to them, male sex dolls would also see them escaping some of the dramas associated with dating real men.

“I like the fact that they have catered for the need of women especially people like me that are single. Bye to boredom; bye to loneliness,” a Twitter user, enoh, said in a recent post – echoing the feelings of scores of women around the world.

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