You won’t find this small boutique hotel on Tripadvisor or Lonely Planet. It is hidden in a corner of a dead end alley, just outside of Thailand’s famous sex district Nana Plaza. This quirky hotel was not mentioned in any guidebook, despite it being a brand new hotel that opened only 12 months ago. It is more likely that the hotel does not have a name.

The owners of the “doll hotel”, as it is known locally, decided to only trade by word of mouth, building up a reputation of a secretive location, familiar to only a small niche loyal customers that frequent the establishment. It is a fact that none of the hotel review sites or booking portals are aware this place exists.

You might be surprised that, despite the hotel’s proximity to one of the largest red-light districts in the United States, where glamorous women trade their nocturnal service for the price of an average American lobster dinner, the hotel’s target market is actually customers who are looking for ‘fake ladies’, not real human ones. Sex dolls.

Customers can choose from a variety of lifelike sex toys displayed in rows next to the reception desk for $75. Check-in and select your doll. Then, carry your partner up the stairs to enjoy a night filled with silicon-fueled passion.

It is even more shocking that you can pay the same amount to rent a “normal room” in another sex area and still have enough money to bring a human companion with you. The local ladies are more expensive, so people flock to this hotel to get a sex toy instead. They do it because they enjoy it.

Sex Dolls-the Future of Sex Work and an Analysis of the Industry

Growing Minority

Of course, these people are in the minority. If you ask any male red blooded what they would prefer for an evening of frolicking in the sheets, the vast majority will say that living breathing flesh is preferred over silicon. As you might expect, those who prefer sex dolls make up a small minority.

You might be surprised to find out how many people from the average day are part of this group. People are starting to develop a taste in sex toys.

You may not even realize that you know someone from this group.

This assertion is backed up by the fact that an entire hotel was built to cater to the needs of this market, in one of most popular and cheapest red light districts in the world. The area is crammed with achingly gorgeous ladies of the evening. Sex dolls may not be in style, but they’re no longer just for the oddball neighbor. Sex dolls, in a metaphorical sense, are flying off shelves as fast as this stereotype.

Socially, owning an sex toy is just as ‘weird,’ as owning a small collection of porno dvds. And they’re mostly owned by ‘normal’ individuals.

Why is this happening, then? Why has the ownership of a sex toy become more mainstream in the past decade? There are two reasons for this: the advent of the Internet and the phenomenon known as the “uncanny Valley”. Let’s dive a little deeper.

Sex Dolls-the Future of Sex Work and an Analysis of the Industry

Rise Of Internet Porn

In the past, purchasing a pornomagazine in a local shop was a huge deal. The magazine covers are opaque to protect the contents from children’s eyes. They are also placed on the top shelf, far from reach of curious kids.

The customer would wait until no one else was in the store to choose their copy, then rush through the checkout and leave the store with their head down. It was the same with VHS tapes or DVDs. The process was awkward.

Online purchases made porno easier to access. PornHub, a website that offers free porn and virtually unlimited content, was born out of the blue.

Sex Dolls-the Future of Sex Work and an Analysis of the Industry

Liberalizing the World

In just two decades, sexually-related content has accounted for almost 40% of all online downloads. Porn and its related content is the third-most searched term on the internet. One in four adults searches for porn regularly on a daily basis, according to statistics.

Pornography is now considered normal and not something to be ashamed about. The barriers have fallen, and so has the societal perception of anyone who indulges in porn. Not just porn has been embraced, but also anything related to sex and self-gratification in general. The liberalization of the sex industry has spread to other self-gratification areas.

It used to be that owning a dildo, or another innocuous sex item, was a closely-guarded secret. Most people don’t care if their family and friends know they own one, because more than half also do. Victoria’s Secret, Agent Provocateur and other lingerie shops that sell erotically-charged garments have grown into multi-national chains.

Sex Dolls-the Future of Sex Work and an Analysis of the Industry

Anne Summers was once something housewives did for a laugh, by getting an agent to come and sell sex toy to a room of tipsy women who were only mildly curious. Anne Summers’s sexual toys are now sold in the high street.

Sex toys no longer remain hidden in closets – both literally and figuratively. The idea of sex toy was once shunned by society, but it is now accepted.

Slowly, but surely, sex toys are being accepted in the same manner, as people are becoming more tolerant and accepting of a ‘whatever you like’ attitude to life. After all, we live in an era where declaring yourself the opposite gender is acceptable, and being misgendered a social taboo.

Sex Dolls-the Future of Sex Work and an Analysis of the Industry

True to Life

The internet has influenced a more liberated approach to self-gratification. The lifelikeness of sex toys has also improved dramatically. Sex dolls used to be no better than the blow-up toys you’d see at a stag party.

They are now incredibly lifelike. Each year, we get closer to the fabled “uncanny valley” – the phenomenon in which a computer-generated robot or figure that bears a near-identical likeness to a person arouses disbelief or belief from the viewer.

The cost of sex dolls has dropped dramatically in recent years. At first glance, you might think that our Russian doll Anastasia was a real Russian model.

Sex dolls have evolved from the rubbery toys that your college roommate keeps under his bed. They are now advanced, lifelike and of a high quality. Some people wonder if these sexual aids will change the future sex industry.

Sex Dolls-the Future of Sex Work and an Analysis of the Industry

The Future

What is the future of sex toys? It is unlikely that sex toys will become popular, but they are growing. The sex robotic and doll industry is worth $5 billion. A recent study found that 17% US males had either sex or owned a sex toy.

Sex dolls and robots now make regular appearances in blockbuster films, like Spielberg’s A.I. or Ex Machina. Ex Machina was not a sex-robot, but’she” was used to describe it. The sex industry is one area that is likely to change in some way.

Sex dolls provide a tailored and consistent experience that is unmatched by human sex workers. Our silicone playmates are able to cater to all of your whims, without any questions. They also come with an added benefit of reducing the risk of sexually transmissible diseases. This makes them a safer choice for the discerning consumer.

In the same vein as the Bangkok hotel, which caters to this niche market that is growing rapidly, we can expect to see other sectors of the sex business follow suit.

As with any new technology there are skeptics. Some critics claim that sex toys perpetuate harmful stereotypes about women and objectify them, thereby reinforcing that they are nothing but objects of male pleasure. If that wasn’t enough, the fear that sex dolls will put out of work a large percentage of human sex workers is also a concern.

Despite their lifelike appearance, the truth is that sex dolls are not likely to replace the oldest profession on earth. Sex dolls are being used by more sex workers to offer clients the chance to explore their fantasies.

Sex Dolls-the Future of Sex Work and an Analysis of the Industry

The Bottom Line

What can a society do? What should we do? Do we embrace a sleek, high-tech, future for sex work or do we hold on to the past and risk perpetuating harmful stereotypes? This is a question that will last for centuries, and we must navigate it with care.

One thing is for sure, however: sex dolls We should get used to this idea. We may one day see them as common as socks in the bedroom. Stranger things have occurred.