Q&A
Sex doll’s fertility dream comes from graduation work
At the 64th Graduation Exhibition of Tokyo University of the Arts, the school publicly exhibited the works of recent graduates.One of the highly anticipated works <<性玩偶受孕之梦>>, the creators turned the “sex doll” into a pregnant look and took a series of photos.
Sex dolls, known as “Love Dolls” in Japan, are life-size full-body dolls made of silicone or TPE material that are close to adult size. The dolls look, feel and structure like real people and can be used for filming or more immediate desires.But dolls are dolls after all, and it is even less likely to be “pregnant” even if they are unconscious, but if they are 
Pregnant, what will it be like? Lingo, a doctoral student at Tokyo University of the Arts, was curious about this and thought of transforming the doll, and took a series of photos.
Japanese
What are the opportunities created?
About a few years ago, when I was 24 or 25 years old, friends and women around me began to get married and have children, and the voice of “starting a family before the age of 30” often appeared. In particular, although I have considered whether to have children, I have been hesitant because I want to concentrate on my studies. I think “pregnancy” is a major event that affects life, so I came up with the idea of creating this theme.
So why express it as a sex doll?
I once participated in a sex doll exhibition called “Adult Real Doll Expo” and I was interested in these realistic love dolls from the beginning. It wasn’t until the year before last that I suddenly thought: what if an AI-equipped love doll was actually pregnant? So connect the two. The doll is about the same height and shoulder width as mine, like a replica.
How do people who have seen this work feel?
Different ages and genders respond differently. I’ve heard people say “really vulgar!” Indeed, there has always been an “art or vulgar” debate in body art, especially the origins of sex dolls. I created this work to bring out the musings of “a future where women are separated from reproduction” and “what is life and man?” rather than bring out other themes. However, I have always disagreed with “vulgarity is not art” or “because it is art, it is not vulgar”. Because it is difficult to define, it can be said to be a flower in your own eyes!
What does “female and reproductive separation of the future” mean? Can you elaborate?
Today, technology is researching and developing artificial wombs, and artificial intelligence is developing rapidly. When the AI female sex robot said “her” dream is: I hope to get married and have children before the age of 30, build a happy family, the audience burst into laughter, but I couldn’t laugh.
While I am not going to criticize anything, this development is bound to affect human ethical relationships. What if artificial intelligence could one day replace humans with pregnancy and childbirth? Sex dolls are the closest thing to a human being right now, and even women would agree if they could be as beautiful as “them”. So I wanted to express this message in an artistic way.
What do you think of the criticism that “sex dolls are symbols of female objectification”?
I think the opposite is true. Anyone who has ever bought a sex doll knows that “raising” a sex doll is not easy. Be careful not to be broken by hard objects, let alone let the doll wear clothes that are too cheap and easy to fade. Taking care of a sex doll can be harder than a real person.
Not everyone actually buys sex dolls because of “sex”. Some people have been together for a long time, the more they know how to cherish, not to be hurt, not to be defiled. In fact, as long as you check the material and joints of the doll, you will know how the doll is usually handled. Some people who no longer need the dolls will try to put them back on the second-hand market for consignment, in the hope that those who are interested will “adopt” them.