Roxxxy the sexbot debut at AVN awards: 'Truecompanion' or sex slave?

Roxxxy is not your typical robot. She doesn’t cook or clean or vacuum the floor, but she’s got buttons and you can turn her on. She’ll even return that favor if you are the kind of person to fork over a cool $9000 for your very own sexbot.

My mistake: make that companion. That is how the makers of Roxxxy are referring to their unblinking, aren’t-I-pretty-with-my-vacuous-stare invention. Apparently, she can hold a conversation with her, um, owner. As I read more about Roxxxy and the five flavors – oops, I mean ‘personalities’ – that she comes in, I couldn’t stop phrases like, “Yes, dear, where would you like me to put your beer?” or, “I love it how you beat me,” or “No, I don’t mind at all that you haven’t showered this week,” from floating around my pretty little brain.

I rarely allow sexist thoughts to get the best of me; au contraire, Modern Love is a big fan of mankind. The air breathing, warm flesh, smelly feet, stubbly beard, door opening, broad shoulders, perfectly imperfect kind of guy. You know, the one’s who actually like real women. I know you are out there, in lucious spades.

That is why I agree wholeheartedly with Violet Blue’s take on the unveiling of sex tech’s latest gadget for the emotionally impaired. “It’s a peek into someone’s psyche... when we see [statements] like ‘Men have often dreamed it, but it hasn’t become a reality until today: the sex robot.’ Um, really?” (From her column, Who has two thumbs, a vagina, and doesn't blink?) Except, whereas Ms. Blue refers to Roxxxy as a 'who', I gently suggest we say 'what'. Let's not forget that we are talking about a machine, one that doesn't move when her ‘orifices’ are probed to demonstrate that she is ‘lifelike’ where it counts.

Despite any marketing wizardry, she’s nothing more than uber-expensive sex toy, not a replacement for real relationships. Real women don't sit like that, legs perpetually bent in a come-hither, I’m only made for humping, pose. And dressed in flimsy lingerie, boobs in perky mode, and lipstick that never smears, Roxxxy reaffirms my own concern from an earlier article. Technology has commandeered all aspects of our lives. Will it hijack our genitals too?

The inventors claim that her companion attributes count more than her sex modes, but the truth is that those interested in sexbots aren't looking for someone to chat with. An informal poll on a sexbot site found that 39% and 37% wanted one for either housecleaning, or as a sex slave, respectfully. Hmmm...me thinks it was just those sort of neandrathal attitudes that launched the sexual revolution.

Getting it on with a computerized rubber doll instead of working it out with a real live person undermines more than our reproductive organs. Just consider one of Roxxxy’s personalities: a ‘frigid girl’ who doesn’t like sex. Who in their right mind wants to buy a sexbot who doesn’t like sex? Creepy rape fantasy guy comes to mind.

Sure, it’s better if sexual deviants take out their perverse pleasure on a machine instead of a person. Better yet, save the technology, save the children, save the women being abused, save those who live in countries that sell virginity and child brides to the highest bidder. How? Send the 9K – the cost of Roxxxy – to your favorite charity/law enforcement agency instead.

Besides, if you need to get your jollies, erotica is a lot cheaper, better for the environment, and consensual. I highly doubt Roxxxy's creators gave her control over her own sexual destiny, and that's so not Modern Love.
 

If you liked this column, please read: Sex with robots coming in 2011  Sex is healthy, but only for the straight  Rita Watson's Got a minute: hot, quicky sex or Sarah Estrella's 2010 AVN awards: A closer look at this year's adult entertainment

Modern Love is not your average relationship column; it offers analysis beyond the news. Sometimes serious, sometimes playful, often spicy, it seeks to deepen our understanding of love and help couples create more meaningful relationships.

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