aboutsexdoll

Only a creepy old pervert would hide a sex doll under their bed. At least, that"s what sculptor Matt Krivick thought before he quit his job making Halloween costumes to join a stereotypical industry, which proved him dead wrong.

 

For the past five years, Matt has been working for Sinthetics, a Los Angeles-based company that makes dolls so lifelike that it"s hard to believe they"re lifeless. The mannequins, as he prefers to call them, come with a hefty price tag, starting at as much as $5,750 and even more than $25,000. But from tan lines and real hair to tattoos, piercings and manicures (all customizable), the level of detail is so good that it"s impossible not to appreciate them artistically. "I wanted the doll to have a personality. With a smile on their lips and a soul in their eyes," he tells me, quickly adding that no, he doesn"t "play" with them himself.

 

The vast majority of buyers are "people who are fascinated by the human body," and Matt thinks many are "more sensible" than the people you meet on the street. He understands that some customers are just after the best sex dolls they can get their hands on, but there"s often a deeper desire behind the orders.

Instead of making their dolls in bulk, Sinthetics crafts them over a period of six months to a year for people from all walks of life. One of the more touching stories is of a man who bought a doll for sex, only to discover that he really cared about it, so much so that he brushed her hair out of her face as he walked by. He soon found a community of friends online; "ordinary people who long to connect" often talk about their dolls and share photos on Internet forums. Others come to Sinthetics looking for a doll to help them emotionally after the loss of a partner. These buyers may not be ready to date again, but also don"t like being home alone, so they order a doll to serve as a "bridge" until they regain confidence.

 

Couples buy dolls the same way singles do, a trend Matt attributes to cravings. "Humans are sexual creatures with appetites," he says. "Couples are finding dolls a safe way to introduce another partner because there"s no emotion. It"s sexual exploration without cheating." Dolls are sometimes introduced as sexual proxies when a partner is unable to enjoy sex, usually for health reasons, but the couple doesn"t want an outside lover.

Sinthetics has also successfully reached the transgender community, meeting the needs of transgender men looking for a strap-on penis to wear on a daily basis. Matt was unfamiliar with the market, and then a transitioning client purchased the flaccid penis originally intended for one of the male dolls, fell in love with it and began recommending the company on transgender forums. "Sex is not something that is talked about in America. Sex education is about you talking to your friends and watching dirty movies. In school, sex education is pathetic," he said. "I had no idea the trans community was so large and gender fluidity so prominent. Even people who don"t necessarily identify as trans may not identify as male or female, heterosexual or homosexual. The degree to which human sexuality is different is astounding."

 

Sinthetics received a number of worrisome requests, the most egregious of which was an order for two underage dolls. "If we don"t feel it"s right, we don"t do it," he says firmly. "There have been several incidents where people have come to us asking for a child, and in those cases, we turn them over to the authorities." Requests for portraits of former partners are also immediately denied unless consent is sought and access to celebrities is discreet. "Our rule of thumb is I would do that, but use a different skin tone, give it a different color of eyes and makeup so it never really looks like them," Matt says.

 

It"s easy to imagine that buyers want uniqueness dolls that are idealized and flawless, but Matt dispels that myth, insisting that not everyone is into an 18-year-old"s super-fit body. "A client in her 60s didn"t want a 20-something doll, so I took one of our faces and painted her with crow"s feet, wrinkles and deeper laugh lines. He said, "That looks more like a woman, like someone I can relate to." We get all kinds of requests; people want new dolls with big butts, freckles are popular, even bunny teeth."

 

For anyone who thinks his female dolls objectify women, Matt just pulled out one of the company"s giant 11-inch penises. "There"s nothing more objective than a dildo, because you"ve removed the whole body. There"s no face, no arms, no legs, no six-pack, no beer belly. It"s just a penis, which is the ultimate in objectification," he says, believing that his models reinforce a positive image of embodied and encouraged female beauty.

 

Sinthetics is prohibited by the bulky weight of silicone, which means Matt can"t create larger, fuller bodies to meet the demands he insists on. "There are mechanical limitations to our 50-inch torso dolls, but that"s not something we don"t want," he says. "Men often want beauty that is attainable. The most perfect face and body isn"t what"s most desired."

 

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Matt wants to make his dolls more realistic and has added internal heat to the genitals, but is wary of adding mechanical features such as speakers or changing facial expressions when they break. "Imagine having a doll that blinks very slowly and sexily, and then one eye breaks, so now she just blinks at you. It would be a total disaster!" He laughs.

 

 

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Nevertheless, Sinthetics is hardly taboo. The "Vajankle" in the ankle, for example, is best interpreted as a vagina, and Sinthetics" strangest product was imagined by a customer who had been buying foot fetishes but wanted to be able to see and touch the soles of his feet while having sex with them. Matt isn"t usually worried, but the request made him uncomfortable. "I giggled, it was so funny," he says, adding that he had already sold dozens before sharing the news of his latest, even more ridiculous, custom product, the Vagina Dentata. Inspired by the horror movie "Teeth," the vagina hides a human mouth with human teeth inside. "It"s not a dangerous-looking mouth," Matt assures. "A mouth with teeth is really pretty. The way I look at something like that is if it doesn"t hurt anyone and looks morally okay, I"ll do it.

 

"I"m not afraid to shock people. I"m not afraid to do something that challenges people"s sensibilities. I just sit back and enjoy the ride."