A methodological reckoning for the empirical study of sex doll and sex robot issues

Abstract

In light of repeated calls for empirically driven analyses of sex doll and sex robot owners and users, I outline key methodological challenges researchers in this field currently face. I discuss how methodological limitations have shaped the field thus far and narrowed the scope of empirical research to date. To resolve these issues, I propose strategies for improving archival, quantitative, and qualitative approaches for future scholarship. Specifically, I attend to issues of historicity, nomenclature, population, sampling, qualitative approaches, and research ethics. I conclude with a discussion of how the stigma associated with sex dolls, sex robots, and sex tech amplifies the need for researchers to respect and adhere to ethical research practices yet still maintain a critical distance that directly confronts, rather than skirts, dilemmas related to use, ownership, and production. This methodological reckoning will help scholars design more robust studies and effectively evaluate innovations in the field.