How will sexbots be received?

We know how feminists are reacting to the coming advent of sexbots. But these machines actually raise a host of interesting new issues.

For instance, what if married people have a sexbot on the side? Will that be considered cheating? After all, a sexbot is just a toy. This is really no different, spiritually speaking, than masturbating, even if the "pornography" is more sophisticated. (Though some women do object if their husband looks at porn.)

Will real life partners feel neglected? Will husbands and wives be able to name the sexbot as the corespondent in a divorce? Will they become justifiable grounds for "alienation of affections" charges?

Will some women actually encourage their husbands to buy sexbots so as to lighten their own marital "duties?"

Will men have sexbot-swapping parties? There are certain issues of hygiene to deal with here, but the sexbots will undoubtedly have a self-cleaning function, and, after all, a little variety can be nice. Or will men be possessive of their "girlfriends?"

Will people be able to make alterations to their sexbots? For instance, would you be able to get her implants? Change her hair color? It might be end up being the grown up version of Barbie dolls, where you can change her outfits, and so on. 

And if, say, certain parts of a female sexbot get a little worn out from constant use, will you be able to get them, say, tightened up a little?

Will men be embarrassed to ask for that particular procedure?

Will women be embarrassed to ask if the penis on their sexbot be replaced with a larger one?

Will people be secretive about their sexbots? Will owning one be considered shameful? Will it become the love that dare not speak its name? (The love that was formerly mute has gotten quite voluble of late.)

Will it become a common insult to suggest that someone owns one? ("I betcha that loser hasn't had a real woman in years!")

Will editorialists pen essays about how, while they themselves don't own one, there should be no shame in owning one, and it shouldn't be considered a taboo? (While, in fact, they actually own one.)

Or will sexbots become the latest status symbol, with men who have the latest, most finely detailed and realistic models parading them around and showing them off to their friends? Will some particularly rich men boast about their "harems?"

How expensive will they be? They're not going to come cheap, especially at first. Over time, their price will undoubtedly go down, as their quality goes up, just as happened with computers. How long will it take for them to become commonplace? 

Will people laugh at the old models? ("I can't believe I used to be able to get it up for that thing!")

Will sexbots come with security devices to insure that other men don't "borrow" them? Will these be modern versions of chastity belts?

Will a traffic in stolen sexbots develop? What sort of discount will you be able to expect on the black market? 

What will the difference in price be between new ones and used ones? Will used sexbot salesmen develop a reputation for being sleazy? ("This little baby here was bought new by a 75-year-old with lung cancer; she's practically a virgin!")

Will men develop an inability to perform with real women because (a) the idea of being with another actual person becomes intimidating, and (b) because they know their own performance will be pretty pathetic compared to a male sexbot's performance?

If, say, sexbots of one race are more expensive than sexbots of another, will this be viewed as evidence of "racism?" If they're priced the same, but the models of one race sell better, will that be viewed as evidence of the same? Will sociologists get government grants to do studies about this?  

There will undoubtedly be all sorts of physical types, to suit every taste. Will actresses and models become competitive about how the sexbot modeled after them is selling compared to how those modeled after other women are selling? 

What variety of personality will they come with? Will some sexbots be programmed so as to seem unwilling to have sex? After all, some men are more turned on by a shy, reluctant woman than by a sexually demanding one. ("No! Stop it, please! I don't want to do this! It's wrong!")

And some men are turned on by the idea of screwing other men's wives. ("If my husband finds out about this he'll kill me! I've never cheated on him before!") 

Will the sexbots be programmed to be skilled at flattery? Pretty much all men like that. ("Oh my, but you're a handsome fellow!"/"You're not going to fit that huge thing inside me!"/"Just being in the same room as you gets me all wet!"/"Oh my god, I've never cum this way before!")

(It seems unlikely that the "I won't do it until you marry me!" and "You don't spend enough money on me!" and "We don't talk enough!" models will sell that well.)

Will male sexbots be programmed to say "I love you" and "Will you marry me?" and cuddle afterwards?

How will they be advertised? Will there be certain media their ads are banned from? Obviously it would be wrong to buy space in, say, Junior Scholastic, but will ads for sexbots be banned in regular publications, the way ads for cigarettes have been?

Will owners name their sexbots?

Will people become addicted to their sexbots? Will we see Sexbot-aholics Anonymous groups? 

Will we see men -- or women -- who fall in love with their sexbots, and actually form an emotional attachment to them? A recent movie, Her, suggested that a man can fall in love with the disembodied voice of an operating system with artificial intelligence. That seems a little farfetched, but a man should certainly be able to fall in love with an embodied voice -- particularly if the body is appealing, and perpetually "in the mood" for sex.

Will people take their sexbots on vacation with them? Will there be discreet carrying cases for them?

One wonders how the media will treat these cases. If there are any stories about men becoming attached, will they be treated as weird loners with intractable psychological problems and an inability to deal with real live human beings? ("The poor guy actually spelled out in his will that he wanted his beloved Angelina Jolie-bot to be buried with him.")

Will parallel stories about women be reported in a semi-commiserating fashion, and focus on how actual human men are such pathetic saps, and so lousy in bed, that they couldn't possibly keep up with these new Fabio Dolls? ("Little wonder she got so attached to him!")

Thinking about all these issues, it's hard not to conclude we're living in the Dark Ages now. Still, one thing won't change in the next 30 years: human nature.

People will react to the advent of these new toys in predictable ways, as described above.