An unusual brothel in Turin, Italy was raided and forced to close by the authorities for alleged infringements of Italian property laws after it allowed men to live out their sexual fantasies with life-like sex dolls. Italy’s hygiene officials said on Sep 5 that the world’s first-ever sex doll brothel was not allowed to run hospitality services on the premises and that they were investigating if the company’s doll cleaning met all standards.
The life-size sex doll brothel company, Lumidolls, marketed itself, especially to men saying they need not expose themselves to the risk real prostitutes might pose. Visitors were still urged to use a condom. Lumidolls houses six female silicone dolls and one male doll, and the brothel is usually fully booked weeks in advance.
Men and women are offered a “totally new” experience in private rooms, each equipped with a bed, bathroom, and TV for watching porn. Customers can choose which doll they want to reserve, decide what it should be wearing, and even what position they want the doll in. This last option is important as the dolls are unable to stand or move on their own.
The life-sized dolls each have different skin tones, and hair and eye colors. The male doll even has an interchangeable penis in case the client might want something a little more ‘substantial’.
Before the crackdown by the Italian authorities, clients were coming from up to 250 miles away and paying 100 Euro an hour to have their sex fixed with the silicone dolls. Lumidolls even offered group rates to customers who wanted group sex with the dolls.
While the concept of a sex doll brothel might be met with intrigue or discomfort, it undoubtedly signifies a shift in the world of adult entertainment. What Lumidolls started in Turin, could potentially surface in other locations around the globe, including highly regulated regions such as Singapore, if local laws permit. Until then, it appears the Lumidolls‘ experiment has been put on pause, at least in Italy. As for the rest of the world – only time will tell.