Kinky S Dolls’ unambiguously voiced intention to set up the first sex brothel in the US, most specifically in Houston, Texas, has met a barrage of criticism from a religious group that has claimed that a bordello offering sexual androids “is gonna train men to become rapists,” ABC 13 quoted Micah Gamboa, of Elijah Rising, whose mission is to end sex trafficking "through prayer, awareness, intervention, and restoration."
"What's next? Is it child robots? Where's the line? Where is the boundary?" Gamboa noted.
Despite the formal legality of the projected store in Houston (the enterprise is set to operate not as a bordello, but a “rent-to-own” firm), over 5,800 people have signed the group's petition calling for sex robot brothels to be banned from there, with locals picking up on social institutions in the immediate vicinity:
"There are schools here and neighborhoods. To have something like that here is just gross," one local homeowner, Andrea Paul, remarked.
The petition stated in black and white that the business venture, however lucrative it may seem, will ultimately “harm men, their understanding of healthy sexuality, and increase the demand for the prostitution and sexual exploitation of women and children.”
The general message echoes comments by Joe Madison, of the group Love People Not Pixels, which battles online pornography addiction. "We're talking about robots right now. It's a hot button issue, but tomorrow it could be virtual reality or something else. It's coming back to the demand of sex buying," he argued resolutely.
The issue was most certainly addressed on Twitter, as well, with one man saying the trick of regulating such a business is the West’s “new problem”:
Kinky S Dolls brands itself as the first "adult love dolls rent before you buy service" in North America, as it first allows trying out a sexbot in a secluded space of a store, for instance, of the firm’s flagship shop in Toronto, with the offered “intense pleasure” costing customers from $22 (£17) per 30 minutes to a rather overwhelming $310 (£235) for a two-hour rendezvous.
READ MORE: Sex Doll Brothel Opening in Toronto Next Month Claims to Be America's First
If a sexbot is very much to a customer’s liking, he is certainly free to purchase it — for a minimum of $2,500 (£1,900). The cheapest ones only react to touch and may vocally respond to it, whereas more expensive sex dolls are equipped with AI software and can even engage in sophisticated conversations while indulging in pleasures of the flesh.
Yuval Gavriel, the firm’s owner and inspirer, previously detailed his ambitious plans to conquer the US market by opening 10 sex robot stores in the country in the next couple of years. "The States is a bigger market, and a healthier market, and God bless Trump," he told The Washington Examiner.