Robot fetishism (also ASFR,"ASFR", documentary short by filmmaker Allison de Fren, 200
(streaming video)
technosexuality, robosexuality, and robophilia) is a fetishistic attraction to

humanoid robot A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments and working alongside humans, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipeda ...

s; also to people acting like robots or people dressed in robot costumes. A less common fantasy involves transformation into a robot. In these ways, it is similar to agalmatophilia, which involves attraction to or transformation into

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

s or

mannequin A mannequin (sometimes spelled as manikin and also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off dif ...

s. Robot fetishism can be viewed as a form of erotic

anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

. When transformation or roleplaying is involved it can be thought of as a form of

sexual objectification Sexual objectification is the act of treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire (a sex object). Objectification more broadly means treating a person as a commodity or an object without regard to their personality or dignity. Obje ...

."Let's mech love", by Lisa Scott, ''Metro daily paper'', 7 February 200
(web page)

ASFR

By its enthusiasts, robot fetishism is more commonly referred to by the initials "ASFR". This initialism stems from the now-defunct

Usenet Usenet (), a portmanteau of User's Network, is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose UUCP, Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Elli ...

newsgroup A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are not only discussion groups or conversations, but also a repository to publish articles, start ...

''alt.sex.fetish.robots''. Many devotees of this fetish refer to themselves as technosexual,"Acting Like a Sex Machine", by Kate Hodges, ''Bizarre Magazine'', October 2004 or as "ASFRians". ASFR can be divided into two distinct but sometimes overlapping types of fantasies."Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex", by

Katharine Gates Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Christian sa ...

, Juno Books (October 1999),
(web page)
/ref> The first of these is simply a desire to have a ready-made android partner. This partner can be desired for sex, companionship, or any combination of the two. The main distinguishing feature of this fantasy is that the android is a completely artificial construct, often manufactured solely to fulfil the wishes of its owner. This type of fantasy or situation is referred to as "built"."Remote Control: Romancing the Robot" (clip only), ''

SexTV SexTV was a Canadian documentary television series that explored a diverse range of topics related to human sexuality and gender. Created by the Canadian media executive Moses Znaimer, the documentary-series premiered in 1999 on national broadca ...

'' documentary episode featuring interviews with members of the ASFR communit
(streaming video)
/ref> The second type of fantasy prevalent within ASFR is referred to as "transformation". This involves a human who has been either willingly or unwillingly turned into an android. That person can be either oneself or one's partner, or both. It is usually the process of transformation (through whatever means it is achieved) that is the focus of this fantasy. Many people in the ASFR community prefer either one or the other. In some cases this preference is very strong, and people can be as equally repelled by one type as they are attracted to the other. In other cases, there is as much appreciation for built as there is for transformation. A recent informal survey of ASFR community members found that two thirds prefer built while the remainder prefer transformation or some combination of both."Transformation vs. Built Poll", Fembot Central Message Board, Sept. 26, 200
(web page)
The aspects of this fetish that are most appreciated by members of the ASFR community are greatly varied. For some, things like robotic appearance, motion, or sound are important for arousal. For others, these are not, and a completely lifelike android that appears to be human is desired. This holds true for other aspects, such as

sentience Sentience is the ability to experience feelings and sensations. It may not necessarily imply higher cognitive functions such as awareness, reasoning, or complex thought processes. Some writers define sentience exclusively as the capacity for ''v ...

self-awareness In philosophy of self, philosophy, self-awareness is the awareness and reflection of one's own personality or individuality, including traits, feelings, and behaviors. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. While ...

. The ability of the android to remove parts of its skin or other bodily appendages in order to reveal its circuitry is quite pleasing to some, but distasteful to others. There is a further divide between those who prefer an android to appear human-like and those who would prefer a more mechanical looking robot, i.e. with a metallic surface. As realistic androids and humanoid robots do not currently exist in a form readily available to the consumer, this fetish can only be acted upon in a limited number of ways. Primarily this is done through fantasy, involving either self stimulation or sexual roleplaying with a partner. ASFR art is therefore important to aid in the reinforcement of imagination. Art with ASFR content includes but is not limited to

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

movies, music videos,Electrosexual Fetish (ASFR) Video Directed by Mashyno
/ref> television shows, novels, short stories, illustrations, manipulated photographs, songs and even television commercials."Wrong Turns Down The Sex-Info-Highway 5.07", by Martine Duplessis, ''Exotic Magazine'', 199
(web page)
/ref> Such works are sought after by technosexuals since economically viable androids are not yet available. Realistic

sex doll A sex doll (also, joy toy, love doll, fuck doll or blowup doll) is an anthropomorphic sex toy in the size and shape of a sexual partner. The sex doll may consist of an entire body, or just a head, pelvis, or other body part (vagina, anus, mo ...

s such as the RealDoll may provide a way to explore this fetish with existing technology. Recent developments in robotics and

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

, such as those seen in the

Actroid Actroid is a type of android (robot), android (humanoid robot) with strong visual human-likeness developed by Osaka University and manufactured by Kokoro Company Ltd. (the animatronics division of Sanrio). It was first unveiled at the 2003 Inte ...

or EveR-1 may lead to the production of more advanced synthetic partners. Some ASFRians do not use synthetic partners, and instead prefer human partners to participate in forms of fantasy play.

In popular culture

*In the animated adult cartoon series ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'', set in the 31st century, "robosexuality" refers to sexual relations between a human and a robot, notably in the episode " Proposition Infinity" (season 6, episode 4), after

Amy Wong This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a ...

and Bender the Bending Robot start an affair. Their boss,

Professor Farnsworth Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, commonly referred to in-show as either Professor Farnsworth or simply Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Futurama''. The mad scientist proprietor of the Planet Express ...

, objects on moral grounds, and two competing propositions are advanced, one to outlaw robosexuality, and the other to legalize it. The Professor drops his opposition when he reveals that his animus stems from his being jilted by a robot lover when he was younger. Robosexuality had been referred to in two earlier episodes, "

Space Pilot 3000 "Space Pilot 3000" is the pilot episode and series premiere of the American animated television series ''Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 28, 1999. The episode focuses on the cryogenic freezing ...

", the pilot for the series, and " I Dated a Robot" (season 3, episode 15), in which Fry dates a robot which has been downloaded with

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...

's image and personality. In this episode, as opposed to " Proposition Infinity", Bender opposes robot-human relationships. *In the video game Atomic Heart, there are references to a robotic carnival being used as a robot brothel for the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

elite. The character CHAR-les also jokes about the main antagonist, Dmitry Sechenov, using the Twins for sexual intercourse, sparking a conversation between Sergey Nechayev, the player character, and CHAR-les over robosexuality.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robot Fetishism Sexual fetishism Paraphilias Sex robots

ASFR

In popular culture

See also

References

External links