Everything you need to know about sex doll influencers

If you love nothing more than scrolling through your Instagram feed for inspiration or catching up on everything going on Facebook, you might be aware of a growing community of creators who put out image and photo content sharing their tips, opinions, hacks and daily life. 

While many high-profile social media accounts focus on things like fashion, food, fitness and travel, there’s also a growing trend towards other topics. In fact, you can become an influencer on almost anything today. And you don’t need to be human to do it with countless cats, dogs, horses and even chimps amassing loyal followings in their millions.

Of course, many of these platforms also have ‘sexperts’ and relationship expert influencers too and whole communities built around their online persona. An exciting new development we’re seeing is the rise of the sex doll influencer. Yes, that’s right, you could be just a few thousand (or million – sorry it’s not that easy!) followers away from becoming an internet celebrity on the subject of sex dolls. You might even be able to forge a whole new career path by making your own sex doll the star and cashing in on lucrative sponsorship deals. That’s right. If your account becomes sufficiently high profile, you might have brands queuing up to work with you and that translates to cash in the bank in the social media biz. 

Before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at the sex doll influencer phenomenon. 

Where it all started

Most Millennials and Gen zers will struggle to remember a time before there was 24/7 Internet, online everything and digital was a way of life. For those on the older end of that Millenium spectrum and those born before the 1980s, you’ll undoubtedly remember those first heady days of Internet access with screechy dial up modems, Yahoo! Search and MSN messengers. 

The modern-day sex doll influencer was born right here. At the dawn of the commercial Internet, thousands of pages of content started to be created and forums were all the rage. Inevitably some of those forums and discussion boards were dedicated to sex and sex dolls. 

It wasn’t until 2001 however that a very public, enthusiastic and knowledgeable sex doll community sprung up in the shape of The Doll Forum. Described as a ‘meeting place for doll owners and admirers’ it hosts thousands of user-submitted photos, discussions and reviews of sex dolls. The most prolific site users are mini influencers in their own right within the Forum’s community of 70,000 or so users. 

Anyone can become an influencer or high-profile member of The Doll Forum, with users invited to create albums and upload images of their dolls. For the most dedicated, these aren’t casual snaps taken on their cell phone. They’re carefully staged and have a professional edge with proper lighting, costumes and set dressings. All of the techniques you’d expect from any other social media influencer worth their salt. 

Making waves on Instagram 

These days, it’s entirely normal for someone to decide to make a career out of becoming an influencer. And it’s no surprise as this is a seriously lucrative gig once you have grown your following past a decent threshold. Don’t believe us? One expert says, “It’s somewhat of an unspoken rule that influencers can expect to be paid $10.00 for every 1,000 followers they have, once they hit the 100,000 threshold.” Add to that all of the free stuff from brands – clothes, trips, monthly packages, subscriptions, technology – and it’s easy to see why it’s becoming more and more popular as a career path. 

Of course, not all influencers start out with the intention of making money. In 2016, an Instagram user by the name of T read an article about one woman’s mission to transform herself into a real life sex doll and on a whim, created an account for his own doll, Celestina. She now boasts more than 3000 followers and her Instagram bio reads: “Celestina is a model, news correspondent for TFM News, an avid cosplay enthusiast, and an advocate for sex dolls and robots, and those that love them”. 

With her job description, regular postings, community interaction and lifelike features, some followers might even be surprised to find that Celestina is a synthetic doll and not a real person. As a six-year veteran of the space, Celestina is also social media savvy and includes a link in her Instagram bio to a YouTube channel, Doctor Dollhouse. Despite launching in 2020, the YouTube channel has already amassed more than a thousand subscribers, meaning it can rake in cash from lucrative ad placements. 

Celestina is facing competition from other sex doll influencers like the redhead newcomer Alita. Interestingly, she uses the hashtag #notasexdoll in her bio but sassy Alita, is in fact synthetic. With over 1600 posts and more than 700 posts on her feed, Alita’s daily updates show her celebrating her birthday, enjoying lunch, playing the guitar – all of the posts you’d expect from a human influencer. 

Alita’s human partner Atomic is the person behind the account and told Input Mag that taking photos of Alita was one of the reasons for buying the doll, “There was just a very compelling urge to take photos of Alita, and it was a big incentive for getting her. I have always been an avid picture-taker — just an amateur with a cell phone. I’ll admit there is an appeal to being a photographer when you have a very attractive subject.”

The art of influencing 

One of the key draws for many influencers is the creative aspect of shooting content to share online. Summer is a cover doll with more than a thousand followers but, her content has a real professional edge. The account is the brainchild of husband-and-wife couple Marty and Mindy, who after acquiring a sex doll to spice up their marriage, started to get creative outside the bedroom. Mindy is the creative director the shoots, discussing ideas and concepts while Marty stages them. Some shoots can take months to prepare and last for hours at a time. 

Stacy Leigh is an American artist and photographer. She has amassed a cult following online and in art circles for her artistic depictions of sex dolls. Her work has been featured in art galleries and fashion magazines around the globe and she’s also the inspiration for many other sex doll influencers. 

For those influencers who do amass a following, the payoff can be substantial and the opportunities incredibly attractive. Some sex doll influencers earn sponsorship deals with doll companies, accessories brands or clothing companies. Others are paid to take photos for doll magazines, while some become ambassadors for sex doll brands or land cover doll deals with the likes of CoverDoll. 

It's not just about the sex

For many influencers, becoming a sex doll influencer isn’t about sex but about the doll. The doll is the star, with the accounts shared from the doll’s perspective and personality. Many focus on the doll’s adventures, such as snowboarding, or working. 

Some creators say this helps to deepen their connection with the doll in a non-sexual manner. For others, it’s a chance to interact with likeminded creators and build a sense of community. 

Even influencers from other areas can find themselves being drawn into the sex doll community. Israeli Instagram model Yael Cohen Aris made headlines after one of her one million Instagram followers told her that a sex doll company had created a doll in her likeness, all based on her Instagram profile. 

The sex doll influencer community is growing rapidly and with that comes new opportunities for creators and artists, meaning this is one space that we can expect to see evolve in the future as sex doll tech advances. 

Have you got a favourite doll influencer? Let us know in the comments or tag us on social media.