Abyss Creations has been creating and selling extremely life-like silicone dolls designed primarily for sex known as Real Dolls since 1996. Since 2001, The Doll Forum has provided an online space where users of Real Dolls are able to connect with one another and discuss a myriad of issues relating to the use of Real Dolls. This thesis explores the specific ways in which members utilize The Doll Forum as a space to discursively construct gender, sexuality, and relationships as they pertain to the use of Real Dolls. Utilizing the theory of performativity, I engage in a Critical Discourse Analysis of one month of posts from The Doll Forum. I argue that through the discussions and images which members post within The Doll Forum, they discursively work to both reinforce and challenge current constructions of gender, sexuality, and relationships. By doing so, members of The Doll Forum use the space to normalize their sexual behaviour, as well as reinforce the performative nature of these constructions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MANITOBA/oai:mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca:1993/4422 |
| Date | 22 March 2011 |
| Creators | Boiteau, Meaghen |
| Contributors | Comack, Elizabeth (Sociology), Bookman, Sonia (Sociology) Frohlick, Susan (Anthropology) |
| Source Sets | University of Manitoba Canada |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
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