Masking: Newfound Fetish or a Solution Whose Time Has Come?

Have you ever wanted to live your life as a sex doll? No, I don't mean a figurative beauty queen with the stature and poise of a living doll. I mean wearing a silicone costume for the express purpose of looking like a sex toy. I confess, this has never occurred to me. But then, I was born with girl parts and have no idea what it might really feel like to know you're female, yet be something biologically different.

FemSkin is a Florida-based company that makes life-sized living doll bodysuits out of silicone. They're designed to be worn by adult males, and can be made to fit men as tall as 6' 11". Adam Ramos, who inherited the business from Chuck Ramos (his father and the creator of the suit), says the company takes 10 to 20 new orders for suits each week.

A "complete" suit runs about $2,000, though simpler versions can be purchased for as low as $1,400. Pouches for excrement are optional, since apparently putting it on and removing it are very involved processes. Wearers say the FemSkin is comfortable enough to wear for several hours at a time. Perhaps most vital to wearers and admirers, each FemSkin suit has what the company calls "an extremely realistic vagina, anus, and breasts."

The Masking Fetish Experience

In addition to the FemSkin bodysuit, a mask is worn. I had no idea that masking is already a popular practice where men wear female masks as part of pretending to be a life-sized sex doll. #TheMoreYouKnow, amirite? Enthusiasts of the FemSkin include "Dominique," who is biologically male. Dominique enjoys masking in public, and was initially astonished at the contrast in her treatment when perceived as a white female rather than an African American male.

"When I walk into a place, [people] see a large black man and automatically think, He's going to rob me. Whereas, as a female, they're like, Oh, she's really sexy. She's really cute. She's really curvy." Dominique goes on to add, "I notice that when I'm a sexy female, I get treated completely differently."

Masking Fetish Criticisms

Despite the value of such a product to the people who want it, I can't help but find certain aspects of FemSkin a little creepy. For example, the company is run by Adam Ramos and his ironically named mother, Barbie. I've got nothing against mother-son businesses in general, but a mother and son working in the sex industry together seems a little off. Wearing a silicone suit doesn't seem sexy to me, but I'm sure the curvaceous FemSkin suit appeals to plenty of men. It's modeled after a German woman's busty upper half, while the lower half is modeled from a Brazillian woman. I feel like I should make a joke about pubic hair, but I've got nothing.

Easily the creepiest aspect of FemSkin, to my mind, is the mask. Masks don't move when you're talking. This is also the draw of FemSkin suits that I don't understand. I understand identifying as a different gender than what you were born as. What eludes my understanding is the idea of wanting to be a doll, and to have sex with someone else as a doll. A doll is just a vague approximation of a real person, specifically constructed to be without its own thoughts or feelings. What's the appeal? Why do some men want this? If this is your thing, we'd love to hear from you in the comments!