Event Review: The Doll Forum’s “Doll Meet 2017”

After 6 years of being a member of The Doll Forum (TDF), I finally went to their annual Doll Meet. What happens there? Who goes? What this bunch of guys with dolls do for a whole weekend?

Short answer: HAVING A GOOD TIME!

Lets go to the review!

What is The Doll Forum?

That should be the first thing I should answer. The Doll Forum (www.dollforum.com) is a web forum dedicated to share the experiences of being a sex doll owner. At TDF you can get all the  information you need about sex dolls  – brands, materials, styles, sizes, and designs – plus you can exchange information about how to take care of your investment. All dolls from silicone to inflatables and from “sex robots” to home made mannequins are represented at TDF in their different sections.

This does not qualify as a sex doll…

Also, if you are already in the search of a sex doll, TDF is an excellent resource not only to learn, but also to buy your first sex doll. Companies and vendors are represented in the forum and you can contact them directly with your questions. Don’t have the money for a new doll? Check the Sales Section for a deal in a gently used doll (I bought five of my dolls from fellow TDF members) or the Inventor’s Corner for ideas on modifications.

The Doll Meet = Dolls, Dolls, Dolls

So, for the past 8-9 years, TDF members get together for a weekend  in an undisclosed location in the East Coast to see each other face-to-face, hang out, drink, eat, and of course, show off their dolls.

This was my first meet and I have to say I was impacted with the display of dolls from different manufacturers – all in the same room! Although I had been reviewing sex toys for years (and have a huge collection of dolls of my own), I had never seen or touched a Real Doll, a Private Island Beauty, or a Ruby 13. Right there, standing and sitting close to each other, members had a display of not only the brands mentioned above, but dolls from BoyToy, DS Dolls (including the super-light Ex-LITE), Sanhui, Teddy Babe (US plush), A-One (Japanese plush), JM Dolls, WM Dolls,  high end inflatables, and brands I do not remember. We even had a BJD doll hanging out with the “big girls”!

For someone looking to buy his / her second (or third, or fourth) doll, this Meet is like going to Disneyland. Not only you can see these dolls in real life, but you can talk with their humans about their cost, care, and accessibility for your , ahem, intended use…

This year, I was part of the 23 humans and about 30 dolls that shared through the weekend – and this year’s was a relatively small meet!

Humans on the mix

Being honest, the dolls are cool, but the people attending are the real reason to be at the Meet. I had been reading and sharing posts on TDF with most of these guys and gals (oh yeah, there are female members too) for six years, but I had only met 4 in real life in different non-related activities.

Having a relationship with a sex doll is often a lonely hobby. No matter if you have the doll as a sex toy, as companion, as a physical presence, as a photography model, or as a piece of art, you will often keep ownership as a secret from most people. This hobby is misunderstood and often ridiculed by both the “mainstream” society and the more liberal components of our human experience. Most people will call you a loser, a pervert, or a weirdo just for saying you would consider having one of these dolls. Being able to connect with fellow sex doll owners  hobbyists and being free to be yourself is a big reason to make the trip to the Meet.

And boy, what a group it is!

So, what happens in this Meet?

The Meet is a great chance to do a couple of things:

  • Compare doll brands and models. As mentioned, members bring their dolls to the Meet, making it a de facto doll expo. If you had always wanted a doll of brand X, you  probably will be able to see, touch, and maybe even test the weight of your  fantasy doll.
  • Buy or sell dolls and accessories. Many members bring dolls they are planning to sell or exchange. Also, many members agreed on delivering sold dolls to their new humans during the Meet. Same thing can be said of wigs, clothes, and other accessories.
  • Get your doll fixed or modified. There are a few Doll Doctors in the Forum who will help you to modify or repair your synthetic partner. Regardless the material, you could get minor fixes done – messed up makeup, wigs, and others – during the Meet.
  • Get to know your fellow doll hobbyists. Personally this was my main reason to go. Getting to know members that have shared stories, ideas, experiences, and even personal tragedies with me during the past 6 years was the highlight of my weekend. Now I can “place a face to the name” and  shared moments to look forward to repeat.
  • Take photographs…thousands of them. Lets be honest, these dolls are works of art. As doll owners, we love to photograph them, making these weird stories and sharing them with other members. The Meet becomes a great place to bring those ideas to life and take photos in a safe and varied setting. Unfortunately for me, the weather did not cooperate this year, keeping us indoors most of the time but still there are a bunch of great photos around.
  • Having a great time! As a group, we went to different restaurants, made margaritas, experienced a bunch of new beers and drinks, and in general had great conversations. After all, we are regular guys and gals!

What is the weirdest thing you saw?

I am sorry to destroy your hopes of doll orgies or guys swapping their “ladies”, but the weirdest thing I experienced was in the hotel I was staying.

In all the places I have stayed, I had NEVER have a door in my room labeled PRIVATE. Of course curiosity had the best of me and I checked the door handle…

“Wait, WTF is this?”
What the fuck?!

Oh yeah… I had a freaking financial records storage in a GUEST ROOM. UNLOCKED!

If  I was a financial hacker, this would have been a disaster to the hotel I was staying (offsite from the Meet). I could easily steal hundreds or even thousands of credit cards numbers and commit massive fraud. Lucky for these people, I am not an asshole… but no one knows about other guests…

Verdict

If you are a doll enthusiast, you should join TDF and try to make it to the annual Meet at least once. I definitively will try to be there next year with some of the dolls of my collection – and a better camera!

Plushy delights in the house!

1 thought on “Event Review: The Doll Forum’s “Doll Meet 2017””

  1. I agree with you. I had been in a couple of sex shows in NY and Chicago and it is exactly what you say – a dildo-a-thon extravaganza. As men, our sexual enjoyment must be with our hands or we MUST pay for it either in the form of prostitutes or in the form of carrying the financial load in a relationship. Either way, a man using a sex toy for his own pleasure is still seen by most as “wrong” and has to be hidden to avoid social consequences. If many of us show publicly that we enjoy having sex with dolls we can lose our careers and income sources – and most of us can’t afford that.
    The lack of male sex dolls is another issue, but it has to do with market. Women have easier access to sex – if they want to have sex, they just show to be willing – so dolls are not an option for most. They just need to dress up, use some make up, and go out to get some sex. For men it is more complicated, therefore dolls.

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