Fembots

The headline had me scared: “Japan makes robot girlfriend for lonely men.” Great – real “Stepford Wives.” Because apparently, dealing with a real woman who can, you know, say “no” is just way too much trouble. Bitch magazine had an excellent article in their last issue about this whole fembot phenomenon.

But after reading the article, I am curious as to what “girlfriend” means in Japanese. I suspect the word is more like “pet,” because the robot is roughly the size of a barbie doll. How does it “act like a real girlfriend”? It can hand out business cards, sing and dance. Oh, and using it’s far-infrared sensors, it will “kiss” on command. Huh??? OK, I guess the kissing part is “like a real girlfriend,” but singing and dancing? Handing out business cards? I guess in Japan, there’s not much difference between “trained dog” and “girlfriend.”