I love a great idea, and a great idea that does great things for the marriages of men and women serving our country overseas? Yes, please! Scott Rinaldo, the company manager for RealTouch, a place that makes virtual sex even more intimate with "teledildonics" (dildos controlled through the computer), is hoping to send 1,000 units to Afghanistan and to the military wives back home. It's pure genius.
Rinaldo believes that these dildos, which live in a plastic tube, connect to a computer, warm up, lube up, pulse, and grip, may help those who are apart by many miles. On the other end, the man controls the movements of the dildo through the computer. The truth is, it just may help keep spouses feeling close to one another and may even help lower the divorce rate among military spouses. He also proposes the same for women serving overseas, just with opposite equipment.
Whether the company is doing this for publicity or because of altruism, it's a very good idea, one that really may save many marriages. Since I don't have a spouse in the military, I am not sure how practical this is (is there any privacy?), but the general concept is amazing.
I have a spouse who travels on occasion and we certainly make full use of video chat and texting photos and such, but he is only gone for weeks. The idea of months or even years is maddening. It's the piece missing from all those military reunion videos -- how much must they have missed each other's bodies and touch?
Obviously this can't solve every problem. It's still "virtual," after all. But it can solve some. There would be some amount of intimacy, and given the alternative is none, I am sure most would jump at the chance to try it.
This isn't to say it's the only way spouses would communicate, but this is that missing piece of the puzzle. You can write letters and text to exchange the details of a day. You can video chat and joke to remember each other's faces, but you can't touch each other and have the kind of intimacy that is so vital to the survival of a relationship.
Sex is important. It isn't the be all, end all, of course. Many military and long distance marriages survive without it, but this seems like a perfect compromise. If my husband and I ever found ourselves separated for a long period of time, I would be all about this. It seems like a basic thing that many military families need to help bridge the distance.
Would you ever use something like this?
Image via Espensorvik/Flickr
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Comments 45
i'm an army wife, and we've gone through deployments and yes, sometimes it is maddening. while i like this idea, and it would be a tool that would help a little with the loneliness from the lack of intimacy that eventually happens, i'm not sure about the logistics of being able to do this in private on his end. my husband was never in a place that he could videochat yet i know of others who have videochatted with their soldiers but it wasn't in a private area. it's a shame too, because i think it's a good idea.
good point theatregeek- they military does have strict rules on stuff like that. esp.when they were in iraq, nothing that was remotely risque was allowed.
i deff would not. my hubby is currently deployed (left oct and wont be home till next oct.) problam one being that most men have atleast 1 roommate over there but usually theres 4 if not more. my hubby has his own room (due to his job) and even still there is no sound privacy everything could be heard. and while that could be worked around i personally wouldnt feel comfortable being that much of a "porn star". not a prude by any means, im 23 been married almost 4 yrs but i deff wouldnt go this far. this is our 2nd deployment and although the lack of sex through a deployment sucks if your relationship has depth in it then you learn to appreciate the times that you can be intamite that much more. it should make you stronger not break you apart.