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Human-Robot Intimate Relationships in QC

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Mad Cat:
My understanding of shipping and shippers is that the pairing you are talking about is one that you want to see come about because you are somehow emotionally (eroticly?) invested in the pairing. I say that in order to defuse any claims that what I'm about to do constitutes shipping. I do not have a vested interest in this pairing, but do desire to discuss the implications/barriers/possibilities thereof.

The pairing is Hannelore/Bubbles.

I never considered this until I realized that the current strip is the first time that these two characters have been in the same room. Both characters are psychologicly damaged in one fashion or another, and perhaps the two characters are damaged in complementary ways. Bubbles, being synthetic, would perhaps not set off Hannelore's OCD. We've seen her sitting on couches and sleeping in beds. Could she hug and cuddle a combat-model anthroPC?

Has Bubbles expressed a clear gender identity? This is completely separate from the question of what genitalia she may or may not actually have installed at the moment. Would Bubbles even be psychologicly capable of being attracted to Hanners? Assuming that she is so capable, could being with a person who doesn't want to touch or be touched by other people, much the same way as Bubbles herself, possibly be the ice breaker that could bring Bubbles out of her shell/armour?

The only thing we know of Hanners' sexuality is she's a pyrosvestophile (attracted to firefighters). She's used the term firemen, so I think it's a generally safe bet that they are masculine bodied firefighters, but as mentioned in the prior strip by Faye, Bubbles "look(s) like a big, muscular person", and she's practicly fire-engine red. Is that close enough for Hanners to make a love-connection?

Discuss.

Penquin47:

--- Quote from: Mad Cat on 25 Jan 2016, 14:11 ---The only thing we know of Hanners' sexuality is she's a pyrosvestophile (attracted to firefighters).

--- End quote ---

Not true.  Even leaving that aside, we know she likes Indiana Jones and Mr. Clean.

toffee-skye:
 
--- Quote from: hedgie on 23 Jan 2016, 14:58 ---...there likely is still a strong stigma against relationships between meat beings and AIs who do not have a contractual relationship where a potential power differential may prohibit them.

--- End quote ---

i feel like this is the crux of the matter. as Momo repeatedly emphasises, robot-human relations are far from equal, as many 'bots and AnthroPCs are still, technically and legally, property. whilst the argument may go 'what you do with your property is your business', it does get more than a bit morally f'ed when the property is sentient.

intimate relationships, i.e. sexual ones, are possible due to the (mentioned) fact that robots with genitalia do exist.
however there's three questions to consider here:

* was the genitalia given to the 'bot for precisely that purpose?
* if yes to the above, was it given because the 'bot WANTED it?
* if no, then who did demand it?obviously if the answer there is no, then what you have is an act of violence against a sentient creature, as well as disgusting implications for the person who did demand it. hence why there's probably a stigma against it - i.e. it's perverse and creepy, alongside just plain old technophobia.

if the answer there is yes and the robot not only has developed sexuality but an impulse to express it, i see no reason why human-robot intimate/sexual relationships couldn't exist. if the answer is yes BUT the robot did not expressly desire genitalia (or it was designed with genitalia for one function), then as we've seen Pintsize declare, what you have is a sentient sex toy.. and further morally grey implications.

hmm. i've rambled. sorry.

Morituri:
I see Hanners and Bubbles as a possibility for deep friendship that explores some issues, but I don't see them as candidates for makeouts (or anything more serious than that, come to it). Both characters have stuff going on that's an effective block to relationships that involve sexuality, although Hanners seems to be working on getting past them and, for the moment, Bubbles doesn't. 

So, anyway, I guess I see Bubbles as potentially benefiting from Hanners' influence or perspective, and Hanners getting some entirely different and serious perspective on emotional issues as well.  But I think that's work that both of them need to do.  If they do it together, they'd be in that weird space of having become too emotionally close to one another without becoming romantic - and that usually precludes romance.

Also, we've seen no evidence that Hanners' attraction template includes females of any kind, whether biological or synthetic.  She's mentioned "Cowboys" and "Firemen", so I'm guessing she's androsexual.   Could be gynosexual as well I guess, but if so we've seen no evidence of it.   And she once described makeouts something like "I guess they're kind of like tigers for me.  Beautiful when seen from a distance, but it would be really bad to have one up close and happening to you." 

And as far as I know, we've seen no evidence that Bubbles is sexual at all.  Aside from having her "gender bit" set to female and presuming the software templates have the same statistical variation found in human populations, that means about 90% chance she's androsexual, and 20% or so that she's gynosexual (some overlap occurs; some folk miss both).  But there's no reason for a synthetic to have a libido at all if they don't want it.  For them the libido may be possible to just switch off, and right now I think Bubbles doesn't want one.  She has really basic trust and guilt issues that likely block her from exercising her sexuality until they're worked out.

Mad Cat:

--- Quote from: Mad Cat on 25 Jan 2016, 14:11 ---I never considered this until I realized that the current strip is the first time that these two characters have been in the same room.
--- End quote ---
Ooops. Forgot about the party.

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