On a sunlit Pasadena afternoon in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lexi Luna, an adult content creator with more than 367 million video views on Pornhub, stepped inside a clear plastic dome while she waited for 142 cameras to take a 360-degree photo of her naked body. A man casually walked in and adjusted each lens, ensuring that a single take could capture every angle. He walked out and switched off the lights, and the cameras’ glowing green “on” buttons stared at her like cartoonish wolves in the night.
Luna readied herself for the moment, arms taut and fingers splayed, back straight supporting her signature E-cup breasts. A beat passed, and finally the cameras flashed all at once, capturing every inch from her lips to her labia (stretched open and closed) to the moles dotting her chest—a vulnerability unlike any other she’s experienced in her six-year career as a porn star. All of this for one purpose: to create a 117-pound, 5'7" steel-skeleton, thermoplastic elastomer sex doll in her exact likeness.
Related Story
For the steep price of $1,940, you can buy your own Lexi Luna at Sex Doll America dot com. Each doll is adorned with a wig of Luna’s classic blunt black bangs, a fresh French manicure, a red lip, and a slinky purple robe, but Luna has received photos from fans dressing her up to their own tastes, in sexy skirts and tight white button-downs—a difficult feat considering the doll’s limbs are stiff and moving it is like lifting the dead weight of an actual human body.
Lexi Luna Sex Doll
Details aside, you wouldn’t be alone if you’re wondering, What makes someone want to create a sex doll of themselves? For Luna, a formerly overworked, underpaid Florida teacher who pivoted to the adult film industry in 2016, it was career-affirming. And since collective loneliness made sex doll sales skyrocket during the pandemic, these products are more popular than ever.
I sat down with Luna to learn more about the process, the public’s reception of the doll thus far, and how the opportunity she calls “once in a lifetime” has impacted her career.
You used to be a teacher. What made you want to go from education to adult content?
I was really frustrated with education. It was my fifth year teaching and I felt like I hadn’t made a difference, but I didn’t know where to go because with limited resources and time, it was hard to come up with a new career. So I decided to broaden my personal horizons.
“If I was going to do it, it couldn’t be anything but a 100 percent copy, from the lips to the labia.”I started researching different kinks and it led me to a website called FetLife [editor’s note: a popular BDSM social network], where I found my community and started to really explore my sexuality. On weekends, I’d go to events, meet people, and attend workshops on kink topics taught by the kink community. They had these photography nights at one of the local sex dungeons where I hung out, so I came in and posed for a few amateur photographers. I posted some of the finished images to FetLife and got approached by what I like to call a headhunter. He emailed me the whole “come do porn” spiel, which I brushed off at first because solicitation is common on community forums, but after researching the company, I realized it was a legitimate offer. I shot my first scene in June 2016, thinking I would just do it for the summer, and the rest is history.
What made you want to create a doll of yourself?
When I was first approached to do this project, I honestly thought there was no way I was going to be able to sell it. I had preconceived notions, thinking I’d have this big, cumbersome thing in my house. It seemed like a hassle. But then I started thinking about it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I know that the connection between me and my fans is so deep and real. This would be cool for them, and how cool would it be to have a second me?
Courtesy Sex Doll Canada
Luckily, this all started happening right in March 2020 when everything shut down because of the pandemic, so Sex Doll Canada (the Canadian branch of Sex Doll America that initially approached me) and I had ample time to discuss the process. I decided that if I was going to do it, it couldn’t be anything but a true replica—a 100 percent copy from the lips to the labia.
Can you describe the photographing process?
The Sex Doll Canada creative team and I went to a studio in Pasadena, California, where I stood in this 360-degree cage that had 142 DSLR cameras set up at different angles. Imagine a whole dome above you filled with cameras from head to toe, all around. It was so spooky, but you know you’re safe. I stood there in the pose I would have for the doll and all those cameras took a picture at once and created a composite image, like a 3D model of me.
The manufacturing team basically made a mannequin to get the right proportions of my body. They took that mannequin and used it to make a hollow mold so that we could fill it with thermoplastic elastomer material. They hand-sculpted parts of the doll too, like the hands and labia, for more accuracy that technology couldn’t provide.
This was all done through so many photos: close-ups of the labia, the labia splayed open, the labia curls at different angles. We wanted to make sure every little bit was perfect. I got really familiar with my body during this process because of these super-close-up shots.
Courtesy Sex Doll Canda
There were also a lot of face shots because I have a little bump on my nose, which I told them was super important. If it’s going to be me, my fans need to see me in my authentic profile. The whole photographic process with the camera so close to your face is very vulnerable, because anything you don’t like about yourself is being showcased, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I wanted to see those things I might consider imperfections, because to my fans, they’re not.
When it came to hand-sculpting the vagina, they’d send us pictures of the mold. Then we would take those pictures and edit the photo via circling with paint tools or by taking new photos to show the adjustment. It was lots of photos back and forth. We’d say, “Okay, this is good, but elongate this part or stretch here.” They were working with wet clay, so they could change it.
Every detail was very important to me. We made three models before we got it to be perfect.
How did you choose the little details of the doll’s design, like the nails, makeup, and clothing?
I love French tips—they’re very classic and MILF-y, and that’s ultimately the niche I’m portraying. I chose red for the lips because everybody looks good in red and purple for the robe because I love jewel tones and I wear them in a lot of my scenes. The company’s advice was something dark and sexy, so the purple added a little flair to make it more special than the regular robe [dolls] usually come with.
What was it like seeing yourself as a sex doll for the first time?
It was so surreal to open up the box and see her face staring at me. They fucking nailed it. I saw instantly that it was right. I saw the nose bump, the mouth open just the right way, all the little pieces we pored over for months finally came together. I had no notes. I felt so relieved, proud, and accomplished.
Has this collaboration been profitable for you? How do your earnings compare to what you make from porn?
Sex Doll Canada absorbed all of the up-front costs. They paid for the 3D modeling, manufacturing, advertising, and distribution. They paid me for use of my likeness, and I get a nominal percentage from each doll sold. It’s not even close to what I make from adult content, as we sell a few dolls a month, but it is a diversification [of my income], which is great. I can also use the doll for content—I self-produced my own feature-length adult film (coming out later this year), and she makes her first cameo there!
“I feel like I finally excelled in my career.”One of the reasons for the modest income from this project is that she’s fully my size and 117 pounds, so she’s more expensive to make. (Most other dolls are 60 to 80 pounds.) The pricing is affected by how much thermoplastic elastomer goes into the doll. If we scaled her down, she’d be a lot less expensive, but then it wouldn’t be me.
What kind of feedback have you gotten from fans about the doll, now that she’s out in the world?
I had a promo going when we first launched where you could have a free five-minute phone call with me, so they could talk to me while they were with their doll. After those phone conversations, I got responses like, “I’ve never cum so hard in my life. That was so awesome.” Because it’s more than just that visual representation—you’re adding that sensory piece, the auditory, as I’m breathing heavily into the phone and it’s like we’re there together. I’m not surprised they loved it.
What’s your biggest takeaway from this experience?
There are a lot of people in this industry who will use sex workers or adult workers for their own personal gain, but this process felt like a partnership. When I wasn’t comfortable with something or wanted a change, the company advocated for me. I feel very professionally proud that I created this and that I did it through the connections I made in the industry. It wasn’t anything that anybody did for me. It was validating, which I never felt as a teacher. I feel like I finally excelled in my career.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Related Story
Madeline Howard is a writer, editor, and creative based in Brooklyn. Her work has been published in Esquire, Nylon, Cosmopolitan, and other publications. Among other things, she was formerly an editor at Women’s Health. Subscribe to her newsletter ‘hey howie’ at madelinehoward.substack.com.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLvSpqapp5yewaK6jZympmejmsVuuM6vnGiZZGh9dYKTbGdopJWttm641KeYZquVrXqlu8ulZg%3D%3D