Why Sexy Robots in Sci-Fi Will Never Die, Literally and Figuratively

Posted October 6, 2017

External Article: Inverse

Lisa Yaszek, professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Institute of Technology, was interviewed in the October 6 Inverse article “Why Sexy Robots in Sci-Fi Will Never Die, Literally and Figuratively.”  The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is a unit of the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Excerpt:

According to Lisa Yaszek, professor and associate chair in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech, the sexy robot can be traced all the way back to the evil robot Maria from “Metropolis” (1929), though since then, it’s taken on many different forms. Before we dive [into] it, it’d probably help to define what typically qualifies as a sexy robot.

“The sexy robot is obviously going to be conventionally sexy, but it can also be cute,” Yaszek tells Inverse. “It can be an aggressive sexuality like we see with Zhora in Blade Runner, or it can [be] a cute sexuality [as] in anime or manga. But even someone like Pris in Blade Runner plays cute as much as she plays sexy.”

The sexy robot is usually skilled with both domestic work and of course, kicking ass. Basically, part of the lure of the sexy robot is that they could screw you or kill you, depending on their mood. Some people think danger — coupled with complete stoicism — is sexy, I guess.

“This is someone who might do your house cleaning, sexual labor, and then back you up in a bar fight,” Yaszek explains.

To read the full article, visit the Inverse website.