Heterogeneous Sex Dolls: Outlining a Sociology of Knowledge Approach to the Abject

Abstract This paper explores the integration of Julia Kristeva’s concept of abjection into the sociology of knowledge, with a particular focus on the cultural phenomenon of hyperrealistic sex dolls. Employing a unique methodological approach, this paper interprets Kristeva’s Powers of Horror through Berger and Luckmann’s The Social Construction of Reality by utilizing two observation-based vignettes. It proposes a novel translation of the abject, typically a psychoanalytic concept, into empirical research frameworks that traditionally emphasize everyday reality. This synthesis extends the boundaries of a sociology of knowledge by incorporating affective responses to transgressive phenomena. The findings suggest that pre-recognition psychoanalytic concepts can significantly broaden the theoretical scope of sociology, offering new lenses to examine events and affects that lie beyond conventional sociological analysis.