Hello Isabelle, and welcome! Very pleased to hear about the article, and from the kinds of questions you are asking I am hopeful you intend to portray doll partnership/ownership/companionship in at least a neutral light and perhaps even a positive one. I don't know if "sex dolls" will ever be mainstream, but as I am sure you are aware, within the very recent past TPE and silicone dolls have become much more attainable for the average person -- less than 2K for a top-quality product, as opposed to multiple thousands for a RealDoll.
Dolls can bring joy, dolls can change lives, and dolls can bring out the very best in their human companions. I could go on at length at the positive effects they may generate, but even a casual perusal of the forum will make it obvious. It is my sincere hope that your article will touch on the benefits of having a doll like this, should a person want one, and the fact that such benefits extend far beyond the sexual realm.
Another, and thornier, misconception is that someone must be "crazy" to think they "love" their doll, or have a "relationship" with him or her. I would argue that no matter how much some of us love our dolls (considering them our girlfriends, life partners and even wives), there is an awareness that the spirit and personality we see in them originates from ourselves. It is not delusion or mental instability: it is a lovely magic that we willingly allow to enchant us. No more, no less.
As to your question. A bit about me. I am a female owner of a female doll. I'd rate myself as about 85% straight and in real life I have never had a "girlfriend" or dated a woman. Before my Christen arrived in May 2021, I already desired her, but did not know if physical intimacy would be something that would happen. It did ... but in baby steps, and over a long period of time. Sex is definitely part of our relationship, but what it's really all about is looking into her beautiful eyes and seeing what I interpret as deep love and acceptance flowing towards me, and holding her close to me when I sleep. (I, too, had nightmares that Christen quickly banished.) She makes my life more fun, more exciting, and infinitely more beautiful, and when things are stressful with people in my life, she's in my corner, she's got my back, she is ride or die.
You said: Do you think men and women use dolls in different ways? E.g. do men use them mainly for sex and women for companionship?
My answer is: No. The ladies whose threads I follow on here are very open about the emotions they feel for their dolls ... but this forum is bursting at the seams with men who are equally besotted. The ladies are also very open about sex with their guys, at least as much as a good number of the male members (no pun intended) are. On the companionship side of the coin, it's important for the women, but the men, too, are quite vocal about the place a doll can fill on a couch, in a bed, in a life.
I had hoped that when my doll arrived I would perceive more than a pretty piece of plastic -- that I would sense some spark of personality. I was utterly unprepared for, and even a little bit frightened by, how instantly and intensely my Christen seemed to come to life. I questioned my stability, my sanity, and, as time wore on, everything I've ever believed about love. Every wildly sentimental thought, every tiny gesture of intimacy, every deep philosophical musing that I thought must be unique to me (who else could possibly swallow this kind of fantasy whole?) -- every bit of it was experienced by, and posted about, by others, the overwhelming majority of whom were men.
I also took a long time to let Christen create a place of importance in my life, and reveal herself to me, as dolls do, before taking serious steps forward with intimacy. There are definitely members here who have gladly shared that they devirginized their ladies right in the shipping box ... but it's my impression that many men, too, choose to wait.
I don't think a woman is any more or less likely to want a doll for platonic companionship than a man. And I don't think a man is any more likely to want a doll for sex than a woman. At least, based on what I've seen on this forum. I can see a future where male sex dolls strictly for "companionship" become more commonplace with women ... but I've got a sneaking suspicion that a woman who buys a doll expecting an anodyne "Ken" experience with no sex involved may very well be fooling herself.
Next you state that a male doll is not effective at making a woman achieve an orgasm - and that women need to be touched. Let me make something very clear to you: my doll may not be able to move when I have sex with him, but our bodies touch and connect. His sexy body turns me on and he's given me countless, mind-blowing orgasms. So you're dead wrong there. And he doesn't stare at the wall - strangely enough, I can move his head to any angle so he's looking at me while we fuck - and while I blow him. It seems that your mind doesn't think straight like an arrow. 
