Sweetie, got a topic for us to discuss.
Rapex is a new product invented by Sonette Ehlers in
I think in theory this maybe a good idea, but if a female is inserting this product before she goes out, doesn't she have inkling already that where she is headed is unsafe? Yes, Rape is bad and rapist should be punished, but the female really needs to be situational aware and never EVER go anyplace alone. There are situations in which being alone cannot be avoided, from your car to your door. But, be aware of what is around you and carry your cell phone and pepper spray.
Rape has been around since the dawn of time, it used to be used as a weapon of war to get to soldiers mentally. So I am a little mixed on this new invention. Hell yeah it gets the rapists where it will hurt the most, but it leaves open the possibilities for many things (one as a side note, the poor innocent guys who actually have permission but the girl forgot she had it in) as well as letting the responsibility of the woman slip. The article states that this product can empower woman, I think it will place the mind set of I am not going to fight you b/c the best weapon I have is my vagina. Um, that can go to a whole other topic. But what I mean is, if they have the Rapex inserted, a woman may lose her guard while walking through the city and also lose her strength or mental capability to fight off the rapist even before he gets past the clothes. I don't think it's empowerment, but surely a clever product.
4 comments:
Holy Jesus...I don't have time to respond to this now, because I have to go to bed now. But I regret reading this right before doing so, because of the nightmare potential.
Christ, this is one of those things that just makes my testicles try to retract. Which, I guess is maybe the point.
This is actually a really interesting concept...gender issues and a new paradigm for rape and all. One point that jumps to mind, and then I must really go to sleep, is that while the woman may avoid rape, she's in for some serious fucking trouble immediately after her attacker realizes what's happened. While the pain might be intense, a penis wound isn't sufficient to incapacitate an man and doesn't carry with it the debilitating effects of a 'nutshot.' Unarmed, much less with a gun/knife/etc., an enraged attacker who was already sufficiently beyond the pale would be both likely to and capable of inflicting serious injury.
Still, Jesus...way to turn the tables, makers of Rapex.
Love you,
Bryan
--Just watched a movie called The Returner...it had transforming Harrier jets and a 747. Freakin' awesome!
Well, I really hope you don't have nightmares. agh, not a good thought. But I am partial to wide publicity of this product, b/c maybe the thought of this product being on the line rapists will think twice. Publicity of Rapex is probably a better deterant than anything else.
Re: Enraging the rapits, the thought is to give the female enough time to escape. This is the same thought with all products to ward of Rapists, don't stand there and fight b/c the guy is bigger and stronger than you run dumb bitch run.
Ok, I will hold off until I get to hear the rest of your thoughts.
OK, after giving it thought, here's my stance:
Wanna use it? Then by all means do so, but be aware there are potential consequences.
The violent reaction of rapist is, in my mind, the biggest detractor. I understand it's supposed to be a 'buy-time' defense, but unlike air horns or chemical sprays, this one requires that the attacker get unpleasantly close before becoming effective. A basic tenant of hand-to-hand is avoid the ground unless you're a grappler, and this product ignores that. So now you're got a violent individual, further enraged and denied his goal, on top of you. The one upside that I can see is that this product would come into play even if the victim was suprised, unlike other deterrents which require the woman to strike preemptively.
I find myself wondering, "How'd they test this?" That bothers me a great deal, because either they did (those poor bastards) or they didn't, and some unlucky consumer might pay the price for their poor quality control.
Also, you've definitely got me wondering about the sorority girl who forgets to take it out before getting hammered and taking on the pledge class. Not that the product should be illegal based on that chance, but I say it'd warrant an assault charge. This might sound misogynist (like I care), but I'd knock the teeth out of a women's skull if I ended up with spikes in my penis without cause. Especially if she said anything like, "Hehe, sorry, forgot about that!" Worse, what about the intentional use of this device to punish a man? Sure, fine, whatever: feminist rhetoric might suggest that our past behavior makes us deserving of such punishments, but that's not exactly sensible thinking.
I'm not morally opposed to this at all: I mean, as a rape survivor, I emphathize with the need to defend one's self. Given that men historically haven't demonstrated any hesitation in employing rape against women, they're certainly entitled to any and all means to protects themselves. But you're absolutely right: at the end of the day, nothing is really a replacement for situational awareness. Avoid situations that render you vulnerable and you'll avoid rape without the need for Rapex or any other products. Clever, yes, but not empowering.
Afterthought: Your point that rape has been used as a weapon is a good one. It's not feasible, but the best place for this product would be in the vaginas of women currently suffering in any of the assorted African conflicts. Western armies have largely abandoned rape in the last few decades, Vietnam being the last instant where American soldiers employed it (and that's a whole other topic), but it's alive and well in Darfur, etc. The men will kill the woman, but they were going to anyways and they'll have trouble raping anyone else. And with a little luck infection will kick in, necessitating amputation at worst, causing death at best.
To begin my comment with your last statement "It's not feasible, but the best place for this product would be in the vaginas of women currently suffering in any of the assorted African conflicts.". It was invented by a South African Woman I am sure because of exactly that point. African women, where AIDs rate is high, suffer rape from all aspects. War to her husband, so to have a product like these is feasible, because this is the only upperhand African women have.
I went on my blog to rant the would if this came over to the states where feminist would take over the product and wave it around as the next big thing. Shit, my women studies professor in college admited that castration should be a solution...to birth control... another topic sweetie.
I guess when we come down to it both of us agree on this issue. It is a product that will hurt, big time, but will have a lot of issues along with such as losing situational awareness (which women are better at this then men), and the drunk girl forgetting to take it out to the girl who wants revenge on her ex boyfriend. Oh, let's have that last fling for old time sakes...ohmy god. Didn't think about that one did ya.
But, all in all if used as a last defense it will buy that time for the girl to get away. IF this is a huge if b/c there are a lot of women out there when seeing a man on the ground would want to kick him, realize that she has royally pissed of the rapist and run run run.
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