If Only I Had Teeth Down There
Last week I wrote that "[closeted Republican Ken Mehlman] looked like he'd rather have a big scary vagina dentata in his face than be discussing Foley on Fox News." A friend asked what a vagina dentata was, which prompted me to Google it, which led me to this.
It's the Rapex Anti-Rape Condom. It is a female condom (inserted like a tampon) with tiny razor sharp teeth inside that need to be surgically removed once they're attached to the penis of an attacker. The idea is that the pain from the barbs would give the victim time to escape
There's something sort of funny about it (the same way Lorena Bobbitt is funny in a dark way), but it has been rightly criticized as medieval and gruesome. But reclaiming the misogynist myth of the vagina dentata is so girl power!
According to Wikipedia, "The concept of a vagina dentata is rooted in ancient myth and had previously been explored in fiction, e.g., in Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Ehlers [the inventor of the Rapex] has also admitted that she was inspired by speaking to a rape victim who said, 'If only I had teeth down there,' and also from seeing 'a young man was admitted to hospital for getting his penis caught in his trouser zip and was in excruciating pain' when she was a blood technician."
It supposedly goes on sale in late 2006 in South Africa. I.e., now.
It's the Rapex Anti-Rape Condom. It is a female condom (inserted like a tampon) with tiny razor sharp teeth inside that need to be surgically removed once they're attached to the penis of an attacker. The idea is that the pain from the barbs would give the victim time to escape
There's something sort of funny about it (the same way Lorena Bobbitt is funny in a dark way), but it has been rightly criticized as medieval and gruesome. But reclaiming the misogynist myth of the vagina dentata is so girl power!
According to Wikipedia, "The concept of a vagina dentata is rooted in ancient myth and had previously been explored in fiction, e.g., in Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Ehlers [the inventor of the Rapex] has also admitted that she was inspired by speaking to a rape victim who said, 'If only I had teeth down there,' and also from seeing 'a young man was admitted to hospital for getting his penis caught in his trouser zip and was in excruciating pain' when she was a blood technician."
It supposedly goes on sale in late 2006 in South Africa. I.e., now.
posted by Solomon Grundy @ 9:59 AM
4 Comments:
At 2:53 PM,
Antid Oto said…
This made me shudder, not laugh. I hope it works, but you know why it's going on sale in South Africa? Because their rape problem is insane.
It is a fact that a woman born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped, than learning how to read.
One in four girls faces the prospect of being raped before the age of 16 according to the child support group, Childline.
...
During a recent parliamentary debate on child abuse in South Africa, it was reported that there has been a 400% increase in the sexual violence against children over the past decade.
Baby rape
The majority of the victims are 12 years old or younger. Many of the perpetrators are themselves children.
...
Out of the 24,892 rapes reported last year, only 1,797 resulted in successful convictions.
At 1:23 AM,
Anonymous said…
Its a terrifying thought that women are being made to adapt to rape by wearing these devices.
At 12:03 PM,
Solomon Grundy said…
Yeah, but the South African rape epidemic is what's terrifying, not this attempt at self defense.
If I could I would arm every South African girl over the age of 6 with a taser gun. Or, since I'm waxing fantastic, separate all the males from the females (maybe send every post pubescent boy to some lovely Paradise Island). Then the men would have sex with each other (and cuddle more) and the little girls and women could just live their lives.
At 12:04 PM,
Solomon Grundy said…
It could be like Sparta, where the men and women spent their entire lives separate from each other, and in order to procreate the women had to sneak into the men's tents after dark dressed as men, and then leave as soon as the dirty deed was done.
God I wish I had lived in ancient Greece.
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