She has excellent points. I wasn't able to make up my mind between pro and con on the last post mentioning this. She's changed my mind to a resounding, NO.

She has excellent points. I wasn't able to make up my mind between pro and con on the last post mentioning this. She's changed my mind to a resounding, NO.

While I think there is a great amount of justice to the device, I agree with the reasons above that it isn't a good idea.

I'm not sure that I agree that it would make most rapes (although definitely some) more violent. The attacker would be in trememdous pain (I almost passed out at my desk just thinking about it) and probably not in a good position to be attacked. He might be in a good position to be attacked, bound, and force fed viagra though. :)

Reality sucks.

Only thing I have an issue with was the claim that it "creates a perception that women are responsible for ensuring they're not raped." Problem is, nobody else there is taking the responsibility, so it falls to those women by default. That's not right, but that's life. The only ones who appear to be DOING anything about the issue are the rapists, and they're fighting on the wrong side. No woman should have to deal with this, but too often they are made to. In an ideal world, no woman would have cause to fear rape, but an ideal is of little help when you're being attacked and there's no one to help you. It's an awesome goal, but does nothing about the immediate problem.

I myself prefer the "beat attempted rapist to a bloody pulp" method, but that is rather difficult to do. However, it has a distinct advantage of that anti-rape device, specifically that the ability to do this has other applications besides rape prevention--that is, there are benefits to being physically fit and powerful that have nothing to do with rape, which fits the ideal that no one should have to adapt to the fear of rape.

If I came across sounding like an ass here, I apologize. I'm trying to translate the concepts in my head, into words, and it's not quite working properly.

"this device creates the perception that women are to be responsible for their own safety"

ummm. "creates the perception?" well as the kyra said, that is not a perception, that is the reality these women are living in. Everyone is responsible for their own safety. If the usa went to anarchy, it would do no good to bitch and moan about how unfair it was that we would have to look after our safety. the reality is, many are not living in societies that are anywhere near as safe as ours. Yes, Try to improve the laws, stop the crimes. but, while at it, don't ask women or anyone for that matter to ignore the reality!!!

My problem with the device is that it is too little too late. women need real defense options that would end the attack way before it went to that far. I agree, it will also in my opinion increase the likelyhood of murder.

JesusJonesSuperstar - This isn't really related to the discussion at hand, but I'm going to mention it nonetheless. I'm not sure how many anarchofeminists there are still out there, but I'd appreciate you not using terms like "anarchy" without knowing what they mean.

If anarchism happened in any real way in the US, Rape would not be tolerated, and women would be able to report it without fear of stigmatization.

With regards to my thoughts on the device itself - I have mixed feelings. Overall, I think it should be out there, if a woman feels she needs it, but it's one of many ways women can use to defend themselves. I understand the argument agaisnt it, but that argument could be made against any women's self defence measures or education.

I actually posted something about this on my blog too and my feelings are still mixed about it. I despise the idea that there is a market for this sort of thing. That knowledge alone makes me incredibly sad and, well, mournful.

With that in mind though, the fact remains that these women need help. If nobody else is stopping these atrocities it becomes the woman's responsibility to try to stop it. My heart breaks at the thought of women feeling like they must put razors into their bodies to stay safe, yet, who else is helping them?

I wonder if the director in charge of the rape crisis center advocates the use of force in any way to stop a rape? I mean, is there really such a difference between *this* weapon and, say, a knife? Or if the victim pokes the mans eye out? Does the director advocate that this too will make them more vulnerable to murder? Is this person advocating that a woman not fight back at all? Or is this person advocating that they *do* fight back, but only use more 'acceptable' ways of fighting?

In any case, I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about these devices, but I suppose we'll wait and see because it appears that they will be hitting the market.

Another question that comes to mind. Here at home, would our legal system ever even *allow* something like this to hit the market?

Overall, this is a big thinker for me, while it's not 'revolutionary' per se (we've had devices like this made throughout the history of women) it is an idea that I don't think has been used anytime recently. Definately lots of questions going through my head when I think about this one.

labyrus, I am going to have to ask you to not correct me when I am using anarchy the word as it is accepted by the majority of the english speaking population in the united states. Please refer to a dictionary. You will see it usually says something like "state of lawlessness and chaos". as well as the utopian consept that perhaps you believe in or are refering too. Regardless, I dont care.

this device's mere existence should cut the incidence of rape, once people besides feministing readers (men) hear about it.

of course it's important to ask why men rape and prosecute the hell out of them when they do it. but if in the mean time, a woman feels so in danger that she would use this brutal thing, jeez, stop analyzing and let her use it.

I think Kyra gets it right. The concerns raised constitute reasons to not base one's entire anti-rape strategy on this device, but if there was a device or course of action that could do all those things, we'd certainly be pushing for it instead.

Besides, such a device, should word get out that women might be using them, might deter rapes to such a volume that it might help bring about such a world.

I think Kyra gets it right. The concerns raised constitute reasons to not base one's entire anti-rape strategy on this device, but if there was a device or course of action that could do all those things, we'd certainly be pushing for it instead.

Besides, such a device, should word get out that women might be using them, might deter rapes to such a volume that it might help bring about such a world.

JesusJonesSuperstar, I'm going to have to ask you to not use words without considering their full meaning. It is up to you, the writer, to refrain from (unintentionally?) maligning someone's political beliefs without a more thorough examination of them. By the way, Anarchism and Feminism have a long, complex, intertwining history that you really should be more aware of than you seem to be.