Gender Relations

As a follow-up of my last post on “vagina dentata” in a film (Teeth), I want to address a real life example that works with the implications of the film. South African inventor, Sonnet Ehlers created a “toothed-condom” called Rapex to protect women against the horrors of rape. If anyoneknows anything about how women are treated in Africa with female genital mutilation as well as other forms of abuse and inequality (cutting of breasts, etc.), this toothed condom cannot really be considered extreme or a joke.

The condom (which I am a little unsure of why it is called a condom) can only be removed by a doctor once inserted because of the dangers it could produce.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding this condom (that was announced some years ago), but women who suffer from sexual assault need a way to fight back (especially in a culture that does not govern these assaults). The biggest controversy is over how the medieval nature of this “barbaric” vagina suit remains. Once a man is inside of a woman the teeth surround the penis and wrap themselves around the head of the penis. The only way to remove the condom at this point is for a doctor to surgically remove it (as the barbs embed themselves rather deeply). People are saying that this is barbaric, but if it can help thousands and thousands of women who are raped annually, why is this such a bad invention?

Some say women could use it as a revenge tactic, but why even go that route when a woman could just as easily use a knife to cut off a penis if she was out for revenge rather than but her own safety in danger? I can’t imagine a lot of women would want to put a toothed condom in themselves unless they were extremely worried about the possibilities of being raped. I agree that some percentage of women could use this as a tool to claim rape as a revenge tactic, but I think the percentage would be lower than 1% of rapes. Plus, having this toothed condom is not an indictment to the court, as much as it is a piece of evidence. Regardless, I highly doubt women would go around putting toothed condoms in their vagina to hail revenge against men. We are forgetting that we live in a world dominated by patriarchy — not matriarchy.

Another piece of the contraversy is that this is a tool of male hating. Ehlers says she does not hate men, but rather wants to protect women from the degradation of rape — a tool of empowerment.

Personally, I see the fact that someone had to invent such a device as the saddest part of this story. Why do we live in a world where a woman has to put teeth inside her vagina in order to keep away from misogyny-centric behaviors. If this is a way that women can prevent the horrors of rape that can lead to severe mental and emotional problems as well transmittance of STI’s and risk of pregnancy – then that is the world we live in.

SOURCE
http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Toothed-Anti-Rape-Condom-for-Women-49893.shtml