Doctor selling female condom with "teeth" isn't peddling a useful crime prevention device, she's hawking radical feminist empowerment

A female Dr. Frankenstein who calls herself Dr. Sonnet Ehlers is distributing female condoms with teeth, endearingly called  Rape-aXe (get it?), in the various South African cities where the World Cup soccer games are taking place.

According to a news report: "Jagged rows of teeth-like hooks line its inside and attach on a man's penis during penetration, Ehlers said. Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it -- a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make an arrest. 'It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on," she said. "If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter... however, it doesn't break the skin, and there's no danger of fluid exposure.'"  The condom "allows justice to be served, she said.  . . . .Critics have accused her of developing a medieval device to fight rape. 'Yes, my device may be a medieval, but it's for a medieval deed that has been around for decades,' she said."  http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/06/20/south.africa.female.condom/

This device has actually been around for a few years, but the gimmick of giving away some 30,000 of them at the World Cup has put the modern day Dracula inventor back in the news. It is actually fitting that this story is in the news because it dovetails nicely with the extremely disturbing piece on the anniversary of Lorena Bobbitt's mutilation of her husband. 

Lest we minimize the, ah, impact of this device to men, read what the good doctor said about the same, or a similar, horrid product in this 2007 article: "But for Ehlers this device, which is inserted in the vagina, could give women vital seconds to escape the rapist while he was busy dealing with his pain. 'The surprise factor will give women a chance to escape,' says Ehlers, explaining that the rapist would be in great pain as the 25 teeth attach themselves to the shaft of the penis."

It will cause "great pain" to men. See, that's the most important thing. 

Let's make one thing clear, the good doctor isn't selling a useful crime prevention device; she's peddling feminist empowerment.  She's hawking the ultimate in radical feminist wishfulness, the dream of chopping off dicks.  And please, ladies, before you whine that this is an unfair cliche, read our piece on Lorena Bobbitt, and more specifically, the reaction to the gendered mayhem. 

The fact that this woman has been selling this thing for years but is now giving 30,000 away might suggest there's no market for it.  That would be a good thing, all around.  People concerned about women's rights are saying this thing is a bad idea.  "Critics say the female condom is not a long-term solution and makes women vulnerable to more violence from men trapped by the device." 

The few people concerned about men's rights aren't talking about it, but among many, many problems with Rape-aXe is that, contrary to what this mad scientist believes, it does not necessarily allow "justice" to be served.  It does not necessarily "prove" that a rape occurred. 

A woman might insert this atrocity in her vagina before going on a blind date, as Dr. Frankenstein suggests, but then proceed to send off signals indicating her willingness to engage in intercourse.  Perhaps she's had a few drinks and has even forgotten she's wearing the appalling device.  If her unwitting date proceeds, he will be subjected to the surprise of his life when this 13th Century torture device clamps down on his dick.  That is not rape, regardless of what Dr. Ehlers believes; rather, it's the innocent man who's just been brutally assaulted.

Aside from getting tipsy and forgetting she's wearing it, would a woman ever wear this device but then allow a guy she doesn't dislike to proceed?  It's more than plausible. The literature is replete with examples of women secretly desiring not to engage in intercourse but sending off signals indicating a willingness to proceed.
 
But wouldn't a conflicted woman want to spare a partner the pain of having his penis attacked?  Well, put it this way: wouldn't a conflicted woman want to spare a partner the pain of a false rape claim?  Conflicted women don't always do that.  All a woman would have to do is say, "no, I don't want to," and virtually every guy would stop.  The fact that conflicted women don't always stop a guy from plowing ahead, you see, is just a manifestation of her conflict. And it's a reason false rape claims are so widespread.

So, if the product isn't going to help stop rape, and could actually chomp down on innocent penises, why is it being marketed?  Why not teach women things that will actually help them avoid dangerous situations instead?

Well, as you can imagine, innocent penises are not their concern. As for doing something useful to stop rape, forget it.  You see, it is anything but empowering to teach women techniques to actually avoid being raped.  For many radical feminists, that's "victim blaming."

But all of that misses the point about this product.  For radical feminists, rape isn't just a crime, it's a symbol of purported male oppression, and the only way to "defeat" rape is to empower women by figuratively emasculating men -- even though that approach won't stop a single actual rapist and would only make matters worse for women.  To the misandrists interested in "get-evenism," as Connie Chastain put it, stopping rape is beside the point; belittling maleness with dramatic symbolism, such as this inane, inhumane product, is the goal.