Please visit AR Wear's indiegogo website and do a little bit of research. Find out what exactly this product is and how it works. After doing so, visit Feministing.org's criticism of this product. Be sure to read the comments in response to the post.
Do you think AR Wear is a good idea? Would you feel more safe wearing this clothing? What problems does this kind of clothing present? Is a woman who doesn't wear AR Wear "asking for it"? Be sure to engage not only the source material and some of its critique (and praise) but be sure to read each other's comments and openly debate the use/need for this kind of product in our world.
Personally, I think this is a fantastic idea and I think those who are criticizing the product are being unreasonable. While I see where they are coming from, saying this product puts all the effort on the victim instead of changing the male mentality towards rape, society does not seem any closer to eliminating rape anytime soon. This is a great way to stop at least some rape cases, and a way for women to exercise their power and feel safer when going out.
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ReplyDeleteOk, well first of all, this anti-rape underwear doesn't really look all that comfortable, or breathable for that matter (bad news for women who want to keep their vaginas healthy), but assuming it is…
I've made a quick list of where anti-rape underwear would and wouldn't help the person wearing it, just so we can see how effective this would be:
Helps In Situations Where:
• Woman has decided beforehand (like, when she's picking out her underwear) that she does not want to have sex but is attacked by a stranger, such as if a woman jogging is assaulted by a scary rapist hiding in the bushes, or if a woman has gone out clubbing and has decided beforehand that she doesn't want to have sex that night, but is assaulted by a stranger while incapacitated
Doesn't Help In Situations Where:
• Victim is male
• Victim is anyone, really, other than a thin cis woman
• Victim can't afford/can't access/doesn't know about anti-rape underwear
• Victim is assaulted in a way that does not include genital/anal rape (in Steubenville, for example, while the rapists did penetrate the victim with their fingers, they also urinated on her and took pictures)
• Attacker is really violent/intent on getting underwear off (in which case such underwear would probably only cause her more harm)
• Woman is raped by someone who knows how to get her underwear off, such as a boyfriend or husband
• Woman is intoxicated but wants to have sex
• Girl wants to have sex, but protective parent/guardian strictly prohibits any other form of underwear (not that she couldn't still have sex, but the underwear wouldn't help)
• Woman doesn't wear anti-rape underwear because she is around people she knows and trusts and doesn't think that any of them could rape her (such as a campus party with fellow university students)
• Woman doesn't wear anti-rape underwear out because she thinks maybe she does want to have sex that night, if she meets the right person
"But wait!" You may say, "If she had been wearing the underpants in the last two situations they would have protected her!" Yes. If she had been. But she wasn't, and why should she have? She wasn't around rapists, and even if some of the guys in the club looked kind of sketchy, she was also around a lot of non-rapists, and she was being smart about who she interacted with. To say that she should have worn the underwear regardless would be victim blaming.
So here's the trouble: yes, these underwear would help some people. But only a very specific group of people in a very specific set of situations, which also happen to be the least common situations in which rape occurs. Most rape isn't a question of being attacked by a scary man hiding in the bushes, or a creep who puts rohypnol in your drink at a nightclub (though that is of course horrible and we as a culture aren't especially good at helping the survivors of those rapes). Most rape is a matter of a guy (who neither thinks of himself as a rapist nor thinks of what he's doing as rape) having sex with a woman who, though she hasn't consented, he assumes he can have sex with because he feels entitled to it for one reason or another (she hasn't explicitly said no, she has said no but it wasn't very firm, she hasn't resisted, she's wearing slutty clothing, they've had consensual sex before, etc). That is rape culture, not a scary stranger hiding in the bushes. Rape culture when we as a culture assume that even though a person didn't consent, if someone had sex with him or her it might still be ok because it took place in some consensual "grey area."
ReplyDeleteThis product claims to give women power, but it does no such thing. This product says to women, "you have a choice! The choice between deciding not to be raped and being raped." And implicit in this message is that "being raped" was somehow also a decision. In this way, this garment perpetuates rape culture– it shifts this "grey area" to the side of consent, rather than the side of rape. Even though the underwear themselves aren't saying "it will be your fault if you're not wearing me!" they allow people to say, "Well, why wasn't she wearing anti-rape underwear? It's not like they're dangerous or hard to operate, like pepper spray, she could have easily just slipped them on! Besides, men can't control themselves and it's not like we as a culture are going to be eliminating rape anytime soon. She must have gone out wanting sex." Coincidentally, this is not unlike what that girl from a former class wrote in the essay we read for homework last night, about how women who don't wear the hijab are asking for it and how she is only equal to men if she covers up her shameful woman-body (to be clear, I have nothing against the hijab and I think wearing it, like wearing anything, is a matter of personal choice, but that girl's explanation of her decision to wear it was super judgmental and victim-blaming).
Ordinarily I would say, go ahead, wear these panties if you want because you want to. And honestly, if you want to sew yourself ultra-tough panties and wear them because you think they'll help you not get raped, I'm not stopping you. I am not against people deciding to wear this– rather, I am against this thing being marketed as "anti-rape underwear." Because it's not. It's underwear which may deter some rape in some very specific instances, because it is hard to take off. But ultimately, marketing it as "anti-rape" is only going to hurt women as a whole, by not just ignoring the problems of rape culture but perpetuating them, and distracting from the real action we as a society must take if we are to dismantle rape culture. (Hint: it rhymes with "shmeducation"…)
The Vagenda, the best-named feminist blog ever, also wrote a piece on this: http://vagendamag.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/boy-i-cant-wait-to-get-my-brand-new.html
ReplyDeleteIt's similar to what I wrote above but I'd encourage everyone to read it, as well as the comments.
I think Miranda raises a wonderful point. This "invention" seems to be more reactive than proactive. While it provides a potential solution in the face of potential rapes, why aren't we focusing upon challenging the very culture that produces rapists?
ReplyDeleteI think it's alarming that such a product even exists/is being produced. It's really kind of scary that in this society today, some women are so concerned about their safety that they feel like they have to buy underwear designed to help them resist attempted assault. Right now, the idea seems foreign and strange, but I'm starting to wonder if this kind of clothing will become normal for women in twenty or so years. It's being marketed as a tool of self-defense for women who plan on "going out on a blind date, taking an evening run, clubbing, traveling in unfamiliar countries," but once it starts, when will it stop? Will women start wearing it when they go grocery shopping? When they walk their dogs? Everywhere they go?
ReplyDeleteI also think that this idea that women need to take an extra step to protect themselves sends the wrong message. If a woman is raped, somehow it's not just the rapist's fault, it's also her fault for not adequately protecting herself with AR wear or whatnot. I agree with Miranda that this product is basically making being raped a decision. The website says that the product gives women and girls "more power to control the outcome of a sexual assault" - in a way, it's saying that it gives women and girls the power to prevent rape. If women are preventing rape by wearing AR wear, then are women who aren't wearing AR wear showing consent?
Or maybe I'm just reading into it too much. Of course I think it's great that there are people out there who are trying to help women feel safer. The product isn't hurting anyone and it might actually prevent some cases of sexual assault from arising. I just hope that it's not unintentionally promoting a victim blaming kind of mentality to the people who support/buy it.
I completely disagree with the above points. There is a multitude of groups that are focusing on challenging rape culture, however, that culture will not change in a matter of days. It will take years, perhaps even decades, for rape culture to change. Perhaps there is even a chance that it will not change because it is so ingrained in our society. Are women supposed to just sit back and not do anything about it? This is a clever invention. No one is forcing anyone to wear it, but those who want the extra protection are free to purchase it. I'm sorry but I don't believe that any organizations fighting Rape Culture are making any real strides to solve this major issue. At least a company like this one has created a decently practical product that creates immediate change. While temporary, it is good that it exists in the first place.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I do not believe a product like this has any leverage to become a social norm in 20 years. There are many reasons that this is highly unlikely.
I think that in order to understand the power of this product, you need to put yourself into the shoes of a women who was raped. I am sure that many victims of rape support this product. If you had been a victim, would you not wish that you had been wearing this underwear? Would you not hope that other women would be wearing this underwear when they come into contact with a dangerous man?
I can honestly say that I would be interested in buying this product. There are many evenings that I am out late, either working out in a near-by park, or out with friends. I always fear for my safety when I am getting home in the evenings, and wearing this underwear would make me feel much more powerful.
I agree with Othilla. If rape crime can’t be eliminated or brought down to a certain level, then this is a perfectly legitimate invention to help lower rape crimes.
ReplyDeleteI also think this invention is causing too much overreaction and should not be in the center of debate about whether it is the women’s fault for getting raped. The invention of this product does not mean to say that women who didn’t wear this anti-rape underwear and got raped deserved it because she knew she was going to be in trouble and she chose to not prevent it. Instead, it just states that now women are given the extra option to protect themselves; aside from that it implies nothing else. Ultimately, the rapist is still the criminal and the woman is still the victim.
Perhaps a better way to look at this would be looking at a gunman and a bulletproof vest. In this analogy, one has the option to wear a bulletproof vest (though he/she is not required to), but not everyone wears one to protect oneself. In the shootings where the gunman shoots the vest-less victim, we do not blame the victim for not wearing a bulletproof vest. We always sympathize for the injured victim. It doesn’t make sense to blame the shot victim that his/her death or injury was his/her fault because he/she did not wear a protective vest. In the same way I don’t understand how a woman not wearing anti-rape underwear can be blamed for getting raped.
I think extremists are just pushing this too far and being unreasonable for putting this innocent and helpful invention up for debate.
Please remember, in this debate, we are to make "I" statements as in "I believe...". While we I encourage your insightful passion in these debates, let's remember to remain civil and respectful of others' opinions. Let's tailor our responses to reflect such professionalism.
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