Category Archives: Rape-Axe

Lisbeth Salander: The Girl Who Was a Feminist

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It’s not every day that a stone cold feminist shows up in literature.  With Lisbeth Salander (aka The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest), Swedish author Stieg Larsson somehow managed to do just that with the book originally titled Men Who Hate Women.  The best part?  He admittedly based this character on his visualization of a grown up Pippi Longstocking.

I have this aversion to jumping on the literary bandwagon.  From John Grisham’s The Firm to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books to (gulp) the Twilight series (yes, I read the damn things long before the great dildo debacle), I mutter a lot about fads and refuse to read popular books on some general principle I don’t fully understand myself.

Anyway, I did it yet again with Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy … and I was completely wrong.  Except for the ending, I found these books to be outstanding works of literature.  If you haven’t read them, you really should.  And just so you know, I’m not going to give away any sort of big surprise in this post — if anything, think of it as an effort to further pique your interest as we examine Salander’s feminism.

Considering my great affinity for lists (and I hope you’re catching the sarcasm here), it seemed like a great opportunity to pay it forward a bit.  Therefore, I am happy to present you with my first list.

10 Reasons Why Lisbeth Salander is a Feminist

1. She does not buy into the stereotype.
Although Salander is described throughout the series as tiny (her height is given numerous times as under five feet), “anorexic-looking,” and even “doll-like,” she possesses great physical strength that, combined with an incredibly quick mind, make her a worthy adversary for anyone.  Even if she didn’t take pains to make her appearance as gender-neutral as possible, her affinity for Billy’s Pan Pizza and Marlboro Lights do balance out her feminine side a bit.

2. She is friends with a variety of people instead of pigeonholing a group that fits with her exterior appearance.
Mikhail Blomkvist, an honest journalist (referred to by Salander herself as a “practical pig”).  Mimmi Wu, a very open lesbian college student.  Dragan Armansky, the director of a prestigious security company.  “Plague,” a 350 pound recluse …

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The Rape-aXe: A Definitive Form of Rape Prevention

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picture of rape axe

Creator of the Rape-aXe, South African doctor Sonnet Ehlers, was inspired when a victim exclaimed, “If only I had teeth down there!” Although first developed in 2006, Dr. Ehlers is currently testing 30,000 of the devices in South Africa as the World Cup continues. Inserted like a tampon, the Rape-aXe device is a latex sheath with sharp barbs that latch onto the perpetrators penis, and can cause scarring.

The experience of rape and sexual violence cannot be experienced or essentialized in any one way. Rape and sexual violence can also be perpetuated by different sociocultural and economic factors. Clearly, there is no one solution, no one approach, to both prevent and respond to rape and sexual violence.

A vagina dentata always has various implications, both tangible and abstract and in some ways, this device potentially presumes an inherent vulnerability to the vagina and could also be considered a constant reminder of how one can be victimized at any time. However, I do not in any way dismiss those who may seek out and potentially benefit from Rape-aXe, naturally.

Yet, I do feel this particularly violent and “drastic” anti-rape approach misunderstands the cultural and psychological dimensions of rape. Some societies are considered “rape-prone,” whereas other societies have been observed as less “rape-prone.” For example, Minangkabau in Indonesia has dramatically low rates of rape and is dubbed by some as “rape-free.”
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Remember the “Rape-Axe”? You Should … Because It’s Back!

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The Rape-Axe was that ugly, barbed protective measure that women can take in order to seriously injure a man trying to violate her in the worst way. You know … a theoretical “penis fly trap.”

It’s evidently gained so much popularity in certain areas that some are considering pushing its use even further: the creator of the Rape-Axe, Dr. Sonnet Ehlers is seeking donations to distribute 30,000 Rape-Axes or more to women who will be involved with or attending the World Cup, which will be held this June in South Africa.

Rape has been a prevalent crime in South Africa for some time now and to Dr. Ehlers, it only made sense to try and avoid as many assault cases as possible, thus the intent to disperse as many as possible to the afflicted area.

The “normal” controversy surrounding the crudely-designed tool has already begun to resurface: the idea that women shouldn’t have to revert to chastity belt-like protection in order to avoid rape and the lack of testing on subjects to see what the effects would be — not that a man intent on raping a woman is worthy of that whole “benefit of the doubt” thing. Others are also concerned that women would use the Rape-Axe for revenge in say, cases where a man cheating on a woman would be “spurned” by the woman in retaliation. Some are also concerned that an attempted rape thwarted by the Rape-Axe could turn into a murder awfully quick.

So, where does this leave the possibility for donations to distribute Rape-Axes countrywide? Is it a good thing, embracing women’s protection, or is it driving us to be a more violent society?

Thoughts?



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