A.R Wear, a new line of Anti-Rape underwear dreamt up and brought to us by two young women based in New York is on its way to becoming an actual reality.
The founders, Ruth and Yuval, have launched a campaign on popular business crowd fundraising site, Indiegogo. The project has already raised $42,500 of its requested $50,000 budget, with 14 days left of seed funding to go.
Yep, this is a thing … the modern day chastity belt. While I do hope these women are only coming from a place of good, they state their aims are to give women back control and allow them to feel safe in potentially dangerous situations, it doesn’t make it any less horrifying. Is this really necessary?
The underwear works by locking the wearer in using an actual lock system, which is then opened by remembering a sequence of clock hand positions. They are cut-proof and pull resistant, basically these tough knickers are as hard to get into as Late/Late Toy Show audience. However, they also sound as hard to get out of as the Bermuda triangle.
In the product promotion video, which you can find below, it is suggested that wearing these pants will deter an attacker, by sheer frustration I’m guessing? They will seemingly be more successful in avoiding rape than using violence against your attacker, time to stop that self defence class so. I don’t know about you but I feel it would be hard not to defend yourself physically. The advert says it’s okay though, have full faith in your pants … no matter how hard your attacker is coming at you with a knife (or scissors).
Places you should wear these bad boys as suggested in the video; out on a first date, clubbing, an evening run and basically, anywhere. We are assured of our preserved comfort while wearing our AR Wear. LBD ladies? No problem you’ll have no VPL …despite the metal clasps on the thighs and top band!? I really doubt slipping on these guys will make you feel as sexy as your latest lacy Ann Summers purchase but the girl in the video looks pretty pleased.
I’m thinking, after one or two glasses of wine on a night out and nature comes a knocking I can barely work my way out of normal underwear let alone ones with locking systems, maybe I could store the combination code in my iPhone beside my PIN number?
The AR Wear website admits that;
‘Only by raising awareness and education, as well as bringing rapists to justice, can we all hope to eventually accomplish the goal of eliminating rape as a threat to both women and men.’
Thank god for that! Oh wait …
‘Meanwhile, as long as sexual predators continue to populate our world, AR Wear would like to provide products to women and girls that will offer better protection against some attempted rapes while the work of changing society’s rape culture moves forward.’
Yes, products, AR Wear are currently working on a line of jogging leggings as well as travel shorts. So at least you have more of a variety on what to wear for your first date.
Website The Daily Dot summed it up perfectly for me when they wrote,
‘These ideas for anti-rape clothing never go anywhere, and that’s because preventing rape has nothing to do with what a woman is wearing, or not wearing, and everything to do with the rapist and a culture of victim-blaming. Are panties with thigh locks really making us safer, or is every woman’s fear simply being exploited for profit?’
One last thought, I really do hope it was just an initial oversight that all the models used in the advert view like a runway show at Paris fashion week and it’s not that they really think the only women who need worry about rape are the young, skinny and beautiful.Funding ends in 2 weeks, will you be sponsoring?
Don't Minchin It! 