recently. Sounds risky though, like pulling a gun in close quarters you never know what will happen.

in the long run I think there won't be much crime, well not much street crime.

And here I thought Memphis stopped being cool years ago.

The intricacy (and decision to wear the devices in the exhibit as intended as opposed to merely put on mannequins or displayed loose) Does lend a certain artistic endeavor, albeit not a practical one. The technical prowess shown here is remarkable yet still dazzling to behold. (I would say 'beautiful', but it sounds wrong for a device designed as it is.)

Sounds like the place needs to at least make a charitable run of some kind though, for completeness.

The devices are pretty, hi-tech and ingenious. But real security comes from a well-founded belief that you can take effective measures. This sort of thing is just dependency-based self protection. Pretty, artistic, but ultimately disempowering because it places your safety in the hands of an inanimate device with no agency on your part.

If you want safety find a good self defense class. Learn to use your natural weapons - awareness, assertiveness, attitude, hands, feet, knees, elbows. Learn to use effective artificial tools if you're of a mind to.

While fascinating and thought-provoking, my initial reaction is that something like this still is sparking the discussion around placing the responsibility of not getting raped on the victim (often women) -- rather than addressing the act of rape as a societal disease that needs to be eradicated, and asking ourselves why rapists act. We had a discussion about it over here: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/themix/28606/

Sensible anti-rape defenses don't do much good when you've already been raped - (having used sensible precations or no) which was part of the main point of the designs...an expression of the experience as well as artistically inventive defenses.

The maker used the victim's stated feelings and stories for inspiration for the pieces. We who have not been victimed in that way have no clue what it is really like: the ongoing sense of rage, the burden of such an intensely personal violation, and the feeling of infantile helplessness that having your bodily integrity taken away from you prompts.

These pieces reminds me of what is called 'defensive gardening', which is landscaping that discourages break-ins and lurkers by utilizing impenetrable and uncomfortably prickly plants around a house foundation...the obvious idea being to make it as difficult/painful as possible to get close enough to violate your sanctuary.

I read about a personal anti-rape device that is available in, I think, Africa. It consists of a vaginal sheath that contains hundreds of tiny hooked barbs; presumably like little fish hooks. The rapist's penis is caught in this condom from hell upon entry, which becomes more embedded the more he moves inside the victim's body, and must go to a doctor to have it removed - which could aid in attacker identification.

Although it is true that the use of such could prompt additional violence toward the victim (in the unlikely circumstance that he would have the presence of mind or desire to hang around and bother to do more violence while having a such a painful thing attached to his privates) and perhaps an occasional 'revenge use' in a non-rape situation, on the whole it seems an excellent, ultimately empowering defense...a form of ironic justice wherein the rapist is the one who gets shafted.

Please excuse the typos and errors in the previous post; I obviously need a nap.

obviously he would have to know enough to check first.

the point that is driven home for me is that once violated, a person can never feel truely safe again. These belts and corsets illustrate a fantasy of the measures we'd have to take to feel safe again...to completely isolate and arm that which is most vulnerable. It's the same fantasy we play out in everyday life spanning from gated communities to "home land defense" to rampant consumerism (surrounding ourselves with things to make life seem more stable, real and perfect).

The real danger has transformed into a persistant imagined danger that permiates every corner of life.

I would love to see this first hand.

...of Cronenberg's film "Dead Ringers"? When I read about this exhibit I immediately flashed back to Beverly, the insane twin, and his "Gynecological instruments for operating on mutant women".

I can't help wondering if that film (and its profoundly disturbing stainless steel instruments) acted as artistic inspiration. As far as the "impenetrable devices" go, it's impossible for me to view them objectively, as art. They are layered with and linked to the terror of rape, and I can't help feeling that they somehow exploit that particular brand of terror.

It's difficult for me to quantify or put my feelings into words, but this exhibit seems to cheapen - maybe even cannibalize - womens' legitimate fear of rape. For one thing, they seem to put the burden of rape prevention on women.

To be honest, I don't quite understand exactly why this exhibit makes me so uneasy. Perhaps that's one of the functions of art, but when I look at those gleaming metal traps I see artisitic opportunism, not female empowerment.

It seems to me the main purpose of this exhibition is to show off how sensitive and noble the artist is. It has the added bonus that anyone criticizing the aesthetics looks like he's attacking rape survivors. A nice way to make a living as an artist but I don't think it does much to stop rape. Perhaps the artist should consider a show where he donates all the sales to an anti-rape cause.