ANTI-RAPE PATENTS

In the mid-1970s the rising feminist movement and landmark books such as Susan Brownmiller’s AGAINST OUR WILL made the once-taboo subject of rape a topic of open national debate. The same publicity also drew the attention of growing numbers of inventors who sought to create and patent anti-rape protective products.

The most chilling of these are vaginally-inserted weapons systems made of surgical steel and medical-grade plastics. Inserted like tampons and ingeniously fitted with razor edges, barbs, spikes and burning chemicals, they are designed to slice, puncture or otherwise mutilate an “unauthorized” penis. The patented Vaginal Harpoon Tube shown above is designed to be manufactured in a one- or three-prong version. AMERICAN SEX MACHINES includes an entire chapter about these vaginal weapons systems and other patented anti-rape devices.