That is a silly reason to boycott a product! Yes, we should be teaching people to not rape, and we shouldn't have to take precautions like this, but we HAVE to for our own safety. If anything, the fact that they keep coming up with more precautions make me feel safer and hopeful that MAYBE there will be a few less assholes out there who think it's ok to take advantage of people.

These people seem to act like women just simply fail to stop rape from happening to them - and it's not like the women assume EVERYONE is a potential rapist - but many people feel they have to be prepared and take precautions because the people who rape have made things more difficult for them to stay safe.

The article is especially bad about it. The anti-rape products out there don't just assume that all men are rapists, they're there because we can't always trust everyone we meet, and we don't always know who until it's too late. Just because we take precautions to prevent rape doesn't mean that we're saying the solution is not to simply curb the problem - rape very much is the fault of the rapist, and we need to teach not to rape. But until that gets into everybody's head, we can't simply go through life assuming we'll always be safe.

It really says something when someone thinks something like this is actually needed. :/ 

While their reaction isn't proper nor good I do understand their thinking. Its a bit sad that in 2014 women have to take extra measures to protect themself from rape, I think most of the feminist here are worried that if a woman does become a victim of sexual assault people will first think or say: '' Why didn't you use this?or that?''
Before people are going to compare this to stealing money and locking your doors please keep in mind we are talking about human beings not objects 

That's how a child would react to that kind of thing.

I cannot see how this could possibly be a bad idea. It's something that people use to keep themselves safe. I mean, sure, you shouldn't "need" to use this, but we don't live in a perfect world. It's a good step in personal safety.

People should not have to live in fear of being raped, drugged or killed all because they wanted to go out and have fun.  But this is not a utopian world we live in.  It is imperfect, and there are people who want to hurt others.  That is why any precaution anyone can take, up to lethal force I feel is necessary.  And developing something that is quick and easy to test to prevent that, I am all for!  

I also wish women could go on without a shirt on and not be labled a whore or slut. I want my tits to be free instead of in a fucking bra all the damn time when its 1,000 degrees outside and my tits feel like two sweaters stuffed under my shirt, my boobs are smaller then a fat guy`s moobs.

These are the type of feminists who say they should be able to walk down a dark, ominous alley way without getting mugged.

Yes, it would be nice in an ideal world if we could do that - but our world isn't ideal, and it certainly doesn't work that way.

Precautions are a good thing, they should be pleased that this type of technology is becoming available for them to remain safe. 

It sounds like a good invention, but right, not foolproof. You shouldn't HAVE TO do anything, but if you go to bars, keep an eye on your drink at all times.

Yes, women shouldn't have to use it.

People also shouldn't have to use locks, but they're on every door for a reason dabnabbit.

Let darwinism set in. The weakest of the species will die violently and painfully thanks to feminists/HAES believers. Don't complain, just let it happen. 

I always guard my drinks (plus, most of the time I drink it so fast it doesn't have time to sit around. lol).

Idk... it's a hairy subject. I don't think people should be blamed for being raped if they don't wear the polish; that's silly. But it can't hurt to be careful. There's also a principle of always going out with friends/ a group of people you trust. IMO, that's probably more effective than this new polish.

Yeah, the world is how it is, and we shouldn't stop prevention measures because we'd rather live with an ideal world in which men know not to rape - although it IS true that teaching that principle is energy well-spent for the future.

Nevertheless, I still roll my eyes to the heavens every time I see a gadget like that being invented. I've heard about electric bras and panties, anti-rape internal condoms with razor blades, shrieking nipple pasties...and a thousand other "revolutionary" anti-rape ideas that never end up being adopted by the general public. Why, oh why aren't they more popular?

I'll tell you why: they're gimmicky as fuck. Assuming they do properly work, most of them are suited for a very specific scenario that has a pretty low chance of happening. This is especially true considering that "stranger danger" rape - the crazy dude grabbing you in a back alley thing, which is what we all imagine when we think about rape - accounts for about 5% of all assaults in America. Most assaults are commited by people the victim knew, in places the victim knew, because that's when you least expect it to happen. Are you really going to wear electric underwear to work, to visit your family or boyfriend, or to bring a cup of sugar to your neighbor? The date rape drug detecting nail polish seems more useful than that at least, because the drug is actually involved in many assault cases. However, if you've ever been drunk at a party, you should know that expecting a person to dutifully dip their fingers in all of their drinks and then wait for a chemical reaction to happen before pouring it down their gullets is optimist at best, especially when everybody is already pretty drunk.  

My conclusion is that as a feminist I don't think people should boycott rape prevention measures, but I think investing in those thingies is wasted money and energy. Self-defense classes are still in my opinion the best option. Just keep in mind, having the freedom to learn to defend yourself doesn't mean everyone who doesn't do the same is irresponsible. We all have lives to live and shit to do.

Well yeah, in an ideal world, women shouldn't have to take precautions like that because rape shouldn't be a thing. But in this world, it very much is a thing so we very much still do need precautions.

That article would seem like a parody if the author wasn't expecting to be taken super cereal.

We need better sex education that covers these topic better. Also, it doesn't hurt to take these extra safety pracautions 

These people are never happy.

Women don't buy mace just for rape, you know. What about muggings, attempted murder, break ins...?

Though I didn't just buy mace, I bought a knife, too.

Nice of them to make that. Though I don't think it's sanitary to put the fingers in one's drink. Regardless of gender, I'd probably use a slip, but then I'm not worried about offending the 'company' I'm with, esp if it's in a public setting and/or with strangers.

Don't worry about the people who say "You should have worn nail polish." After all, there's nobody saying "You should have brought mace, a personal alarm, a gun, etc" if you were mugged. Sure they'd help, but not required for the case to stay in court.

"Girls shouldn't HAVE to do anything to prevent rape. So let's just let them be raped and sneer at any helpful tools to prevent rape." and "Women don't rape and men are never victims of sexual abuse."

It does suck that society isn't taught not to rape. But since that's the way it is, shouldn't we embrace a tool that might help prevent it? 

The thing that really gets me is that the women and girls don't have to.

The issue here isn't about the nail polish. It's cool that male students have taken an approach to support and help females.

The whole issue of course boils down to victim-blaming, as you've mentioned. Why as a society we as females are taught precautions? Sure it's common sense already for most of us, but still, why teach all these precautions instead of I dunno, teaching that rape and sexual abuse is wrong?

Also, don't get me wrong… yes, I know men experience sexual harassment and violence as well, and they have it just as hard, but as I said… the whole basis of this I believe connects to the act of victim-blaming. First it'll be about the clothing we were wearing, then why we were out at the time, and then why we weren't wearing nail polish, to I dunno, why we didn't smell like bear urine.

I suppose like most individuals, they believe what they're doing is well-intentioned, and I mean deep down, they probably are concerned about exactly what I've mentioned. They're simply not going at it the right direction, and hindering the people around them more than they are helping.

tl;dr fear of victim-blaming from well intentioned but not educated individuals.