Via Shakes and Feministing, the “Lusty Linda” doll. The malformed Linda has a fixed smile and a mood switch. In her “good mood”, plungings of the pen elicit encouraging remarks. In her bad mood, she yells “OW!” and “HELP! HELP!” and “GET OUT!” Because rape is just when she’s in a bad mood, y’know. And it’s “Orgasmically Funny!”, according to the packaging, and the website marketing includes “Too bad all women did not have such a switch”.

The anatomy is off, too – genitalia are completely absent, and it looks like she is being raped through an infected suprapubic catheter wound.

Here’s some video of the doll in “good mood” mode. So you can probably imagine what “bad mood” looks like.

Unsurprisingly, feminists have been laying complaints with companies selling this rape doll. “FunIdeas” “Customer Service” has these responses:

“Im glad we lost you as a customer. Your sound like a psycho, and we prefer not to psychos.”

How on earth does our item possible insinuate rape?

Yea, a lot of men will be inspired to rape women from this.

“Copying and pasting the same email as all your idiotic mornic friends is pointless.”

“We are glad your family and you will be lost as customers forever. We will be renaming the product to Rape Victim Rita to celebrate women in bad moods and those men who just want some sex.”

“Hey, if a man wants it, chicks should give it, if not, he has the right under Muslim law to take the woman as his own.

Alla Akbar!”

“You are a moron, and your lesbian friends who keep writing us, are morons as well.”

And then they stepped over the line into direct intimidation and sexual harassment. A feminister writes:

Has anybody found contact information for anyone higher up in the company yet? I made the mistake of continuing to engage the “customer service” guy and am incredibly uneasy with his replies. I believe that he’s googled me (I sent the email from an address with my very unique maiden name tied to it) and is now making frequent references to my hair color, location, religion, and name, as well as mistaken ideas about my nationality, husband, and family (I think that he’s fishing for responses, like psychics do, if that makes sense). I believe that he’s using the information asymmetry to try to intimidate me, which is incredibly inappropriate. Oh, and there’s this:

“If you agree I will send them to you, as well as a Lusty Linda Pen Holder and an inflatable doll. Perhaps a non-anatomically correct blow up doll will make you laugh, and bring a small smile to you. One breath, two breaths, and at last, you will have Tyrone in front of you. The smell of cheap Asian made vinyl will enthrall you, your heart will race, and finally then, and only then will you have the courage to insert a pen in your anus, much like Linda. You will scream OUCH! And GET OUT !”

[followup to this one here. The “customer service” asshat ranted on semi-randomly at her, including gems like, “George Bush has more vision and leadership then King Abdul Aziz and John Hieftje combined. 4 More Years! 4 More Years.”]

And yes, there are male versions of the rape doll, though there’s no mood switch advertised, and the only remarks mentioned are “Oh no” and “OUCH!” and “That hurts!”. No, that’s not funny either. Video here and here, complete with laughing bystanders, if you can stomach it. Trigger warning.

Categories: gender & feminism, violence

Tags: crass, peeves, race & racism, rape, sexual violence, sexuality and health