Imagine a beautiful princess with long golden hair and eyes as blue as the sea. Her dress is the color of the sun as its setting, and her glass slippers twinkle as rays of light bounce off of them. Now imagine her locked inside an enormous, impenetrable tower, with no possible means of escape. But alas, her knight in shining armor is nowhere to be found! Whatever will she do?!
There’s no need to worry, for this princess has around her wrist a device called a “wristle“- a purchase from Damsels in Defense that allows her to unwind the bracelet into seven feet of para-cord and shimmy her way down the tower. The bracelet also has a whistle feature that would allow our princess to call for help should she need it.
Damsels in Defense is a company that was founded in September 2011 by Mindy Lin and Bethany Hughes, with a mission statement to equip, empower, and educate women about safety. They set out to create a line of fashionable defense tools or weapons for the everyday safety-conscious (but style savvy) woman.
Every 26 seconds, a violent crime occurs. One in three women are victims of domestic abuse at some point in their lives. One in five women will be raped in their lifetime. This company makes it their mission to change these statistics by making women more prepared to protect themselves.
Events are held all over the country by various Damsel representatives, and I’ve been lucky enough to attend three events over the last year. The representative generally begins with statistics, speaks about the company and how important safety is, provides tips to stay “safe and sassy”, and ends with going through the products. The company offers dozens of different products, including “Sock it to Me” (a striking tool that attaches to your keychain) and a cute pink can of pepper spray. They also encourage the women to take a self-defense class as well as carrying the products with them as frequently as possible. Personally, I own nearly all of the products, ranging from the alarm attached to my car keys and the pink stun gun I carry in my purse.
This company allows women to take back their femininity- it promotes that a woman doesn’t need a man to protect her, nor does she have to be a masculine woman to do so. Damsels in Defense teaches us that we can kick ass, and wear heels while we’re doing it.