This year, as part of a new program ASHA (AIDS and Sexual Health Awareness) is debuting called ASHA for College, students will be visiting dorms to speak about sexual health at Wesleyan. And, get excited, a wooden dildo will be brought out to demonstrate effective condom use. In the same spirit, here’s everything you should know about those lovely latex love gloves from the brown paper bags at the end of your hall.
First, let’s dispense with a few misconceptions. According to a brand new, very extensive survey by researchers at Indiana University, adults rate their sexual experiences with condoms just as positively as those without. To my mind, this may have something to do with the fact that, when a condom is on, there is less fear of Chlamydia and babies, which are not exactly known for their aphrodisiacal qualities.
Also, and this is a surprising fact, college-age people (18-24 years) are actually less likely to use condoms than those of high school age. Though there are probably a multitude of explanations for this, few seem acceptable when, according to the Center For Disease Control, people aged 15 to 24 account for nearly half of all new STI cases, even though they make up only 25 percent of the sexually experienced population.
With that in mind, let’s get on to using condoms, the only method of protection that protects against both STIs and pregnancy. Though female condoms are considered to be almost equally effective, male condoms are much more widely available and so will be our focus. As long as you understand the basic steps, condom use is very, very easy—much easier than changing diapers or picking up your herpes med prescription, and much more fun.
1. Check out the condom. Where did it come from? If ze’s been carrying it around in hir wallet or glove compartment, friction and heat have probably degraded the latex, so get a new one. Also, look at the expiration date. If you got your rubber in middle school, a la Kenickie in Grease, it’s time to head to Walgreens. Finally, squeeze the package to check for air. If it doesn’t have air in it or has a wrinkly withered look, toss it!
2. Open the package—carefully. Now is not the time to pull an Edward Cullen. Ripping the package with your teeth could rip the condom inside. Instead, push the condom to one side, gently tear the package, and slide the condom out.
3. Prepare the condom. If the condom is un-lubricated, you might want to put a drop of lube in the reservoir tip to make sex more pleasurable for the guy—but remember, not all “lube” is condom friendly. Anything with oil in it (including your peach-scented body lotion) will degrade the latex and make the condom more likely to break. Look for water-based lubes like KY Jelly or Astroglyde in any drugstore, and keep in mind that less friction means less chance of breaking the condom. Also, and this is important, look at the condom—it should look like a sombrero with a distinct rim around the edges. Don’t fiesta without your hat on the right way.
4. Put it on. Place the condom on the head of the penis and pinch the tip of the condom to get the air out. If you leave an air bubble at the tip the semen will have no place to go and will instead go…everywhere else. With the tip pinched, use your other hand to roll the condom all the way down the shaft of the penis. If it doesn’t roll easily, you don’t have the condom on the right way (no sombrero!) and you need to get a new one. DO NOT just turn the condom over and start again. The surface of the condom that will now be in contact with the partner could be contaminated with pre-cum, which can contain STIs and sperm.
5. Get busy.
6. Pull out (the safe way): Don’t just hang out in there—pull out! After ejaculation, the penis will get smaller and the condom won’t fit properly, allowing everything inside the condom to leak out, which kind of defeats the purpose of using the condom in the first place, no? When you pull out, hold the base of the penis to prevent the condom from falling off inside your partner. Then, take the condom off away from your partner, wrap it in a tissue, and throw it away—that’s just courteous. Sticky condoms plastered to the bottoms of trashcans are possibly the most disgusting thing known to (wo)man.
One more tip:
Use only one condom. Being “extra safe” with two or more condoms will cause them to break and/or pull each other off from friction—which is like wearing no condoms.
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