Belinda Beresford It’s all in the packaging! That, at least, is the hope of the Department of Health, which has decided that colour counts in the battle against Aids. In an attempt to make condoms more popular among the majority population, government-sponsored Condom Cans could soon be stocked with brown condoms as well as the white ones. Nono Simelela of the Aids directorate in the Department of Health says research has found some black men find white condoms off-putting. For reasons of cost the Department of Health’s foray into more exotic intimate action wear is likely to be limited to extending the colour range for the time being. But condom manufacturers worldwide are doing their best to making safe sex fun.
Condoms have been around since the pharaohs, made from fish bladders and animal gut before the advent of latex and polyurethane. No one knows where the name condom comes from, but one likely suggestion is that it derives from the Latin word “condus” or receptacle. People who pull a condom over their head as a party trick, fill them with water to use as water bombs, or blow them up as impromptu balloons, will tell you that there is no such thing as a small condom. True, they stretch. The problem for some men is that if the fit is tight around more sensitive areas, it dulls the nerves and reduces pleasure. And gaining pleasure is, after all, the reason why men are wearing them.
Men come in different shapes and sizes. Consider the issue of girth: research suggests that about 42% of men have a penis that is widest at the head; in 27% of cases it is widest on the shaft, and in 12% at the base. Which is why condoms come with different shapes as well as widths and lengths to accommodate the cornucopia of man. If your local pharmacy doesn’t have an enticing enough range, take a trip to the many retailers on the Internet such as Condomania (www.condomania.com) where “Clever Dick” will help you chose your ideal wrapper from a wide range of choices. Some men find it’s more enjoyable having a condom that is looser around the head of the penis where there are many nerve endings. Condom manufacturers have risen to the challenge, creating ergonomically designed condoms with built-in “wriggle room” such as the Pleasure Plus and the inSpiral. It’s not just size that matters; warmth plays a role. The problem is the thicker the condom the less easily men feel the warmth of their partner’s vagina or anus. Durex has reported that the difference in temperature between the man’s penis and the vagina can be up to 4C. This is one of the advantages of the polyurethane condom – very thin and a good heat conductor – widely regarded as the Z3 of condoms. For the real extrovert, you can buy a musical condom. But the most intriguing condom the Mail & Guardian has encountered was a glow-in-the-dark number. Not that unusual: sex educators have said men like them “so they can see where they are going” – or, one presumes, coming. But the wrapper of this one contained a lengthy disclaimer that it was not a preventative against pregnancy, HIV or sexually transmitted diseases, and warned that it should not be worn during any form of penetration. Which raises the image of a glowing love club being waved enticingly in a darkened bedroom as part of a human mating dance.