Thursday, October 24, 2013

10 Amazing and Shocking Facts About Condoms You Didn't Know

For literally thousands of years we have tried myriad ways to prevent pregnancy. From trying to predict (in-)fertile periods via coitus interruptus, anal sex and herbal remedies to - of course - rubbers, Johnnies, French Letters or however you call your condoms. By and large condoms do a good job at preventing STDs and pregnancies when used correctly. But embarrassment, awkwardness and ignorance often rule our relationship with our lubricated rubbery friends.


In our research on STDs and condoms we came across a several fun and a few shocking facts about condoms. Here’s BeforeWeDo’s Top 10.


1) The first rubber condom was introduced in 1855. Young Rubber Company from the United States was the first to produce latex condoms. Their “Trojan” brand has been around for 90 years (but was subsequently bought by Church & Dwight). Little known however is that before World War 1 most condoms were actually produced by Germany and exported around the world.


Condom advertising displayed at the Dittrick Museum
2) A 15,000 Year History. Wow!
Before that, chemically treated linen cloth, animal skins and intestines and tortoise shells were used for contraception. The shells for example covered the penile gland only. Historians speculate loincloths worn by wealthier individuals also served as contraception when the urges hit. Reliability must have been an issue: Casanova used to blow up his condoms before donning them to check for holes! Check out the below 10,000 to 13,000  B.C. cave painting from the French Grottes des Combarelles apparently showing a man using a condom-like covering.



3) The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has offered a grant 100,000 US$ to sponsor the development of the Next Generation Condom
The goal is to find a pleasure-enhancing condom! We applaud the Gates Foundation’s effort to improve today’s condoms and further de-stigmatize condoms! A main contender is the Origami Condom, designed and produced in California. The condom folds unfolds in line with your natural movement. It fits more loosely than traditional latex condoms sacrificing none of the safety and the additional friction due to the folding movement creates additional sensation. Alas, it won’t be available on the market before 2015 due to the FDA’s approval process!

Origami’s folding male condom - due in 2015



4) 80% - that’s the average effectiveness of condoms in preventing STDs and pregnancy. Sounds low? 
Well, effectiveness in ideal use is roughly 97%. Most of us - me admittedly included - make less than ideal use of it. In 18% of cases we commit errors such as not grabbing the condoms base when pulling out, not checking expiry dates or touching the outside with our penis before putting it on…

For a more detailed summary see the Sex Out Loud blog or this study linking common mistakes with the amount of prostate-specific antigen found in vaginal fluids.


5) Magnum Condoms are a marketing marvel or has there been a growth spurt in US penis size?
Nobody seems to want to be seen buying a “small: condom (the industry term is ‘snug fit’). Between 2000 and 2010 Magnum sales grew 14% taking up 18.8% of the market. Magnum condoms produced by US market leader Trojan were propelled to fame by the likes of Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma and Ludacris. The Magnum condoms measure 8.07 inches in length and 2.13 in diameter. See below for the average American size. Some men report that the looser fitting condoms are more comfortable. Well, almost time for the weekend - so let’s pick up some ego-boosting Magnums!

Magnum ad featuring Ludacris
Magnum ad featuring Ludacris



Penile size worldmap


6) The largest condom manufacturer sits in… Malaysia. 
In a predominantly muslim country Karex Industry reportedly produces around 3bn condoms and holds around 25% of global market share by quantity. The US government is its largest customer via USAID. However, Reckitt Benickser’s Durex leads the market in terms of value with a market share of 30%.


7) Men lie about their penis sizes. 
Americans of all color overstate their penis length. While African Americans overstate by 1 inch (7.9 to 6.9 inches), white Americans overstate by 1.7 inches claiming 6.8 inches but measuring 5.1 inches on average. In a European study the French report to need the largest condoms (6.09 inches) but come out slightly below European average (which is 5.7 inches). That said, studies in Europe vary a lot. alphadesigner as well as the corresponding Daily Mail article give further information.

Europe according to penile sizes
Europe according to penile sizes




8) Do condoms made out of animal bladder, stomach and other intestines sound gross to you? 
They’ve been used for centuries and they are still used today. Not vegetarian-friendly, they are an alternative for lovers with a latex allergy. They’re sometimes also referred to as lambskins, but the professional term is ‘natural membrane condoms’.
Animal membrane condom
Animal membrane condom

The Durex US website doesn’t list any non-latex condoms, but both Trojan and LifeStyles sell more advanced version of their historic cousin.


9) Outright scary: condom sabotage
In a study of single, heterosexual guys who’ve had at least one unprotected encounter in the last year the researchers studied how guys persuade women to no insist on condoms. Common techniques included risk-level assurance (I’m clean) and seduction (Getting her so excited she’ll forget). However, 9% admitted to having intentionally sabotaged and opened a condom when putting it on!


Dr. Lehmiller’s blog offers a great summary of the study & plenty of news surrounding human sexuality.


10) As scary: fake Chinese condoms. 
China Daily reported 2m fake condoms labelled as Durex, Trojan and Jissbon (sounds like James Bond in Chinese) were seized by police. Now, China isn’t known for small business. Ghana’s FDA rejected 110m condoms from China due to holes, dried lubricant and generally shoddy quality (What would Ghana want with Chinese condoms in the first place? Check out the penile size world map again!). On an entertaining note: these pictures of Michelle Obama and Ann Romney were posted more than 60,000 times on China’s microblogs.


Pure Fun: Durex Ballooninmals

This is one of the most entertaining condom advertising’s I came across. It's an ad you'll never see on TV:



Are You an Expert?

How expert a condom user are you? What do you think most people would say if asked whether their skill of using condoms was above-average?


How satisfied are you with the current condom offerings on the market? Have you used non-latex condoms, female condoms and are you looking forward to Origami’s innovations? 

Let us know!

Friday, September 27, 2013

25 years prison for HIV Non-Disclosure. Medieval or Appropriate?

Last week I got a first and powerful impression of the stigma and fear that still surrounds HIV/Aids. At the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, Stefan and me attended an event to promote three new documentaries that showed current issues of the disease. The issue of criminalization of HIV left such a deep impact with me that it prompted me to write my first ever blog article.


People living with HIV in many countries are still subject to not only discrimination but also criminal lawsuits. A shocking example was that of Nick Rhoades, a 34-year old former hotel manager from Iowa, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for not disclosing his positive HIV-status prior to a one-time safe sexual encounter in 2008. Although a condom was used, Nick’s viral load was at undetectable levels and there was actually no transmission of HIV, he was found guilty of ‘Criminal HIV Transmission’. The one-night stand was qualified as an aggravated sexual assault.

Nick and his partner had consensual sex, used protection and thanks to HIV-medication Nick’s viral load was undetectable. However, when Nick’s partner later learned about his HIV-positive status, he went to a hospital whose’ staff then pressed charges.  

The initial 25-year sentence was later suspended, but Nick still has to live with being marked a sex offender - a huge burden not allowing him to have an email account, use Facebook or spend time unsupervised with his nephews and nieces. Watch more in the short film below that was kindly made available for free by the Sero Project:


This is not an isolated case. Robert Suttle was similarly accused by a former lover of non-disclosure and had to register as a sex offender. Since then Robert has become a vocal and articulate advocate for the rights of people with HIV in the Sero Project. Neither in Robert’s nor in Nick’s case did transmission of the virus actually happen. In total more than 200 people have been convicted due to non-disclosure in the US.




HIV-Specific laws in 36 US states

Such cases are not restricted to the United States with many cases documented in Canada, Sweden and other countries. In this country, criminal law is often applied for cases of non-disclosure. More than 30 states have HIV-specific laws. Harsh sentences are often the result.

As Monique says in the Sero Project’s film: criminalization may actually deter people from getting tested. The American Journal of Public Health published a study showing no decrease in transmissions in state with mandatory disclosure. UNAIDS concurs and published a brief urging governments to de-criminalize HIV/Aids. Such laws can also create a false sense of security: if my partner had HIV he’d have to tell me.

A newly infected person will be highly unlikely to come forward with the names of people he had sexual contact with out of fear of further charges. Recently infected people cause a lot of new infections making early detection critical!

Additionally, the fact that one has disclosed to a partner is difficult and embarrassing to prove and document. Diary entries, video recordings or a joint doctor visit may all help. Testing Together is available for male gay couples in many states and offers free testing, also when one partner knows he’s positive but hasn’t told yet.Al
Laws were passed in many states in the 1990 to make the exposure of partners who are unaware of one’s status to HIV a crime. Two aspects are important here to consider:
  • Firstly, the risk of transmission in a setting
  • Secondly, the severity of an infection

Both these aspects have changed drastically in the last two decades.

What do you think the chance is you’ll catch HIV from unprotected anal sex?

As per Aidsmap the risk during unprotected sex (in contrast to the cases above where condoms were used) with an HIV-positive person per exposure is: (compare CDC data)

Receptive Vaginal sex (male-to-female) transmission risk: 0.08% Insertive Vaginal sex (female-to-male) transmission risk: 0.04% Receptive anal sex between men, partner HIV positive: 0.82% Insertive anal sex, between men, partner unknown status: 0.06%

The chance of infection rises dramatically if you’re in poor general health or have other STDs.

In the cases mentioned above, condoms were used which further decreases the chance of transmission. For heterosexual couples at least, studies have concluded that if the HIV+ partner has lowered their viral load to undetectable levels, the transmission risk is practically zero. I found these probabilities much lower than expected, which is still not a reason to not be careful.

On the severity: While contracting HIV/Aids will certainly change anybody’s life, it is not a death sentence anymore as retroviral medication can lower one’s viral load to undetectable levels and procrastinate the emergence of AIDS for many decades. An IAS study of 2013 even stated that individuals diagnosed with HIV today in the U.S. or Canada can expect to live an almost normal life span.

Consequently, Scott Burris at Temple University asks in Harvard’s Bill of Health blog whether non-disclosure should be a crime at all. Aaron Laxton blogs about his ‘HIV Journey’, gives his personal opinion on criminalization and whether to disclose one’s HIV status.



Dropping the H-Bomb


Should you always disclose? Personally I still think yes, which is easy to say if you’re not the one to say the words... Marianne Mollman, with Amnesty International, published a balanced article in the Huffington Post highlighting the complexities of the topic.

Many people with HIV will indeed disclose their status every time. Not because of laws, but because they’re convinced it’s the right thing to do. But ‘Dropping the H-Bomb’ as Jessica in Positive Women called it is a very hard thing to do! And because plenty of HIV-positive people have encountered stigma, discrimination and even physical abuse, disclosing is not as straightforward as it sounds.

Making people comfortable disclosing their status is our best bet in fighting HIV/AIDS. The best way to do this is with support and understanding - not criminal law. This puts the responsibility both on people with and without HIV.

So in conclusion, I have two questions for you:
  • If you were HIV-positive and wanted to tell a potential partner, how would you say it?
  • On the other hand, if you heard a potential partner say that he/she got HIV - what would you say and do?

Take a while to think and be honest to yourself - these are tough questions to answer

The Maker of this Blog: