View From Venus: What Women Think Of Condoms

By Sarah Stefanson
[View From Venus]
Women will only have sex without a condom in two circumstances.  Sarah Stefanson shares a woman’s thoughts on this form of birth control.
Before the invention of the condom, sex was a rather risky venture for a woman.  She could end up with an unwanted pregnancy or a scary sexually transmitted infection.  Since the advent of condoms, however, women have felt freer to enjoy and explore their sexuality without as much risk.  These days we have several options when it comes to birth control, but no matter what other prophylactic we’re using, we’re told to always use a condom.

So this week Matthew and I are devoting some time and text to the subject of the condom and the views men and women have of it.  Over in Message From Mars Matthew will be writing about what men think and here in View From Venus we’ll be going over how women feel.

We Bring Our Own

Every smart, modern woman should carry condoms in her purse at all times.  If you come across a girl who always has protection on her person, don’t assume she’s prone to one night stands or that she has multiple partners.  It is simply a good idea to always be prepared and we can’t depend on guys to provide the protection when we’re the ones who could face the most serious consequences of unprotected sex.  The kind of girl that will spontaneously have sex with a virtual stranger without a condom is not the kind of girl you should be pursuing, but the kind of girl who has a condom on hand just in case she wants to have unplanned but safe sex, is the kind you should covet.

Wallet Worries

Another reason women bring their own condoms is that men often can’t be trusted with proper care and storage of their protection.  No, we will not use that rubber you’ve had in your wallet since high school.  First, it’s probably expired and a condom is one product you should definitely use well in advance of its best before date.  Even if it isn’t past its prime in age, if it’s been riding around in your back pocket for any length of time there’s a good chance that it has been damaged.  The package or the condom itself may have tears or cracks, which makes for a very poor performance from your prophylactic.  If you’re going to carry it around with you, make sure your protection is protected from bending and squishing.  You could try using one of the many condom carrying cases on the market, which are small and discrete.  At the very least, you should make sure to change your wallet condom consistently and often so that you always have effective contraception at hand.
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