Nothing cheered me up more this week than finding out that I might be going on an all-expense paid trip to New York for a weekend, especially when I found out it would be to attend a conference held by noted condom manufacturer Trojan, simply for writing this column. As much as I'd like to spend 200 lines bragging about my good fortune, what this experience actually made me start thinking about was the condom itself and its place in our society. With all these fancy new methods of birth control, the condom as birth control has become obsolete. Despite the threat of STDs, if vaccines were created, the condom would still have a niche in society due to its simplicity and efficiency.
Long story short, it gets the job done. Unless you lack opposable thumbs, you have the ability to put a condom on. They're not like some other birth control methods, such as intrauterine devices, (which sound like some kind of torture apparatus) which require a doctor to install, or pills/patches/rings, which require a prescription. You can walk into virtually any gas station in America as well as the C3 in Newcomb and get a pack of rubbers. Convenience isn't to be overlooked.
Another useful factor of the condom is that you know when it's working. You never have to worry that you missed a day of taking a pill or whether your patch stayed stuck to you all week; guys know when they're wearing condoms. Sure, it's because they're having much less fun, but there's certainly no question about it. Also, if one breaks it's very noticeable; the only real way to mess up using one is if you wait too long after you've finished to withdraw, or if your roommates are extremely cruel practical jokers.
There are some drawbacks to the good ol' condom, however. While they are convenient and also relatively simple to use, mistakes can happen. They're certainly not the most effective form of birth control, and by nature they're one-time-use only. The fact that they weren't almost completely outdated by the invention of hormonal birth control is due only partly to the fact that condoms prevent STD transmission. Even if you're completely sterile you can still contract syphilis unless you actually use a barrier method of birth control, and sadly enough there are still no pills or patches that will prevent gonorrhea.
By and large the most significant reason for the prevalence of the condom in an increasingly hormonal-regulated world is that it allows spontaneity and confidence in safety from either party. Anyone can buy condoms, which also makes it extremely discrete, especially for people who for whatever reason aren't comfortable being open about their sex lives.
Not only are they convenient, cheap and disease-preventing, but condoms have withstood the test of time. Drawings of condom-like materials presumably made from animal skin date back to the Egyptians. I think it is safe to assume that if a device hasn't changed conceptually in thousands of years that not only is it an extremely good idea but almost perfect in form and design. Despite the fact that it limits the amount of sensation during sex, it can certainly be argued that it's a trade-off worth the benefits it instills, depending on the situation.
Despite the fact that the shape of a condom and the general principle on which it operates haven't changed in years, companies have finally realized that they need to make up for the lack of feeling, with more creativity than calling something, "Her pleasure". Aside from the "pleasure" line of condoms, there are now all sorts of ridiculous possibilities: from flavors to colors to glow-in-the-dark latex to even more crazy things. The combinations are limitless and allow for plenty of experimentation.
Beau Griffith is a Health & Sexuality columnist. He can be reached at griffith@cavalierdaily.com
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