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condoms, fc2 female condom, female condom, gender inequality, hiv prevention, natural rubber latex, negotiating condom use, path, plusnews, synthetic latexDemystifying the female condom
Kim Johnson
12 August 2011
PlusNews has featured an article breaking the silence around the Bigfoot of contraception and protection, the female condom. The article offers some insight into how the device could be one of the best things you’ve never heard of but also considers its downfalls.
The female condom has almost attained a status not dissimilar to Bigfoot’s. It is almost mythical in that many people have heard of its existence but do not know what the little device looks like, let alone how it works.
This is probably due to the fact that unlike the ‘male’ condom, which has been the most popular mode of protection for hundreds of years, the female condom only became widely available in the early 1990s.
But PlusNews reports that change is on the horizon with sales of female condoms in mainly developing countries (such as Zimbabwe) more than doubling over two to three years.
This phenomenon can in part be traced to aggressive and creative campaigns promoting the female condom.
Many developing world countries which experience a lot of gender inequality promote the female condom because of the device’s potential to empower women to take control (albeit limited) of their sexual and reproductive health.
If it were to become widely used the female condom has the potential to shift some of the responsibility for condom use away from men. Therefore women who struggle to negotiate condom use with their male partner/s could now have more of a choice in the matter.
Despite its increasing use the article acknowledges that this contraceptive device is far from being seen in bathrooms, nightstands and purses all around town.
The major benefits of the female condom are mainly eclipsed by the fact that it is expensive to manufacture, sometimes difficult to use and hard to get hold of in comparison to its male counterpart.
Female condom made by Cupid™
The expense involved in making female condoms weighs heavily against them. However recent developments which have swapped polyurethane for cheaper nitrile and even natural latex have brought the female condom closer to general use.
Women have also reported that the female condom can be hard to come to grips with in terms of its insertion and its comfort level.
Women have complained that the condom is not stable enough and might move around during sex. It may also take longer to insert and be more difficult to insert when compared to the male condom.
Complaints about its ‘noisiness’ during sex have also been voiced.
The PlusNews article is generally informative and descriptive but one (small but crucial) ‘record’ needs to be set straight.
In pointing out the benefits of the female condom the article says that, “but unlike the male condom, can be used with oil- and water-based lubricants without the risk of breakage.”
This depends on the type of female condom used. There are various types of female condom which, while all of the same basic design, are made out of different materials which may or not be compatible with oil-based lubricants.
The female condom developed by PATH
Today’s female condoms are usually made out of a type of synthetic latex called nitrile rubber, which can be used with either water or oil-based lubricants. The FC2® is an example of a female condom made out of nitrile.
In contrast the Cupid™ and the VA w.o.w.® female condoms are made out of natural rubber latex. This is the same substance that male condoms are made out of. Natural rubber latex is destroyed by oil-based lubricants, which means that there is a high chance that the condom will break.
To read the article click here.
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