![]() “What we see in sex education and health education more generally is as certain topics rise in importance, there’s less space and time to talk about other things that used to be discussed because nobody's expanding the amount of time,” she said.Ī 2021 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health of 2,291 college students found that people were more comfortable talking with partners about consent than condom use or STI prevention. ![]() “Even if it is, it's not always medically accurate, and so what ends up happening is that when they're teaching about condoms, often they’re not able to open them in the classroom, so it's harder to talk about how to use them.”Ĭondom use has fallen out of the conversation a bit as focus has shifted to consent and sexual assault prevention, social demographer Laura Lindberg said. “Sex education isn’t mandatory across the United States,” said Éva Goicochea, founder of sexual wellness company Maude. “You don’t have a lot of time to dive into it, so it can be challenging even as an educator to really go in depth about, How do you choose one that fits? How do you choose one that feels good for you?”Īnd the sliver of information that her students received about condom use is more than some people get, including those at schools where sex ed isn’t covered at all. “You get one lesson to talk about contraceptives, and condoms are only a sliver of all the different contraceptives available,” she said. ![]() Townes, who is a former sex educator, explained how most people aren’t learning everything they need to know about choosing and using the right condom. A stigma against buying the correct size condom may be particularly pervasive in teenage boys who simply don’t know any better. People probably aren’t talking enough about condomsĪll too often sex education in general is a fail in the US, and that can certainly apply to knowledge about condoms, said Ashley Townes, a postdoctoral research associate at the CDC who focuses on sexual health. Though it may be tempting for people with penises to grab a box of Magnums more as a status symbol than for actual need, experts strongly advise against using condoms that are too big. Instead, grab an empty toilet paper roll and measure for girth (if it fits nicely in there, you’re likely a standard fit too tight and you should go larger, too much space and you should go smaller). And no, condom size is not actually related to length, so put away your ruler or measuring tape. On the other hand, if it’s too large, there could be spillage or it may simply fall off.Īccording to Melissa White, founder and CEO of fit-focused condom purveyor Lucky Bloke, only about 50% of people with penises should be wearing a medium or standard-fit condom, which is about 90% of what you’ll see on the shelves in conventional retail stores.Īnother 30% to 35% require a snugger, more secure fit, and the remaining 10% to 15% may need a larger size or Magnum condom. Yes, fit matters! (When was a one-size-fits-all approach ever a good idea for anything?) If a condom is too small, it’s more likely to break. One of the reasons people may not be that into condoms is they are using the wrong type or size. CDC data suggest that STI rates hit an all-time high in 2019 for the sixth consecutive year in a row. I think most people would agree that the trend isn’t a positive one. ![]() Despite being around since the dawn of time (well, modern condoms were invented in the 1800s) and being a pretty reliable and safe way to prevent pregnancy and STIs, their use has been on the decline since roughly 2015. Oh, and FYI - prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.Ĭondoms get a bad rap. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. ![]()
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