Posted on
April 26, 2013 by
Mary
GYT is just around the corner so we thought we’d get you thinking by testing your knowledge of sex ed and STIs. Follow this link, take the quiz, and post your score in our comments section. It’s only 8 questions long so it won’t take long. I got a perfect score, but then again, I’m a sex educator. Have a safe and fun weekend!
Posted on
March 29, 2013 by
Mary
That is all. Enjoy your weekend!
Posted on
February 11, 2013 by
Mary
National Condom Week begins on Valentine’s Day. To get you primed, I’ve pulled together these condom ads from around the world. (Some of them might take you a minute.) Enjoy!
Yowzers! Scotland…
Warm up in Mexico…
Country unknown, but the message is universal, right?
When in doubt, wrap your mini. Canada…
Glow-in-the-dark like they do in Brazil…
The little buggers in Bangkok are confused…
Barely there. Austria…
Screaming kids? No thanks. Australia…
Prettiest condom ad goes to Malaysia!
Strap it up! Use a condom this Valentine’s Day so you’re not spending St. Patrick’s Day wondering what that fire in your pants is all about.
P.S. I couldn’t find a single cool ad for female condoms. Do you know of one?
P.S.S. Condoms are always free at Planned Parenthood!
Posted on
January 31, 2013 by
Mary
Today, we’re re-rerunning an oldie but a goodie, all about the reasons why you should not flush your condom. Seriously – don’t do it!
As a Sex Educator, I sometimes find myself on the phone with a complete stranger saying something like, “eh, I have kind of an unusual question…” A few days ago I uttered those words when I called my local Water Reclamation Manager. I asked him if he would take me on the journey of a flushed condom.
When I give a condom demonstration in the community, inevitably I have someone say, “why would I throw my used condom in the garbage when I can flush it down the toilet?” Here’s why:
When you flush a condom, there’s a chance that you could clog your toilet. It might come back up immediately or when you least expect it, like when your boyfriend’s mom is over for dinner. (It could also damage your septic system, if you don’t have city sewer.) If you are lucky enough for the condom to clear your toilet, it is going to start traveling towards a water reclamation facility (WRF). My source tells me that they rely on gravity and a downhill flow of the pipes to get the waste at least part of the way there. Because many of the pipes stretch for miles, a pump is usually needed to get the waste all the way to the WRF. This is potential problem area #2 (no pun intended). Non-organic waste (condoms, diapers, feminine hygiene products, cigarette butts, cotton swabs, reinforced paper towels, etc.) often gets trapped in these pumps and someone has to go REMOVE IT BY HAND. Ewww. If the condom does make it through the pump, there’s another filtering process at the WRF, but my source says that sometimes, stuff gets through that process too. He says that occasionally, you can find condoms and tampon applicators on the fields where reclaimed water is used to irrigate! Double ewww. I mean, who wants their delicious Florida strawberry growing inches away from a used condom?!
Here’s what you should do instead: wrap your used condom in toilet paper or a tissue and put it in the garbage. Latex is biodegradable, but not in water. The Water Reclamation Manager says that if you put it in the garbage, it will go to a landfill and/or be incinerated. When they remove non-organic waste from the pumps or at the WRF, it also ends up at the landfill and/or is incinerated. Here’s what should go down a toilet: #1, #2, and #3 (vomit). We really don’t need taxpayer money replacing pumps all over town because people refuse to dispose of condoms properly.
An aside: When the Manager told me that the non-organic waste has to be removed by hand from the pumps, I told him that they aren’t paid enough for what they do. “Actually,” he said, “this is a great career and we make a decent living…tell that to your readers.”
Posted on
December 10, 2012 by
E.G. Hanna
It’s that time again! The Feronia Gift Guide is back to help you with stressful holiday shopping. You can still peek at last year’s gift guide, but I’ve wrangled up a few more things you and your friends will love.
Ms. magazine put out a really good list of excellent non-fiction feminist books, from Bell Hooks to Ariel Chevy, that span issues of gender, race, class, and their intersectionality. You can’t go wrong with any of them really but especially check out Audre Lord, Susan Faludi, and bell hooks.
For some more, um, recreational reading you can check out Goodvibe’s list of sexy books. Show your 50 Shades of Grey-loving friends another take on erotica.
Support some rad lady artists and make your artsy friends happy. Gingko Press just put out a book of Tiffany Bozic prints.
Charmaine Olivia is another amazing artist. Her prints sell out fast but these sticker sets are beautiful and affordable.
The mommy-minded might appreciate these Nikki McClure Mama Baby prints. They’re both gorgeous and environmentally friendly; the paper is recycled and was created using wind and alternative power.
One condoms make excellent stocking stuffers. The designs on the packaging are so cool you (almost) won’t even want to use them (but you still should).
If you’re feeling feisty check out
If you want to give a meaningful gift that helps others, hook up yourself or a friend with Women for Women, an organization that allows you to help finance business training and support for women survivors of war and conflict.
Have you guys stumbled upon something awesome this year you think we should know about? Post it in the comment section.
Posted on
December 5, 2012 by
Guest Post
We’re happy to welcome in Dave from theohface.com, a blog that discusses sex, gender and sexuality issues from a sex positive perspective. His mission is to help create safe spaces for dialogue about these issues and to diminish the stigma surrounding them. Look out for more posts from him in 2013; he’ll be guest posting monthly about sexual health from a male perspective.
Today, he’s asking why people don’t use the female condom:
The female condom (FC) is a strange and altogether unsexy looking thing. It’s big and shapeless and even a bit intimidating. But to be fair, the male condom isn’t particularly sexy looking either. So why is it that so few people use the female condom?
There are some really great reasons for women to consider using the female condom. They are the only HIV/STI prevention device that puts the power of protection squarely in the hands of women. The traditional condom is often the male partner’s responsibility to supply and apply before sex. Not all men have adequate condom education and this can lead to improper application and higher risk of STI transmission and pregnancy.
One of the most common complaints about the FC is the unsightly ring that hangs out around the vulva. This ring, however, is an effective form of HPV and Herpes prevention. HPV and Herpes are both spread through skin-skin contact and traditional condoms do nothing to prevent this. It has also been reported that, during intercourse, this ring can be a source of pleasure as it creates friction against the clitoris.
The other main barrier keeping people from using the female condom is that they just don’t know how to use it. Women who are considering using the FC are encouraged to go to their local clinic or drug store and pick up a few to take home and become familiar with. Learning how to insert it and remove it from one’s own body and becoming comfortable with the female condom can be a big step for women wanting to take control of their sexual health.
Female condoms empower women to be in complete control of their own STI prevention. Like all new things, it may take some time to get used to. Women wanting to use the FC may have to educate their partners and perhaps even face some resistance about using them, but few things are quite as sexy as an STI test that comes back negative. Educate yourself about the Female Condom, go out and grab a couple, talk to your friends or partners about them. Fear of the unknown shouldn’t prevent you from being as safe as possible while enjoying your sex life.
Posted on
October 25, 2012 by
Mary
When you’re standing in the condom aisle, seconds seem like hours. Your eyes dart nervously across the colorful packaging, waiting for some clear sign that you should grab one particular box and make a mad dash for the checkout line. Oh yeah, then there’s that pack of gum to grab.
Condom shopping doesn’t have to be difficult or awkward. If you use my three-point condom shopping system, you’ll be outta’ there and gettin’ busy before you know it.
Step #1 – Material
Condoms are made from three different materials – latex, polyurethane and lambskin.
So, decide which material is right for you and, when you’re shopping, let your eyes wander to the bottom right side of the boxes – that’s where the material type is usually printed. I recommend latex or polyurethane.
Step #2 – Expiration Date
Condoms are manufactured about 5 years before they expire so if your condoms expire next month, they’re already 5 years old. Age degrades the material, making condoms more likely to break. The expiration date is usually printed on the back or side flap of the box and on each individual condom, as seen below:
Step #3 – “The Extras”
By “extras” I mean lubricant, spermicide, size, texture, flavoring, etc. Here’s the skinny on the “extras”:
But what about the brand name!!!??? I get this question a lot. Just pick a trusted brand. You might need to try various types of condoms before you find one that you really like.
If going to the store to purchase condoms or going to the health department or Planned Parenthood to get free ones is just too intimidating for you, do your shopping online.
Posted on
September 12, 2012 by
Fosgood
During my recent trip to Zimbabwe, our tour leader surprised us near the end of our trip by announcing that he was an HIV peer educator and that he was going to give a talk on HIV in his country. I had mentioned early on in the tour that I worked as an educator for Planned Parenthood and that part of my job was to teach about HIV. Like everyone else, I asked questions about birth control, condoms, STIs, and abortion, and talking about sexual matters appeared to be a very natural subject for him.
Zimbabwe has been at the epicenter of the HIV epidemic since the beginning. Nearly everybody in the country has been either “infected or affected,” a phrase often used here, as well. Soon after the first positive case appeared in 1985, the government went into panic mode. The virus was quickly spreading particularly in commercial sex workers, truck drivers and gold miners. Because so many people in Africa work far from home, having a second partner or frequenting sex workers is very common. This was, and still is, the primary way married women become infected and, in turn, spread it to their children during pregnancy and delivery. Millions of people in Zimbabwe have died from HIV infection.
Sam spoke of several factors contributing to the steady rate of infection, despite massive efforts to educate, distribute condoms and test, especially pregnant women:
Imagine my surprise when Sam not only spoke about HIV, but also gave a condom demonstration using almost the exact same language that I use. His statistics on condom efficacy were similar (about 92% when used consistently and correctly). Carry your own condom. Protect them from the sun by keeping them in a front pocket. Don’t open with your teeth. Never flush. The only difference in information in my presentation and his was discussion of using a water-based lubricant – he said they don’t have them there.
Just like parents the world over, even those of us who are comfortable talking to strangers about all things sexual, when Sam’s six-year-old found a condom on the ground, Sam was a bit flustered and unprepared to explain the finer points of condom use … but he seized the teachable moment and explained the basics.
Posted on
September 7, 2012 by
Mary
Happy Friday! Today we take you back to a time when superheroes promoted safer sex. Never heard of Condoman? Jeesh, betcha don’t know the Condom Fairy either! Check out this sex ed poster circa 1991.
Posted on
August 28, 2012 by
Fosgood
During my first day in Johannesburg, South Africa, I noticed an article in The Times, titled,“Police Destroying Condoms.” The article was based on a recent report from the Open Society Foundation. The report interviewed sex workers from Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Russia and the US. Every country had issues with sex workers being harassed by police because they were carrying condoms.
More than 40% of sex workers in these countries said the police had taken their condoms from them. In Russia, this figure rose to 80% in some areas. In the U.S., 52% of people interviewed who identified as sex workers said they sometimes chose not to carry condoms because of stop-and-search harassment. In all six countries, the research found that police physically and sexually abuse sex workers who were found carrying condoms or used the fact that they possessed a condom as proof that they were sex workers and subject to arrest.
Because many sex workers depend on sex with strangers to feed themselves and their children, pay the rent or just for basic survival, the “no condom, no sex” rule just doesn’t apply. So they end up having unprotected sex, putting themselves and their partners at greater risk.
This is not only a health issue, but a human rights issue. Learn more about issues dealing with the rights of sex workers and HIV here.