The Cornell Daily Sun reported that only 54 percent of students regularly use condoms during vaginal intercourse and only 29 percent use condoms during anal intercourse. Only 4 percent use them during oral sex.
It seems as if those figures should be a lot higher, especially since the American Sexual Health Association reports that one in two sexually active people will contract a sexually transmitted disease by age 25. And Planned Parenthood says that 30 percent of American women become pregnant before the age of 20.
So why aren’t students using condoms?
Many claim that it takes away from the erogenous feeling. But these numbers are scary. Sex is fun, but STDs are serious and shouldn’t be risked just for the sake of feeling good.
Besides, claims such as “wearing condoms takes away from the feeling” or “it’s not as good with a condom” can be shut down with just a little bit of information.
Take full advantage of all the fun stuff out there. Everyone should know that the easiest and cheapest way to get condoms is walking into UE’s health center and grabbing a handful of free ones in the basket by the front door. They’re colorful and you can have as many as you want. These will help prevent STDs and pregnancy, but they’re nothing fancy and as basic as it gets. If you’re willing to spend a little bit of money, there are tons of other options for safe, fun sex.
Condoms come in different varieties. There’s regular, ultra thin and all kinds of other options that can be used. There are the basic colored condoms that just add a little flare to the experience. These can come in almost every color. You can even find multi-color condoms that have colors for holidays such as Christmas or Valentine’s Day for a little bit of extra flirtation.
Glow in the dark condoms are another option — just something a little bit extra. A surprise in the dark, so to speak. For people looking for a tasty treat, there are flavored condoms. Some of these are even colored to match the flavor, such as red for strawberry or yellow for banana. These can be used to both add another dimension to sex and taste better than latex. LifeStyles brand offers a “Kiss of Mint” option. It’s a minty flavor that’s supposed to leave users feeling refreshed.
But Dawn Stacy, a mental health counselorand Planned Parenthood pregnancy options
counselor, warns that if these are being used for vaginal sex, make sure they’re sugar free or they can throw off the pH
in the vagina and cause yeast infections. Nobody wants that.
There are even edible condoms.Yep, that’s right.These are rolled on, and then can be eaten off. But these are for novelty use only — they do not provide any type of protection against pregnancy or STDs. Studded or textured condoms can be used for extra stimulation. Many of these condoms come in boxes that actually say “Ribbed for her pleasure” but they can also be ribbed on the inside for male pleasure. Some have ribs at the top and bottom, adding stimulation to just the right places for female pleasure. Others have hundreds of raised studs, some small little dots and others jutting out farther. These studs can be inside or outside of the condom.
Along with these are pleasure shaped condoms that tend to be looser with enlarged, pouch-like tips. The wider tops create more friction because the extra latex stimulates the nerve endings at the tip of the penis.
Stacy notes that many of the condoms that are made to enhance male pleasure or mutual pleasure are wider and have tips that are more bulb-like or a more contoured shape to increase male comfort and allow nerve endings to remain at their most sensitive state to add more male pleasure.
People looking for a lot of extras might want to try a French tickler. It looks like a squishy puffer ball with spikes coming out of the top of the condom and is used to “tickle” the inner walls of the vagina. Before insertion, it’s important to note that these are made of soft rubber because they can look pretty intimidating. These also are not protective against pregnancy or diseases and should be paired with another form of birth control.
Warming condoms are another option. They tend to be made of thinner latex to help increase sensation.
“This type of condom is designed to enhance sensual pleasure through the release of gentle, warm sensations for both partners,” Stacy said. “They usually contain a warming lubricant that is activated by natural body moisture, so it heats up during sexual intercourse.”
In that same vein, there are tingling pleasure condoms. They are designed to create a tingling sensation for both partners. The most common forms contain a spearmint tingling lubricant with a fresh, minty scent.
With all these options available, nobody should be making excuses for their lack of condom usage. Let condoms enhance your sex life instead of stilting it. And don’t forget that any time your are using condoms double check to make sure that they are FDA approved to prevent pregnancy and STDs.