The Independent Collegian

Issue date: 2/14/05 Section: Arts & Life

Media Credit: Kristin Reichardt Protecting oneself from sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy can be as easy as picking up a pack of condoms.

Now is the time to pull those rubbers out of a back pocket and wave them with pride.

This week is National Condom Week, which promotes awareness and celebrates the innovative efforts of the condom industry - and also showcases changing technology.

The tradition began about 15 years ago by students at Berkeley and was continued by graduates at the Condom Research Center in California.

Though the week no longer has a central coordinator, it is recognized by various organizations including Planned Parenthood and Condomania, an online organization that hosts a contest to give away thousands of free condoms each year.

National Condom Week aims to normalize condoms and strip away some of the negative stigma, according to Adam Glickman, founder and CEO of Condomania.

"In the late '80s, they were really a dirty word," Glickman said. He began selling condoms door-to-door as a sociology student in 1986.

Now, "they're badges of social consciousness and political correctness," he said, although he said there's still a long way to go in making wearing a condom as routine as brushing one's teeth.

"Young people use [condoms] at first, but they gradually stop when they get comfortable with each other," said Cathy Juhasz, director of education at Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio.

Double standards may keep people, especially women, from taking charge of their own sexual health, she said.

"Many girls feel guilty carrying a condom 'just in case,'" Juhasz said. "But carrying a condom doesn't mean you're going to have sex - it just means you're prepared."

Men sometimes consider condoms uncomfortable and unnecessary if their partner is on birth control.

Among monogamous couples, one partner may suspect the other does not trust the relationship if he or she insists on wearing a condom.

"If you really care for someone and want to protect them you'll use one every time, all the time," Juhasz said.

Aside from misuse, the prime reason for condom failure is wearing the wrong size, Glickman said.

Ill-fitted condoms are more likely to break or slip off and can increase the risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections.

"Guys carry a lot of anxiety about condoms," Glickman said.

He added that men with larger- or smaller-than-average-sized penises may avoid using condoms altogether because of fear or embarrassment.

At Condomania, true personalization of condoms has arrived in the form of the first custom-fit line, available in 55 different sizes.

TheyFit Condoms are designed for any man from three to 10 inches long, according to Glickman.

TheyFit Condoms are $1 each and can be ordered from www.condomania.com.

The Web site allows buyers to enter specific measurements of length and width, making finding the appropriate size easy.

The response to custom-fit condoms has been overwhelming since their arrival on the market last year, according to Glickman.

"We've sold hundreds of thousands to men and women in over 30 countries and we haven't even begun to advertise yet," he said.

However, amid the excitement of condom innovation comes the grim reminder that HIV and sexually transmitted diseases - which are preventable by condom use - are still on the rise.

Lucas County has the fifth highest rate of persons known to be living with HIV/AIDS of any major metropolitan county in Ohio, according to statistics provided by AIDS program coordinator Amy Lagesse at the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, 635 N. Erie St.

Of the 707 individual reported in the county, 393 are living with HIV and 314 with AIDS.

Even more alarming are the Ohio Health Department's estimates that as many as one in every three people who are HIV positive do not know they are infected.

Lagesse encourages everyone who has been sexually active to take advantage of free HIV testing offered at the health department and other locations.

After being tested, students can celebrate National Condom Week and protect themselves in the future by grabbing a few free condoms on the way out.

HIV Test Sites
(These locations also have condoms available for free)

• Toledo-Lucas County Health Department
  635 N. Erie St. (at Cherry Street)
  Weekdays, 1 to 4 p.m.
  419-213-4150



• Medical College of Ohio
  Rupert Health Center
  3120 Glendale Ave., Suite 1326
  Door #5
  Mondays, 6 to 8 p.m.
  419-383-3741



• Planned Parenthood
  1301 Jefferson Ave.
  Wednesdays, 6 to 8 p.m.
  419-255-1115



• Substance Abuse Services, Inc.
  1832 Adams St.
  Thursdays, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
  419-243-7274



• Student Medical Center
  UT-Bancroft Campus
  Mondays, 1 to 3:30 p.m.
  419-530-3464

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