The female condom has never been popular with the ladies. It's never won over guys either. It is clumsy, cold, stiff and sometimes painful. Not necessarily something steamy to climb into bed with.
The New York Times reports that scientists are bringing sexy back to the female condom with a redesign.
The new and improved female condom is made from a thinner polyurethane that transmits warmth better. Plus, it's lost an awkward diaphragm-like ring at its tip, which had to be folded into a figure 8 for insertion during the heat of the moment.
The only thing it's missing is an invisibility cloak.
Married women are one of the highest groups at risk of contracting AIDS. For many of these women, their husbands do not condone wearing a condom classified for either gender.
“Condoms are almost undiscussable within a marriage” in Africa, said Lois B. Chingandu, the director of an anti-AIDS organization in Zimbabwe. “It is something associated with casual sex. If a wife uses a condom, the message is that you have been unfaithful. If she even initiates the discussion, it tips the power scale. Men resist quite a lot, and it can result in violence.”
The female condom was first introduced in the late 1990s as a way to put AIDS protection in the hands of women. However, the rubbers were not well received. Researchers hope to lure men and women to the newly designed contraceptive.
But first, scientists must use their sexy skills to attract big money to fund clinical trials of the condom.
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