protected sex
You'll find it back in some stores this week. Should you consider it? Here's what you need to know.
A new distributor is bringing the female contraceptive known as the sponge back to store shelves. The Today Sponge is expected to appear in thousands of CVS and Longs Drug Stores locations across the nation this week, and Walgreens this summer, reports Natasha Singer for the New York Times.
Since appearing in 1983, the sponge has been a here-again, gone-again female contraceptive. Factory compliance issues spotted by the FDA led to its 1995 disappearance; the sponge contraceptive re-emerged in 2005 with new owners and was later sold to still other owners who declared bankruptcy in … Read More
Protection suggestions for the condom-averse age group.
In a classic case of "do as I say not as I do," it seems thirtysomethings are less responsible about having protected sex than the under-20 set.
According to a recent British study, teens aged 16-19 are twice as diligent about using protection when having sex with a new partner as those in the 35-44 age group. The results were particularly astounding to Brit officials, as the STD rate there has risen six percent in the past year.
"Interventions are urgently required for people in their 30s and 40s and older who are increasingly forming new partnerships," the … Read More
Love advice Essence readers would give themselves if they could turn back time.
The plethora of adages about wasted youth and our retrospective clarity on mistakes of the past exist for a reason. We all learn the hard way, perhaps especially in love, and are left with the scars and cringe-worthy journal entries to prove it.
Essence.com asked its readers to write advice to their younger selves, as if they were stepping back in time to give themselves a good, hard, loving shake. The comments shared are both poignant and revealing, much like Pepper Schwarz's "5 Things I Wish I Knew About Sex at 30." Here's a handful of 10 … Read More
Condom wrappers can be made in your faces' likeness.
The Advocate's August issue is running a fun sidebar on artsy condoms that will hopefully help bring sexy back to protected sex (you've read recent STD statistics, right?).
The condom wrapper, perhaps sick of being tossed heartlessly aside while its contents get all the attention, has found its voice. As The Advocate points out, it could produce some interesting chemistry were a die-hard Republican to meet an Obama-adorned condom carrier. Sending condoms with Bush's likeness to the head of his abstinence program could cause a chuckle, if those people do that type of thing. Chuckling, that … Read More
