Sexual Health, Proper Condom Size, and GYT

As a member of the student organization Advocates for Choice (AFC), a group that aims to spread awareness of reproductive health issues, it irritates me to no end when we are dispensing average sized condoms and an overwhelming number of guys respond with “no thanks, they are too small.” Are you trying to prove something guys or are they REALLY too small?

I was intrigued when reading an article published by http://www.reuters.com/ entitled “Poor Fit May Explain why Men Refuse Condoms,” which discussed the fact that ill-fitting condoms are often times the reason why men and women don’t use them. There wasn’t much analysis on why the condoms are ill-fitting, weather they be too small or too large, but it seems it’s more likely the latter, as the average penis is reportedly 6-7 inches long when erect and most condoms can fit over an outstretched forearm.

One of the responders to the article discusses a line of condoms called They Fit which are custom fit to the user. I can’t help but wonder if more wide-spread availability of this type of condom service would increase the likelihood of men and women choosing to use them. Then again, I know a number of people who refuse to use them, which confuses me to this day. Aren’t condoms better than getting HIV and/or Herpes (yeah, it’s for life)? I also wonder if this is equally a problem for the lesser developed and used female condom…hmmm.

Speaking of sexual health and responsibility, AFC and the Women’s Resource Center, along with Health Services, Health Enhancement, the Women’s Rights Alliance, and Zeta Phi Beta, are initiating the GYT (Get Yourself Tested) Campaign at NIU. The GYT Campaign seeks to create a social movement around getting tested for STD/STIs (sexually transmitted diseases/infections) in response to the statistic that “one in two young people will get a sexually transmitted disease by age 25 – and most won’t know it.” The following events are taking place during April (National STD Testing Awareness Month) for GYT:

Mon. April 19
Screening of Kids
Women’s Resource Center
6-8 p.m.

Thurs. April 22
GYT Information Distribution
MLK Commons
10-1

Hope to see you at these events. Until then, use condoms, use them right, get the right size, and if that doesn’t work, use They Fit.