One woman, who often exchanged sex for drugs or money, said she hated condoms, rarely used them, but sometimes asked her partners to pull out “just for some small amount of protection.”
(via alexbalk)
OK. No. This infuriates me. I spend a lot of time fighting against the crazy folks who want to teach our nation’s children false information about sex— false information like “hey, condoms don’t really work” and “abstinence until marriage is the only legitimate sexual choice.” And when I get worked up about that kind of thing, it sure seems like there are a lot of people out there getting indignant right along with me.
So how the fuck is this any different? Why is everyone suddenly fighting against the facts?
We have good evidence that withdrawal works approximately as well as condoms. Yes, this means that you were wrong about it. Yes, this means what you were taught in sex-ed isn’t true. Full disclosure: it means that what I taught to some teenagers isn’t true. So fucking what? We were wrong. Get over it.
And the tone of this article is just so snarky and fucking ignorant. “People too stupid to use a condom correctly,” really? So, Balk (and commenters) you’ve never ever started for a minute and then pulled back out and put it on? You’ve never kept a condom in your wallet? You’ve never used one without checking the expiration date? You’ve never stayed inside for a bit too long and gone soft? Give me a break.
Efficacy rates for every method are calculated in two ways: normal use and perfect use. The vast majority of people fall into the “normal use” category. Because sex is messy and unpredictable and sometimes happens when you’re drunk and involves emotions and on top of all that it’s this weird secret subject that people are scared to talk about, and scared to ask questions about. So don’t give me this shit about people who screw up being stupid.
Nobody involved in this study is suggesting that withdrawal is the best choice for everyone. But the data demonstrate that it is a legitimate choice for pregnancy prevention, under some circumstances. And no, it doesn’t protect against STDs. Neither does the pill, and I don’t see anyone attacking it for that…oh, wait, nevermind. I do see people attacking it for that. The same people who fought against contraceptive access in the first place, because it would make people loose and crazy and irresponsible and it would destroy our teenagers!
Sound familiar?
