The Female Condom: Effective, Underused

Submitted by anthony on Thu, 2010-02-11 20:48

Article here. Excerpt:

'The FC Female Condom - effective in preventing STIs and pregnancy - was approved by the FDA in 1993. The first version consisted of a soft but strong polyurethane sheath about the same length as a male condom but with flexible rings at each end. One ring was at the closed end of the sheath and was used for insertion and to help anchor the condom in place. The other end remained outside the vagina and partially covered the external genitalia (vulva). That version didn’t catch on in the U.S. - partly because it was more expensive (up to $15 for a 3-pack) and noisier than the male condom. A representative of the company told me today that a newer, less expensive version, the FC2, ($6.40 for a 3-pack retail, 82 cents a condom for the public sector) was approved in March, 2009. Right now, it is only available commercially in the U.S. at CVS stores in Washington, D.C. but it is being increasingly distributed in the public sector (e.g., clinics, health departments, NGOs). The company’s main distribution is in developing countries via organizations like UNAIDS and UNFPA. PATH - the organization I visited in Seattle - has created its own version of the female condom and is introducing the product into low-resource settings.

Worldwide use of the female condom has slowly increased since 2005, when only 14 million were available. That year, the United National Population Fund (UNFPA) launched the Global Female Condom Initiative and by 2008 female condom distribution reached 35 million in 93 countries - still only a fraction of the more than 10 billion male condoms distributed worldwide every year.
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Marketing geniuses routinely sell us all sorts of things we don’t need. Here’s a product the world desperately needs. Does anybody out there have any suggestions about how we can solve the barrier to entry of this highly effective barrier to entry?'

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Comments

Just like male birth control, if there were devices out there that would level the playing field it would be counter productive to pitting males and females against each other. We are being played, and the game isn't chess, the game is control by any means. If indeed there were female condoms, and male birth control readily available then it would change things. No more could a woman cry "he didn't use a rubber"! No more could females lie about taking birth control, if the male was also. No wonder the system is dragging its' feet, these things discussed are counter productive to the divisionary tactics being used on the general populace on a daily basis. The enemy isn't our women folk, the enemy is our system.

David A. DeLong

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Submitted by David A. DeLong on Fri, 2010-02-12 15:09

And I'm not talking cash.

The female condom has been around for a while. Women don't use it.

Why? Much like the male condom, the female condom reduces sensitivity and pleasure... but for the woman instead of for the man. That's why women don't buy them.

The enemy isn't our women folk, the enemy is our system.

The system works until we allow women to influence the system.

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Submitted by Demonspawn on Fri, 2010-02-12 20:27

to give them every dime they make.
whether it is called c.s., alimony, marriage, taxing us
to pay for their free welfare, healthcare or free college,
they will do whatever, and use whomever is needed to see
that it continues.

male birth control would have been invented decades ago if
it were best for women. if it became available tomorrow they
would have no way to accidentally get pregnant and demand
payment for access to see his children.

take i.m.b.r.a. for instance. telling men who they can date.
requiring men wanting to date overseas women to jump through
so many legal hoops, and requiring so much personal info. anyone
could easily steal their credit. that's just amerikan womens' way
of showing just how nasty they really are. they can't stand the competition
from REAL women. and what overseas man would want most of them if we quit
marrying them? probably figure if American men can't afford them...

v.a.w.a is another example. any polititian who objects to this legal robbery,
is labeled as woman hating; and, nobody knows where or how any of these
billions are spent. they don't care that the economy is failing. when
this pony goes down thay will be standing there kicking it wanting
more more more $$$$$. downward spiral continues.

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Submitted by daveinga on Sat, 2010-02-13 01:20