Female Condoms, A Great Contraceptive Choice for Indian Youth

Highlights

The female condom is a birth control (contraceptive) device.

It is inserted vaginally to reduce the risk of both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

However, it is also an under-utilized one.

Women’s control over the wearing of the female condom reduces their stress and allows them to enjoy the experience.

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For the uninitiated, a female condom is among the various available contraceptive barrier methods available. However it is also the under-utilized one. The female condom — also called an internal condom — is a birth control (contraceptive) device that acts as a barrier to keep sperm from entering the uterus. It is a highly effective contraceptive method that can be inserted vaginally to reduce the risk of both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

One of the most commonly reported worries about pregnancy and STI concerns often prevent people from fully enjoying sexual pleasure. Also most men and women have seen the female condom before, or heard of it.

Female condoms are not as popular as male condoms, which could be due to the lack of availability, higher price, and/or preference. Female condoms are not generally available in grocery stores, drug stores, or in vending machines. Their sale is usually limited to specialty stores, some pharmacies and reproductive health centers, or online retailers.

How do u insert a female condom?

A female condom is inserted in the vagina. Find yourself, a comfortable position. While holding outside of condom at closed end, squeeze sides of inner ring together with your thumb and forefinger Insert the ring as high as possible into your vaginal canal. It’s similar to inserting a menstrual cup or tampon. Use your finger to ensure that the condom is deep inside of your vagina. Using your finger, push inner ring as far up till it rests against cervix. The rim of the condom opening should rest just outside of the vaginal opening.This can be inserted for upto 8 hours before having sex.

A study was done to explore the views of Indian women and men who participated in a brief intervention using the female condom on their experiences in relation to sexual pleasure, sexual satisfaction, and their overall acceptability.

Here are a few pros and cons listed below from the study’s findings about use of female condoms based on the feedback of trial group.

Advantages

Women feel empowered, as they do not need to wait for male partners to provide protection or to negotiate wearing a condom

Its ability to reduce the risk of a range of STIs due to the coverage offered both inside and outside of the vagina and on parts of the vulva

The ability to discard the barrier method and prevent contact with male ejaculate, for hygienic reasons and ease of clean up helped them enjoy sex with their partners especially for sex workers.

Female condom can increase pleasure through alleviating stress related to the risks of pregnancy or STI transmission.

Some men enjoy how the female condom prolonged sex due to the use of a barrier method, which increases their pleasure.

Female condoms they can be used with all types of lubricants. Test for latex allergy, however.

Disadvantages

The limited literature focused on the acceptability of female condoms in India has not addressed sexual pleasure. Discussions of sexual pleasure in relation to the female condom are less common.

When female condoms are introduced in traditionally patriarchal cultures, price is generally reported as a concern, as well as the lack of trust if women are the ones to introduce it to their partner.

Insertion of the female condom can be a challenging part of the experience for most participants.

The barrier and thickness of the material may reduce sensation (which for some may be a drawback, for others it’s beneficial by prolonging sex) but the design enhances sensation by allowing for more movement of the female condom on the penis compared to the male condom.

Some users reported that their partner could feel the inner ring and this caused friction, which caused pain or discomfort for some

Due to the firmer material of the ring, male partners can feel occasional discomfort in rubbing against it during penetration.

Since partners cannot always be trusted to use a male condom (e.g. because of intoxication, wanting full sensation, and not having a male condom available), women’s control over the wearing of the female condom reduces their stress and allows them to enjoy the experience. This can be the greatest factor for using a female condom as a contraceptive choice. With some practice, insertion can be perfected.

In India, female condoms an be bought online through Amazon or Flipkart.

Have you ever tried a female condom? Tell us your experience here.

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Richa* first downloaded Tinder, almost three and a half years back, to experiment and get a feel of what dating apps were like. This was followed by a couple of installing and uninstalling the app and hopping on to other dating apps only to realize that AI can get you a hookup but not a potential partner. This is what the majority of janta believes in!

Moreover, though these apps get women more agency in virtual spaces than the physical ones, it takes away the zeal of finding love online.

Apparently, women are taking the benefits of these apps in the form of ‘casual sex’ and finding an escape from their reality in these over liberated digital spaces.

But are they really finding what they are looking for?

‘Women are more active and engaged on Tinder than men’, reveals Taru Kapoor, India head of Tinder.

While most of these women are here for networking or casual sex, very few would say that they are looking for love online. But as our society demands women to be, the majority of these women are reluctant to accept that they are sexually liberated and engage with the very hookup culture.

“Indian women, in general, are conditioned to be indirect about their personal needs. Speaking for others, speaking as a family, putting the role of a wife, a daughter or a sister first are more comfortable social behaviour norms,” reveals Neha Bhat who is a trauma-informed art therapist, artist and counsellor.

“Girls also crave for sex, and we swipe to get sex too. But because of the gender ratio, it is really easy for us to get it, so we tend to be very selective. I never meet anyone with the plan of hookup, but yes there have been situations where I just went with the flow,” admits a user on Quora.

Richa, on the other hand, was quite serious and adamant about finding the perfect man of her life but, eventually, she ended up with only hookups and a few dates.

“I had multiple matches on Tinder, but most of those weren’t of any substance. Even then, I spent the first few months of my Tinder journey, mostly having casual sex. Please understand that I’d been single for a while, and it was extremely tough to resist the easily available action.

Tinder may have made it easy to meet new people, and go on dates with them, but it’s also made it extremely difficult to sustain a happy relationship. I may not be able to trust the men on it, but the app never disappoints,” admits another woman from the city of dreams, Mumbai.

“Everyone knows you’re there to fuck. So, no one wastes time with bullshit. The times I have hooked up with someone through an app was purely for physical pleasure. The guys were good-looking and well-spoken. And, thankfully, they weren’t creeps. I haven’t met anyone interesting enough to go back for a second helping,” another 25 YO shares.

Long thing short — while women are hopping on these apps to find some actions, they are not refraining away from experimenting in relationships as well.

But the whole swiping and matching angle gets distorted when the rejected men start stalking these women on social media — when they do not understand that just because a woman is open to hookups or casual sex does not mean that she is available to every man out there.

There is no official data of how many women have been harassed by the overhyped dating apps’ male users, but there have been enough personal experiences to conclude that though it sounds great to find someone online to match your high levels of estrogen, one has to be alert and sound.

Stay updated with Infano’s updated series to know more about women’s personal experiences and opinions.

Names changed for privacy reasons.
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