by Mwandi M.

Created on: April 17, 2010

Who has the responsibility for carrying a condom?  I believe it’s the woman.  My reasoning for this is simple and based on the consequences of not having a condom.  A woman has more to lose if a man does not wear a condom when they are having sex. 

My first argument is towards the risk of unwanted pregnancy.  People may argue there are other ways of controlling for this.  In this day and age there is a pill for everything, but all these pills and items that play around with our already delicate homeostasis wreak havoc on our bodies.  The pill is not recommended for long term use or as the only method of contraception.  In fact, increased and prolonged use has shown that it can decrease your chances of getting children when you decide that now you do.  And the short term effects should not be forgotten; weight gain or loss, bloating, high temperatures…the list is endless. 

The 2nd pill is the emergency pill.  There was once a news feature in Kenya on the use of emergency contraceptive pills.  What was happening was that more and more girls were popping them like candy.  Not their intended use of course, and who knows what catastrophes will befall them in the future.  I’m sure it would have been easier to have had the condom in the first place and avoid having to go through these extreme lengths of potentially harming the body, because of the few minutes of pleasure derived from sex.

And worst case scenario…if the pills weren’t there and she happens to get pregnant?  Then a woman is left with the harrowing choices of having an abortion (emotional scarring for the rest of your life) or keeping the baby and raising it (more emotional scarring but less guilty).  When a child gets thrown in the mix, it changes everything…your whole life changes.  Truly, having or not having a condom can be considered a butterfly effect especially when children are involved.  If you do not want children especially if it’s a one night stand…carry the condom.  It reduces your chances significantly. 

My second argument focuses on sexually transmitted diseases and infections.  Again, there are pills, injections, medicines, and all sorts of concoctions for these things.  But why put yourself in the danger in the first place?  When it comes to HIV, women are 4 times more likely to be infected by it, sexually, than are men.  The same could almost go for other diseases and infections but that would need to be verified.  And the devastation, embarrassment and emotional scarring of getting tested, having to call everyone you’d had unprotected sex with to get tested and going through the treatment.  Its emotionally harrowing and all can be reasonably avoided.

At the end of the day, it is a woman’s sex life as well and she has a responsibility to ensure that she’s participating in it in a safe manner.  If that means carrying the condoms…carry the condoms.      

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