I am a 22-year-old gay man. The other day, while reading the labelling on a condom, I read the words for “vaginal use only.” Being gay, I researched this only to find on the Canada Health website that condoms are only subject to inspection if a complaint is made. I couldn’t find anything about if they should be tested for anal sex.

Then I checked the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website, which states, “The Surgeon General has said, ‘Condoms provide some protection, but anal intercouse [sic] is simply too dangerous to practice. Condoms may be more likely to break during anal intercourse than during other types of sex because of the greater amount of friction and other stresses involved. Even if the condom doesn’t break, anal intercourse is very risky because it can cause tissue in the rectum to tear and bleed. These tears allow disease germs to pass more easily from one partner to the other.”
I see condom companies advertising to gay consumers who would obviously use these condoms for safer sex, even though they are not recommended for anal use. Is this not hypocritical on the part of the companies — and is it not slighting on the part of Health Canada? Condoms are touted not just as contraceptives but as protection against STDS. RICKY

I dig your virtual gumshoeing, Ricky and I can see why, when you align all these statistics, you might think there’s some big corporate/government anti-gay-ass-fucking condom conspiracy. I’ll try to clear a few things up, but be forewarned: anything involving standards agencies is brain-numbingly overcomplicated. Also, take note of the stolidly admonishing (and, yes, heterosexist) tone of many of the FDA’s sex articles. I couldn’t stop reading them in Lunchlady Doris’ voice.

The first thing we’ll examine is the condom itself. Check the ingredients. Do they include Nonoxynol-9? N9 is microbicide (used in this case to kill sperm) once thought to reduce HIV transmission but now understood to abet it by causing skin irritation. The FDA now requires that contraceptives containing N9 be labelled “For Vaginal Use Only,” along with other warnings such as not to use them anally or if you or your partner has HIV/AIDS. Though the three major condom manufacturers stopped making N9-laced condoms a couple of years ago and condoms were not specifically referred to on the FDA’s compulsory-warning list (www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/nonoxynol9_121907.html), it’s still possible this is the case with your condom.

Condoms are put through rigorous laboratory tests — stretching, suspension and increased temperatures — by the companies themselves, so what the Canada Health website likely meant was if, even after these tests, the product was consistently faulty, they’d conduct an investigation. Regardless, most condom boxes and paper inserts include more broad warnings about “non-vaginal” (more on this term further down) applications. According to Steve Mare, brand manager for Durex, his company applies additional warnings about non-vaginal sex because acts like anal and oral do require special attention — such as using more lube, avoiding oil-based lip products and caution with teeth.

Polyurethane male condoms by both Trojan and Durex contain warnings stating that polyurethane condoms, if used correctly for every act of vaginal intercourse, are highly effective at preventing pregnancy as well as STIs including HIV/AIDS, but that any use of condoms for other than vaginal intercourse can increase the risk of damage to the condom. Trojan’s Supra also includes information about risk of pregnancy and STIs not being known for polyurethane condoms but that lab tests show sperm and viruses like HIV cannot pass through it. Polyurethane condoms are recommended by the FDA for non-vaginal sex and STI prevention (though primarily for people with latex allergies), so it may seem odd that companies are so specific about vaginal intercourse for their polyurethane condoms.

Many condom foils simply say, “Effective against pregnancy and STDs like HIV/AIDS” but what’s with the clunky “non-vaginal sex” wording on other packaging? Why not just use the terms anal or oral? Condom companies are clearly balancing issues: standards agency labelling guidelines, genuine health concerns and the fact that they want to sell their product to as many communities as possible. Non-vaginal seems like a nice, vague term for places where sodomy is still illegal.
This other bit of information that’s got you in a tizzy is from the surgeon general who served under Ronald Reagan. C. Everett Koop should be commended for putting warning labels on cigarette packages, but his ideas about the spread of AIDS —?as well as anal sex and homosexuality — betray not only an early understanding of the virus but the opinions of a religious man who may have been a tad faggo-prurient. This statement is over 20 years old and, as it pertains to HIV/AIDS, how to protect oneself against it and anal sex practices, should be filed under prehistoric, along with the archaic ban on blood donations from gay men renewed just last May.

Love Bits
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