A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condoms, also called male condoms, and internal (female) condoms.
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating. The term sex toy can also include BDSM apparatus and sex furniture such as sex swings; however, it is not applied to items such as birth control, pornography, or condoms. Alternative terms for sex toy include adult toy and the dated euphemism marital aid. Marital aid also has a broader meaning and is applied to drugs and herbs marketed to enhance or prolong sex.
The cervical cap is a form of barrier contraception. A cervical cap fits over the cervix and blocks sperm from entering the uterus through the external orifice of the uterus, called the os.
Durex is a brand of condoms and personal lubricants owned by the British company Reckitt and currently led by Ben Wilson. It was initially developed in London under the purview of the London Rubber Company and British Latex Products Ltd, where it was manufactured between 1932 and 1994. The London Rubber Company was formed in 1915, and the Durex brand name was launched in 1929, although London Rubber did not begin manufacturing own-brand condoms until 1932, in collaboration with a rubber technology student from Poland named Lucian Lundau. The first book on The London Rubber Company and the history of Durex condoms, written by Jessica Borge, was published in September 2020 by McGill-Queen's University Press.
Church & Dwight Co., Inc. is an American consumer goods company focusing on personal care, household products, and specialty products. The company was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey. It is the parent company of well-known brands such as Arm & Hammer, Trojan, OxiClean, and First Response. In 2022, Church & Dwight reported annual revenue of $5.4 billion. The company's products and services include a wide range of consumer goods, including laundry detergent, air fresheners, baking soda, condoms, pregnancy tests, and oral hygiene products.
Contraception was illegal in Ireland from 1935 until 1980, when it was legalised with strong restrictions, later loosened. The ban reflected Catholic teachings on sexual morality.
A vibrator, sometimes described as a massager, is a sex toy that is used on the body to produce pleasurable sexual stimulation. There are many different shapes and models of vibrators. Most modern vibrators contain an electric-powered device which pulsates or throbs. Vibrators can be used for both solo play and partnered play by one or more people. Devices exist to be used by couples to stimulate the genitals of both partners. They can be applied to erogenous zones, such as the vulva, vagina, penis, scrotum, anus, or rectum for sexual stimulation, for the release of sexual frustration and to achieve orgasm. Vibrators may be recommended by sex therapists for women who have difficulty reaching orgasm through masturbation or intercourse.
Abstinence, be faithful, use a condom, also known as the ABC strategy, abstinence-plus sex education or abstinence-based sex education, is a sex education policy based on a combination of "risk avoidance" and harm reduction which modifies the approach of abstinence-only sex education by including education about the value of partner reduction, safe sex, and birth control methods. Abstinence-only sex education is strictly to promote the sexual abstinence until marriage, and does not teach about safe sex or contraceptives. The abstinence-based sex education program is meant to stress abstinence and include information on safe sex practices. In general terms, this strategy of sex education is a compromise between abstinence-only education and comprehensive sex education. The ABC approach was developed in response to the growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and to prevent the spread of other sexually transmitted infections. This approach has been credited by some with the falling numbers of those infected with AIDS in Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe, among others. From 1990 to 2001 the percentage of Ugandans living with AIDS fell from 15% to between 5 and 6%. This fall is believed to result from the employment of the ABC approach, especially reduction in the number of sex partners, called "Zero-Grazing" in Uganda.
A female condom is a barrier device that is used during sexual intercourse as a barrier contraceptive to reduce the probability of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection (STI). It is inserted in the vagina before intercourse to reduce the risk of exposure to semen or other body fluids. The female condom was invented in 1990 by Danish MD Lasse Hessel, and approved for sale in the US by the FDA in 1993. It was developed as an alternative to the older external condom, which is put on the man.
The history of condoms goes back at least several centuries, and perhaps beyond. For most of their history, condoms have been used both as a method of birth control, and as a protective measure against sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis B and more recently HIV/AIDS. Condoms have been made from a variety of materials; prior to the 19th century, chemically treated linen and animal tissue are the best documented varieties. Rubber condoms gained popularity in the mid-19th century, and in the early 20th century major advances were made in manufacturing techniques. Prior to the introduction of the combined oral contraceptive pill, condoms were the most popular birth control method in the Western world. In the second half of the 20th century, the low cost of condoms contributed to their importance in family planning programs throughout the developing world. Condoms have also become increasingly important in efforts to fight the AIDS pandemic.
LifeStyles Condoms is a brand of condoms made by the former Australian company Ansell Limited, previously known as Pacific Dunlop Limited. In 2017, Ansell sold their condom business to a Chinese consortium for over US$600 million. Lifestyles HealthCare and all other Ansell affiliated condom brands: Skyn, Blowtex, LifeStyles, Manix/Mates, Unimil, Jissbon.
The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior is a decade-long nationally representative study of human sexual behavior. The research has been conducted in the United States by researchers from the Center for Sexual Health Promotion in the School of Public Health at Indiana University in Bloomington. Time magazine called the NSSHB "the most comprehensive survey of its kind in nearly two decades and the first to include teenagers." Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders has written the following about NSSHB findings: "These data are important for keeping the nation moving forward in the area of sexual health and well being. In the absence of scientific data available to construct an accurate and up-to-date view, opinions in the field of sexual science can vary widely from person to person."
Carter-Wallace was a personal care company headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of Carter Products and Wallace Laboratories. The company had a research facility in Cranbury, New Jersey.
Merle Leland Youngs was the manufacturer of Trojan condoms in Trenton, New Jersey, at Youngs Rubber. He was chairman of the board, treasurer and director. He was one of the first to advertise condoms to pharmacists and doctors. The brands were sold to Charlie Chrisman and in 2001 to Church and Dwight.
Julius Schmid was a pioneer of condom manufacturing. Ramses was one of his major condom brands. His enterprise was hampered because his contraceptive business was illegal in the early 20th-century United States.
The birth control movement in the United States was a social reform campaign beginning in 1914 that aimed to increase the availability of contraception in the U.S. through education and legalization. The movement began in 1914 when a group of political radicals in New York City, led by Emma Goldman, Mary Dennett, and Margaret Sanger, became concerned about the hardships that childbirth and self-induced abortions brought to low-income women. Since contraception was considered to be obscene at the time, the activists targeted the Comstock laws, which prohibited distribution of any "obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious" materials through the mail. Hoping to provoke a favorable legal decision, Sanger deliberately broke the law by distributing The Woman Rebel, a newsletter containing a discussion of contraception. In 1916, Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, but the clinic was immediately shut down by police, and Sanger was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Birth control in the United States is available in many forms. Some of the forms available at drugstores and some retail stores are male condoms, female condoms, sponges, spermicides, over-the-counter progestin-only contraceptive pills, and over-the-counter emergency contraception. Forms available at pharmacies with a doctor's prescription or at doctor's offices are oral contraceptive pills, patches, vaginal rings, diaphragms, shots/injections, cervical caps, implantable rods, and intrauterine devices (IUDs). Sterilization procedures, including tubal ligations and vasectomies, are also performed.
Holland–Rantos was a company founded in the United States 1925 by birth control advocates that manufactured high-quality contraceptives. Its primary product was the diaphragm, which was Margaret Sanger's recommended method of contraception. The company also sold a lubricating jelly under the name "vaginal jelly", based on a formula imported from Germany. In the 1940s, Holland–Rantos was bought by Young's Rubber Co., which manufactures the Trojan Condom. Around 2000, a new company HR Pharmaceuticals was founded, which sells lubricating jelly under the name "HR Jelly".
The Sexual Health Resource Centre (SHRC) is a non-profit information and referral service that addresses sex, sexuality, and sexual health. It serves the community of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and is located in the John Deutsch University Centre of Queen’s University. It is operated by volunteers year round who respond to inquiries by phone or in person. It is funded by student fees from the Alma Mater Society and Society of Graduate and Professional Students at Queen’s University.
Unbound Inc. is an American sexual wellness company based in New York. Unbound is better known for manufacturing women sexual accessories such as vibrators and lubricants. In 2018, the company was announced runner-up at the TechCrunch Disrupt - San Francisco.
