Of couples and condoms

How are condom companies breaking even? Apparently, their sales are not that great, with a mere 2% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) in volume of late. A recent Condomology report that looks at consumer condom psychology has put out some dismal facts about the use of rubber in India. Not many remember contraception during a hot date, it would seem.

No protection was used by around 80% of youth, that is, men in their early to mid twenties, the last time they had sex. The National Family Health Survey can sense a ticking bomb in the reproductive and sexual health of the nation, and is making appropriately worried noises. Because this would just mean more unplanned pregnancies and unsanitary abortions in the future. Not a rosy picture.

Compared to the rest of the world, India always used way less contraception. Which is evident in our booming population figures – proportionately more. And while no one is planning to breed each time they take off their clothes, there is obviously a touching lack of faith in their fertility on display. Many unplanned children have this in common: parents who thought, ‘Nothing will happen just this one time, nah!’ This is also because one often hears of couples ‘trying’ for babies for years and years, like peasants toiling in fields under a hot sun. It is presumed the sperm meets the ovum only under auspicious conditions, with much cajoling and struggle. And since morning-after pills too are not easy to obtain, who pops in at the chemist and gets some after the deed is done? No wonder lovers prefer to pray rather than get proactive.

Apart from the ‘make a baby’ risk, there is also the chance of catching venereal diseases, with India pretty high on the HIV index, actually, No. 3 in the world. Women, of course, perhaps feel shy about raising the matter of birth control with a potential partner, especially in those early episodes, where the sex must happen ‘spontaneously’ or ‘impulsively’ and not look too planned. Men, who are expected to be all alpha and pick up contraception along with flowers and chocolates, perhaps think it is the woman’s purchase.

Covid has, of course, complicated matters. Couples, unless married to each other and already having sorted out birth control, are unable to meet, let alone manage intimacy. With lockdowns lifted and a healthy disrespect for birth control, condom sales look set to slide further in the months ahead. And you can’t blame condom companies – they are making the packets more lurid and glossy, with in-your-face glowing tributes to what they contain. Everything about them is geared for our increased pleasure.

Yes, we need to fall asleep and dream pleasant dreams once again. We need to live and love. We need to hook up and get hickeys – but sex shouldn’t be fatal. Alone in a bed, with hearts beating fast and hormones in the fast lane, everyone thinks there are only two of them. Only some means of contraception will ascertain they stay two.