More women these days are using female condoms, empowering themselves and taking control of their own sexy sex lives. When a guy says “I don’t have condoms, let’s do it without one!” or “My last girlfriend and I didn’t use them”, it’s time to whip out the female condoms. Gay men are also using them for a little rumpy pumpy anal sex.
Female condoms have come a long way baby. They were first used in the 1980’s during the HIV/AIDS crisis, and were available in drug stores by the early 1990’s. The FC1 female condom was first made from polyurethane. The second generation female condom, the FC2, is made from synthetic nitrile, which is stretchy and a cross between vinyl and latex. (Disposable gloves are made from nitrile.) More recent versions are made of latex. The earlier polyurethane condoms made a rustling sound, like when you open a bag of potato chips.
One early version tied on like a small diaper. The early versions were not popular because the diaper condom looked like you were suiting up for Chernobyl, and the polyurethane was noisy. I tried one of these early polyurethane condoms in the late 1990’s, which you were supposed to lube up before use. All I remember saying to my boyfriend at the time was “Give me a minute honey while I oil my bag.”
To use one you just squat, squeeze the condom and stick it in your lady bits like you are inserting a tampon. It will cover the front of your hoo-ha to give you even more protection. And you can insert them up to 4 hours beforehand! Female condoms are incredibly popular in Africa now where HIV rates are soaring and women choose to protect themselves on their own terms.
To use a female condom for anal sex, remove the smaller ring inside the condom that can be pulled out.
The Gates Foundation gave out $100,000 awards for the next generation condom, where two female condoms won. A third award went to a “non-gender specific internal condom” for both anal and vag sex. Dr. Mache Seibel from Massachusetts won for the Air-Infused Female Condom, that “uses air pressure to provide stimulation,” and the fab Dr. Debby Herbenick of The Kinsey Institute won for her “Female Pleasure Condom,” whose name says it all.