Once kept in the back of pharmacies, condoms have become common and familiar items in the 1980s and 1990s because of the AIDS crisis. Apart from sexual abstinence, condoms represent the safest method of preventing the transmission of the HIV virus...

Male condoms are thin sheaths of latex (rubber), polyurethane (plastic), or animal tissue that are rolled onto an erect penis immediately prior to intercourse. They are commonly called "safes" or "rubbers." Female condoms are made of polyurethane, and...

Condom A thin, elastic covering worn on a man's penis during sexual intercourse to catch semen and protect against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). When used properly in combination with a vaginal spermicide, a condom is a relatively...

While in the contemporary period condoms are considered to play a key role in preventing HIV and STI transmissions, this cultural object is also considered to stigmatise certain social groups and threaten normative gender identities, especially for...

A condom is a device most commonly used during sexual intercourse. It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner. Condoms are used to prevent pregnancy and transmission of sexually...

Condoms, AIDS challenge religions By KAREN DEYOUNG Washington Post Monday, August 20, 2001 When southern Africa's Roman Catholic bishops held their semiannual meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, the issue at the top of the agenda was a proposal to approve...

THESE DAYS, IF YOU CAN BELIEVE the hype, what the hip, stylish, with-it guy is wearing is a condom. Not long ago, condoms were considered archaic, relics from a less liberated era, the butt of tired jokes about teen-age boys suffering stage fright...

Available soon from City Hall: an official New York condom in a jazzy wrapper, perhaps one printed with a colorful subway map or some other city theme.New York City hands out 1.5 million free condoms a month in ordinary wrappers, and health officials figure people...

As the world's top condom experts convene this week to update international standards, one American entrepreneur has a simple message: Size matters. It's shaking up an industry that has generally taken a one-size-fits-all approach.Frank Sadlo, founder of TheyFit, which makes what he claims are the...