Check out this really interesting post from our resident blogger Suzanne. She talks about her experience with female condoms and about the importance of carrying them with you.

Female Condoms have been a major topic of discussion in my office lately. This is especially because the Society for Family health is on some kind of campaign to really get them out there and get people to at least try them out. I can vaguely remember going to a lunch where the SFH launched the FC2s back in 2007 when I was interning for Youth Media.

“I wanna find out what all the Buzz is about, and if it could be something that I can adopt for the long term as my trademark form of protection.” I told myself when I went on this mission of… condom discovery as it were.

I already have one female condom in my underwear drawer, but I know that when trying new stuff going into your body, you’re hardly on point the first time you try. So I walked into my local chemist and stocked up on my supply of female rubbers (the FC2s). The actual differences between the first generation Female Condom and the FC2 which are second generation are more technical and were mainly aimed at making it more comfortable and affordable while still maintaining the features of the first one.

Back to the experience though, having heard that I can wear a female condom up to eight hours before sex, I decided to put this to the test. While getting ready to go out on Friday night, I wore one condom. It’s not very complicated if you follow the instructions well and take your time. The harder ring goes into the body and is supposed to help it sit in place, the softer ring with the opening sits on the outside of your vagina. The only weird part with wearing it in advance when you’re gonna go clubbing is It’s kind of gross having to pee with something hanging out of you, so the condom finally came off in the girls Loo at the a bar.

But I was determined to try all I could to use it that night. So a little tipsy and determined, my partner and I headed home to get it on. Thank God I had carried back-up FCs. Putting a female condom when you’ve have been drinking, in a hurry and are happy silly, and having an extra brain and pair of hands to “help”  isn’t as easy. It took us a couple of tries, but we got it and (…  trying not to go into all the gory details here) well we got it ON!!

Amazingly it wasn’t bad or awkward or anything like that. They feel just like normal male condoms and if you take the time, you’ll find that they are very easy to find too.  So, Am I gonna try them again? Definitely the feeling of control it gives you is amazing, knowing that your sexual health is not just at the hands of a clumsy horny guy who’d do or say anything to get laid is nice. And my partner was a good sport about it too. He reckons its nice for me to take the responsibility of protection, and he is tired of him always being the one wearing stuff.