Recently, I was having a conversation with my mom, sister (13), and brother (12) about sex education. We have conversations about sex pretty openly in my family, and the kids are now going to sex education programs. When I explained to my younger siblings that I was starting a business to give adults REAL sex education, my little brother had one question: Are you gonna put a condom on a banana?

This led to conversation about 1. how I don’t like bananas, but also 2. how the person (my mom) who taught me about condoms actually was missing a lot of information about how to properly use one!

First, I feel like I need to explain how my mother told me about condoms. So one night, when I was maybe 10 or 11, my mom came into my room and woke me up. She said, “This is a condom. Any man you have sex with should put this on his penis before you have sex…. and don’t let anyone tell you their penis is too big for a condom! There is this guy in San Diego who puts condoms over his WHOLE HEAD!”

She then proceeded to attempt to put the condom over her head. (My mom has a bunch of thick curly hair, it was hilarious) The condom popped, but I definitely got the gist of what she was saying.

So my condom education, while ummmm dynamic and offered with important advice, definitely wasn’t the full picture.

So here are some quick tips and resources on how to properly use a condom:

• Not only men use condoms! Condoms are used by people of all gender identities for a multitude of purposes including penetrative sex with partners or means to keep toys clean during use. Disassociating genitalia from gender is the first step to making sure that safe sex messaging reaches everyone.
• According to condom manufacturers, only 6% of condom wearers need to use an XL sized condom.
• Condoms do not protect against all STIs/STDs, such as herpes, which can be spread through skin to skin contact during or around the time of an outbreak. A condom doesn’t cover impacted areas completely, so be sure to communicate with partners when an outbreak is occurring.
• There is a correct way to put a condom on a penis to ensure safety from STIs and/or unwanted pregnancy:

1. Open the condom, and figure out which way is the top, the rolled up lip of the condom should be facing up so that it can easily roll down
2. Pinch the tip of the condom to avoid air getting trapped and to leave room for ejaculate, and place upon the tip on the penis
3. Roll condom down to the base of the shaft of the penis. It should not be too tight or too loose. Both of these situations are uncomfortable for the wearer and anyone else engaging, and means that you have the wrong size condom.
4. Do ya thang! (here’s a video if you’re more of an audio/visual learner)

Check out this resource on proper condom fit for more details on how to choose the best condom for you or your partner(s).

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