condom : Gay & Black Glossary

Condom Failures

1. You fail to lubricate them.
2. You use an oil-based lubricant such as Vaseline or a mineral oil lube.
3. You reuse them.
4. You use them past the expiry date.
5. You store them for an extended time in a hot place (such as your wallet or back pocket).
6. For them to work, you need to take them off carefully to avoid spillage.
7. Some condoms are made of lamb gut. These are not suitable for preventing HIV (Human Immuno-deficiency Virus) transmission.

Condoms can also be used to keep toys such as dildos and vibrators clean and odour-free.

Condom Types

Most of the links following go to condomania.com. They have drastically raised their prices. When I get time I will find a new vendor with more reasonable prices. Condoms come in several varieties combining the following properties:

types of condoms and what they are used for.

Types of Condom
Photo	Type	Notes
	lubricated	for oral, e.g. Trustex lubricated.
	flavored	for oral, e.g. Trustex cola, also come in banana, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Regular latex condoms have a rubbery taste and are sometimes dusted with foul-tasting powder. For oral use, go for a flavoured condom that is obviously designed for oral sex.
	coloured	for pretending you are a black guy, or… sampler of different colours
	lubricated	for anal, e. g. Trojan Enz Lubricated Plain, garden-variety condom.
	fire and ice	I have not tried these. They have two different lubricants, a warming and cooling on inside and outside. e.g. Trojan.
	lubricated with tiny ribs	for anal giving extra stimulation to both partners. These work much better than you might expect from looking at them. They don’t do much for vaginal sex, e.g. Trojan Ribbed or Durex Performax Intense
	lubricated with tiny ribs and dots	These give the sensory illusion of small holes in the tip of the condom which is quite pleasurable for the male. Beyond Seven Studded Condoms were my favourite back when I was having sex.
	lubricated with spermicide A V O I D	for vaginal sex for pregnancy prevention. Don’t use these for HIV protection since they increase the risk of infection by 50%. Don’t use these for anal sex either since the rectum can absorb the spermicide, e.g. Trojan Ultra Ribbed with Spermicidal Lubricant. You have to be careful on any condom order to make sure the condom specifies no spermicide. Most condoms come in both lubricated and spermicide versions.
	heavy duty	For anal, consider LifeStyles Extra Strength Condoms. For anal sex, you want to make sure there is no grit in the rectum. It will make short work of even the toughest condom. Anal sampler pack.
	large and small sizes	For men with thick penes, larger condoms are easier to put on. A rolled condom has little stretch compared with unrolled. Latex will stretch big enough to hold a cat, but that does not mean a standard size condom will suffice. The problem comes during unrolling. The rolled up condom has almost no give. You can spend 5 minutes trying to get the darn thing on and by then your penis is blue and numb. With a standard size, you must unroll it first then try to slide it on. If you use too much lubricant, the fool thing will slip off later. So don’t be embarrassed to order the larger size. Nobody need see the box. Trojan Magnum.
	extra thin	to give greater sensation. They are reputedly just as strong. The most famous of these is the original Japanese Kimono MicroThin Condoms Now American companies make them as well, e.g. Contempo Roughrider, Trojan Bareskin or LifeStyles Ultrathin.
	polyurethane	For people with an allergy to latex. Reputedly thinner and stronger than latex. Polyurethane is unaffected by oil-based lubricants. They don’t have that latex smell. I like this type. I kept checking to make sure it had not broken the feel was so good. They are much less elastic than latex condoms so are quite difficult to put on. Try the Trojan Supra.
	bulbous tips	And various special shapes. I think this is mainly just marketing. I can’t tell the difference in sensation. The theory is the condom can rub around on the tip of the penis. One such is the Trojan Her Pleasure Condoms.
	female	They are very large and have a ring at both ends to hold them in place. The picture is not to scale. They provide greater stimulation for the male since his penis slides over the condom’s inner surface. They are not quite as safe as standard condoms for preventing HIV transmission. The inner surface of the condom is smooth but crinkly like cellophane, not ribbed. It provides quite a bit of friction, but I found it had a slightly brittle and scratchy feeling. You would think it should have a slightly textured inner surface. The male has to be careful to thread his penis into the condom when he thrusts. This is not as hard as you might think since the outer ring is huge — much, much bigger than the ring of a male condom. These are not recommended for anal use. The condom is gentler on the female. If you find yourself holding back because your female partner feels sore, this condom may be more comfortable for her. The Female 9Condom are about each.
	Vibrating	Trojan Vibrating Ring. Some models are designed for one use only. See dildos for more substantial vibrators.
	lubricant	Don’t use oil-based lubricants such as massage oil or Vaseline. They quickly destroy the latex of the condom. KY Jelly is widely available. It is made with glycerine. If it dries out, it become sticky. Use a proper condom lubricant such as Probe Classic Thick Lubricant that does not dry out.

Condom Manufacturers

• Trojan
• Durex (Sheik/Avanti/Ramses)
• Mayer Labs (Kimono/Maxx)
• LifeStyles
• Okamoto Beyond Seven

Condom Web Stores

• CondomMania has a bewildering assortment of condoms. They even have condom vending machines.
• Condom Express has a particularly good website with the differences between the types of condoms explained with photos.
• SexToys has a modest assortment of the basic condoms, but excels in toys and related goods. They have been discontinuing condoms, so you might get some bargains.

Caveats