The future of safe sex安全性行为的未来.docx
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The future of safe sex安全性行为的未来.docx
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Thefutureofsafesex安全性行为的未来
MOSAIC@FUTURE|4March2014
Thefutureofsafesex?
EmilyAnthes
From Mosaic
Thefutureofsex:
canthefemalecondomcatchonsecondtimearound?
Oncemockedashavingtheeroticappealofajellyfish,thefemalecondomisbeingreinventedasthenextbigthinginprotectivesex.InthefirstarticlefromnewdigitalpublicationMosaic,EmilyAnthestakesanin-depthinvestigationtoseewhatchanceithasofcatchingonthistimearound.
In1987,anAmericanpharmaceuticalexecutivecalledMaryAnnLeeperflewtoCopenhagentogetafirst-handlookatwhatshethoughtmightbetheworld’snextgreathealthinnovation.Shedidn’texpecttofindittuckedawayinsideanoldcigarbox.
WhenshearrivedattheoldfarmhouseownedbyDanishdoctorandinventorLasseHessel,heopenedthedoorwithacigarinhismouth.Thenhefetchedthebox.“Insidewereallthesebitsandpieces–metal,plastic,alldifferentkindsofstuff,”Leeperrecalls.“Itookadeepbreathandthought,‘Holymother–whathaveIgottenmyselfinto?
’”Somehow,thesebitsandpiecesfittogethertoformacontraptionthatwomencouldwearduringsextopreventpregnancyandsexuallytransmittedinfections–theworld’sfirstfemalecondom.
Thepresentationmayhavebeenunconventional,butLeeperandhercolleaguesatWisconsinPharmacalhadhighhopesforHesse’sinvention.“TheAidscrisisintheUnitedStateswasjustfullybeingrecognised,anditwascleartousthatforwomentohaveaproductthattheycouldusetohelpprotectthemselveswouldbeagoodthing,”Leepersays.
Indeed,whenWisconsinPharmacalfinallyintroducedthefemalecondomtotheUSin1993,publichealthexpertshaileditasagame-changer.Thecondom,apolyurethanepouchinsertedintothevaginabeforesex,wouldprotectwomenfromsexuallytransmittedinfectionseveniftheirmalepartnersrefusedtowearcondoms.
Technically,thefemalecondomworks.Whenusedcorrectly,itreducesawoman’sriskofcontractingHIVbyaround94–97%eachtimeshehadsex,accordingtoestimates.Studiesshowthatmakingfemalecondomsavailablealongsidethemaleversionincreasesthepercentageofsexualactsthatareprotected,anddecreasestheprevalenceofsexuallytransmittedinfections.
Yet,twodecadesafteritsmuch-celebratedintroduction,thefemalecondomstillisn’tlivinguptoitspotential.Lessintuitiveandfamiliarthanthemalecondom,thedevicesimplynevercaughton.Journalistsmockedit,cliniciansignoredit,andwomenshunnedit,claimingthatthecondomwasaestheticallyunappealingandtechnicallydifficulttomaster.Today,only1.6%ofallcondomsdistributedworldwidearefemalecondoms.
Theremayfinallybeanopeningtochangethefemalecondom’sfate.Foryears,ahandfulofresearchers,engineersandentrepreneurshavebeenquietlytinkeringwiththedevice.Theireffortsarenowmaturingandanassortmentofredesignedandreinventedfemalecondomsarebeginningtomaketheirwayontothemarket.Theintroductionofnew,moreuser-friendlyproducts–coupledwithrenewedeffortstopromotethetechnologyaroundtheglobe–mayfinallybepositioningthefemalecondomforabreakthrough.
Barrierprotection
Fromthestart,thefemalecondomwasadifficultproject–farmoredifficultthanLeeperhadbargainedfor.Afterbuyingtherightstothetechnology,LeeperandhercolleaguesatWisconsinPharmacalneededtoturnHessel’sprototypeintoamarketableproduct.Aftersometweaking,theyendedupwithathinpolyurethanepouchwithaflexibleringateachend.Awomanwouldinsertthedevicebysqueezingtheringthatsitsintheclosedendofthepouchandpushingitintohervagina.Onceexpandedinsidethevagina,thisinnerringwouldkeepthecondominplace.Thelargerringattheopenendofthepouchwouldsitoutsidethevagina,coveringtheexternalgenitalia.Whenamanejaculated,theinternalcondompouchwouldtraphissemen,preventingpregnancyandsexuallytransmittedinfections.
ButbeforeWisconsinPharmacalcouldputthecondomonthemarket,theyneededapprovalfromtheUSFoodandDrugAdministration(FDA).Becausethefemalecondomwasanutterlynewkindofproduct,theFDAdecidedtoregulateitasaClassIIImedicaldevice,acategorythatisgenerallyreservedfor“high-risk”medicalequipment–suchaspacemakersandcertainlasers–andthatrequiresthehighestlevelofregulatoryscrutiny.(TheFDAclassifiesmalecondomsasClassIImedicaldevices,sotheyaresubjecttofewercontrolsanddon'trequirepre-marketapproval.)
Thefemidomismuchbiggerthanmalecondomsbutcanbemoredifficulttoapply(SciencePhotoLibrary)
Ittooksixyearsforthefemalecondomtowinditswaythroughtheregulatorysystem,andwhenthegovernmentfinallyapprovedit,in1993,Leeperbreathedasighofrelief.“IthoughtthatthehardestpartwasgoingtobegettingitthroughFDAbecauseitwasreallydifficultandtheykeptchangingthespecifications,therequirements,theclinicalstudies,”shesays.Butshewaswrong.Thehardpartwasjustbeginning.
AsWisconsinPharmacalpreparedtolaunchtheRealityfemalecondomintheUS(itwouldgobyotherbrandnamesinothercountries),theymadeallthestandardarrangements,hiringsalesrepstovisitmedicalpracticesandcommissioningabigadvertisingfirmtomarkettheproductdirectlytoconsumers.“Wedidallthechecklistthingsthatyou’resupposedtodo,”Leepersays.“Andwefellflatonourface.”
Thechallenge,inpart,wastheera,andthepublic’ssqueamishnessaboutasex-relatedproduct.“Inthosedays,youcouldn’ttalk‘condom’outloud,”Leeperrecalls.“Malecondomswerereferredtoas‘rubbers’.Yousaidtheminawhisperandtheywereheldbehindthecounterbythepharmacist.”AndalthoughtheAidscrisiswasraging,formanyAmericanwomen,theriskofcontractingHIVwasabstract,somethingthathappenedtootherpeopleandnottothem.Whilewomeninfocusgroupshadsaidtheylikedthe idea ofthecondom,accordingtoLeeper,“whenpushcametoshove,whentheywereinthatbedroom,thefemalecondomwasoutonthedining-roomtable”.
Therewereotherbarriers,too.Thecondomscostasmuchas$5apiece,comparedtomalecondoms,whichcantypicallybehadfor$1orless.KrissyFerrisrecallshearingaboutfemalecondomswhenshewasastudentatOberlinCollegeinOhio,butthepricewasadeterrent.“Ididn’tactuallytryoneuntilIgotfreesamples,”recallsFerris,whonowworksatamedicalpracticeinCleveland,Ohio.“AmIgoingtobuy$6worthofcondomstotrythisoutacoupletimes?
Itseemslikemaybenot.You’regettingmalecondomsforfreeeverywherewhenyou’reinyour20s.”
Screamtest
What’smore,thefemalecondomwas,frankly,strange.Unlikethemalecondom,whichissoldrolledupandcompressed,thefemalecondomcamefullyopen.Womenandmenalikewereturnedoffbytheunfamiliar,big,plastic-bag-likedevicetheyfoundwhentheyundidthepacket.Thoughsomewomendideventuallycometolikethecondoms,therewasadefinitelearningcurveandasmanyasone-thirdtoone-halfofwomenhaddifficultyinsertingthem.Onceinplace,thecondomhadatendencytosqueakorrustleduringsex.
Themediapouncedonthesecomplaints,andutterlyskeweredthefemalecondom.Theyridiculeditsaestheticswithseeminglylimitlesscreativity.AssociologistAmyKalerrecountsinher2004paperonthecondom’sintroduction,journalistscomparedtheproductto:
“ajellyfish,awindsock,afirehose,acolostomybag,aBaggie,gumboots,aconcertina,aplasticfreezerbag,somethingtolineBoston’sInnerHarborwith,acrossbetweenatesttubeandarubberglove,EdvardMunch’sTheScream,somethingdesignedforafemaleelephant,somethingoutofthescience-fictioncartoonTheJetsons,araincoatforaSlinkytoy,ora‘contraptionusedtopunishfallenvirginsintheDarkAges.’”
TheoriginalDanish-designedfemalecondomhasledtorangeofproducts(PhilCoomes/BBC)
Thoughthemediatreatmentwasespeciallyharsh,journalists“werepickinguponwhatweregenuinedesignissuesofthefirstgenerationofthefemalecondom,”saysKaler,anassistantprofessorattheUniversityofAlbertainCanada.“Itwasn’tthemostbeautifulthingintheworld.Itwaseasytomakefunof.Itwaskindoflaughedoutofexistencebeforeitreallygotachancetotakeoff.”
Still,thereweresignsthatWisconsinPharmacalwasontosomething.In1995,twoyearsafterbringingthecondomtomarket,LeepergotacallfromanofficialatZimbabwe’sMinistryofHealthandChildWelfare.ThehealthworkerhadreceivedapetitiondemandingthatthegovernmentofZimbabwebringthefemalecondomintothecountry.Ithadbeensignedby30,000women.
ThoughLeeperhadinitiallyenvisionedsellingthefemalecondominAmerica’sprivatesector,thecallfromZimbabwe,coupledwiththecondom’spoorreceptionintheUS,promptedthecompanytoshiftcourse.
Internationalnonprofitgroupsandaidorganisationshavelongbeenbigbuyersofmalecondoms.TheUnitedNationsPopulationFund(UNFPA),theUSAgencyforInternationalDevelopment,PopulationServiceInternationalandothersregularlypurchasemalecondomsinbulkandthendonatethem–orsellthematadeeplysubsidisedprice–toclinicsandprogrammesthatserveparticularlyhigh-riskpopulations.
In1996,WisconsinPharmacalchangeditsnametotheFemaleHealthCompanyandbegantofocusonthisglobalpublicsector,workingwithgovernments,globalhealthorganisationsandaidagenciestogetthecondomsintothehandsofat-riskwomeninlow-incomecountries.Thefemalecondombecameaparticularlyimportanttoolinseveralcountriesinsub-SaharanAfrica,where,intheearly2000s,60%ofnewHIVdiagnoseswer
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