You might think that using condoms means you’re securing your sexual health at the expense of your sexual pleasure, but according to a study published last month by the Journal of Sexual Medicine, condoms aren’t that inconvenient and do not reduce your levels of satisfaction.
According to the study’s lead author Debby Herbenick, an associate research scientist and co-director of the Centre for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University, ‘There’s this commonly held belief that condom use makes sex feel less natural or pleasurable. But when people use them, sex happens to be great.’
For the study, the team looked at responses from 5,865 men and women ages 18 to 59 in the 2009 National Survey of Sexual Health. The participants reported on their most recent sexual event, including whether the sexual experience involved performing or receiving oral sex, and engaging in vaginal or anal intercourse. Further data was collected on whether the partner was a spouse or domestic partner, girlfriend or boyfriend, friend, new acquaintance or “transactional sex partner” (prostitute).
The researchers discovered that, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, participants reported highly arousing and pleasurable sexual experience even when using a condom or lubricant. Also, 24% of the women studied were unsure about the condom’s material, compared to just 9% of men, and the researchers surmised that this may be because men typically buy condoms. When it came to oral sex, more women than men reported using a condom or other protective barrier.
The study was funded by Church & Dwight Co, Inc., the maker of Trojan Brand condoms, and Lee Heerten, sexual health coordinator for the University Health Centre argued that the company really does have your sexual wellbeing in mind: ‘I’ve met some of the researchers at Trojan’s. They do take ethics really seriously. That’s important when you have a company funding this research.’
He went on to say that this study is refreshing, as most sexual wellness studies are disease-based: ‘I think often times when we talk about sexual health, we think about negative outcomes that can occur. We don’t think about the positive things it brings to peoples’ lives. Pleasure is one of those things.’
Heerten explained the reason you may not wear a condom may be because of religion, alcohol-impaired memory, condom availability and ability to find the ‘right’ condom: ‘A lot of pleasure and condom usage comes down to having the right fit. People don’t understand condoms come in different sizes. They might try one condom and not like it, and decide condoms are not for them, when really that might not be the case.’
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