SafeSex
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Test-driving LELO's 'condom of the future'
I'm not proud of it. As someone who's at high risk for HIV infection, I have a spotty relationship with safe sex. I came of age in the '90s, when rappers like Salt-N-Pepa and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes frequently spit rhymes about rubbers. I volunteered in a South African AIDS orphanage in the early 2000s and saw first-hand the effects of unprotected sex. I even had my own close brush with HIV infection nearly 10 years ago. And yet, I don't always do the right thing. NSFW Warning: This story may contain links to and descriptions or images of explicit sexual acts.
Durex thinks a condom emoji can help promote safe sex
Look, there's already a taco emoji, so it doesn't seem far fetched to have one that represents a condom as well. After all, despite their obvious differences, they both have something in common: pleasure. That's why Durex, a brand of male contraceptives, is hard at work advocating for a condom emoji. "An official safe sex emoji will enable young people to overcome embarrassment around the discussion of safe sex," the company says, adding that it can "encourage conversation and raise awareness of the importance of using condoms in protecting against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS."
Color-changing condoms could tell which VD you just got
A group of teenage inventors have struck upon a clever (albeit still very conceptual) way to alert folks to the presence of various venereal diseases before the burning starts: fluorescing condoms that light up when they encounter dangerous bacteria or virii. The team from Isaac Newton Academy in Illford, England developed the "glowing condom" concept, dubbed S.T.Y.E, as part of this year's TeenTech awards. It would reportedly operate as a normal condom does but also incorporate a sheath of molecules that attach to the diseases and set off a fluorescent reaction. The added layer would literally glow different colors when in contact with various STDs -- green for chlamydia, yellow for herpes, purple for HPV and blue for syphilis.
Game Boy condom concept helps you level up
Just like the iCade, this is one of those "just for fun" ideas that actually seems to make a great deal of commercial sense. Think about it, Nintendo has sold bajillions of handheld consoles in its time, and it keeps churning out sequels that mean even newer followers are familiar with such classics as Donkey Shlong. And Mario's mushroom-related growth spurts? Marketing gold! So why not capitalize on all that brand awareness with this selection of cheerfully colored condom cases? Designed by Ben Marsh and Julia Roach, they aim to "create a desire to purchase the product for aesthetic reasons," and quite frankly, they do succeed. This certainly puts a whole new spin on the idea of power-ups, though.
Safe sex UCONN video game up for bids
The University of Connecticut has opened up bidding for developers to produce a Safer Sex Video Game. Although there was a mandatory pre-proposal teleconference to begin the process last week, we're talking about academia here, so everything is negotiable. To start, there is a 43-page document to download, which includes all the requirements for the project and qualifications for bidding.Safe sex games are nothing new, especially as educators look for other outlets to communicate sexual education messages in countries with strict sex education policies, like the U.S.'s "abstinence only" programs.The Europeans have taken a far more in-your-face approach to getting out safe sex messages with advertisements -- like the one seen above (minus our puritanical black bars) -- and games like Iffy Stiffy, Scratch My Box and Catch the Sperm.[Additional info from IGDA Sex SIG]
