Safer Is More Fun

My friends always make fun of me because they say I’m like an old man in the body of a boy. They think I exaggerate because I’m always lecturing them to be responsible and take care of their sex lives. But I’m not just saying this lightly, rather I try to advise them so they don’t spend bad times after having had a really good one.

A fright that’s no delight

Like my friend Javier, who came one day to school all pale and baggy eyed from not having slept the night before. I asked what was wrong and he said he was very concerned because he thought his girlfriend might be pregnant. I didn’t even know that they were having sex. Javier told me that for some time now, when his mother went to work, they would take advantage of the house being all to themselves and had intense kissing and caressing sessions, but always stopping before getting to have sex. At the beginning, they did it fully dressed, since both were very scared of facing and unwanted pregnancy. 

However, as time went by, they wore less and less clothing, until one day they weren’t able to stop and got to penetration. He says he tried to pull his penis out before ejaculating but he’s not sure if he did it entirely. “But, why didn’t you use a condom?”, I asked him, in a scolding tone, and he answered that they didn’t have any condoms because they thought that by not having them, they wouldn’t fall into the temptation of having sex, since both their families had always taught them that this happened only after getting married. 

Javier’s anguish lasted several days, until his girlfriend finally told him she had gotten her period. Now that he was relieved, I told him to always have a condom handy so that, if they continued having sex, they did it safely. 

Our other friends found out about this and even laughed at Javier a little, since they had already gone through this terrible scare, sometimes more than once. And they just said it like that, as if it were a triumph! As if it were something that we all have to go through once. I reminded them that this wasn’t the case, that if we didn’t want to have an unexpected pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection we always had to protect ourselves by wearing a condom. 

“But this ruins the entire moment”, said Fernando. “I can barely convince the girl to have sex, I’m not going to ruin the effort in order to put on a condom”. Mario, my other friend, backed him up and added that typical ancient argument, that he didn’t use it because “it doesn’t feel the same with a condom. Because of this, I told everyone that that’s exactly the problem: thinking that the condom is an obstacle for pleasure, when in fact, it’s something that can give us peace of mind in order to fully enjoy the moment. 

It’s not an obstacle for fun

If we all used the condom correctly, I reminded them, neither Fernando nor Mario would have been worried that they might have gotten an infection because of having sex somewhere at a party. Of course, Javier would not have spent sleepless nights thinking what he was going to do if his girlfriend had really been pregnant. It seems that they would rather live this anguish rather than be prepared with a condom in their pocket (a pocket with enough space so that it’s not squished or damaged).

And that’s why they say I’m the old man of the group, because I insist that it’s better to be prepared for anything that might affect the plans we have in that moment: finishing school, go out with friends and buying things you like: comics, videogames, sneakers, etc. They can’t keep seeing condoms as an obstacle when it’s actually a tool that protects your health, such as toothpaste or eyeglasses. Besides, it can’t be bad to invite your partner to get involved in using one, or, why not? Choosing a fun one you can use together, like one that has color, aroma or a bold texture. If we can take this as something natural that will avoid problems and headaches, I’m sure we would all use them. 
At AHF Panama, we want you to enjoy safely. That’s why we have free condoms for you. Visit us or send us a message via WhatsApp for more information.