История создания презерватива

Surname

Student’s name

Instructor’s name

Course

Date February 26, 2013

History of Condoms

Condom is a barrier type means of contraception, as well as a means of protection against many viruses, sexually transmitted diseases. Ii is a hood impervious for sperm that fits over the erect penis. Condoms are designed to prevent conception and sexually transmitted diseases. Modern condoms are most often made ​​from latex, although other materials, such as polyurethane, are used (Harper, 181).

History of condoms counts at least 400 years. The oldest condom extant has been found in Lund, Sweden and dates back to 1640. The condom was invented in the early 16th century by Dr. Charles Condom for Henry VIII. It was made ​​from the mucous membrane of the sheep’s intestine. According to some reports, condoms were used in ancient Egypt and Rome.

Antiquity and the Middle Ages

The oldest possible evidence of condom is its supposed image in the French cave Grotte des Combarelles made ​​12-15 thousand years ago. Among the historians, there is no consensus about whether condoms were used in antiquity. In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, a woman was responsible for contraception. Therefore, all the well-documented contraceptive devices of those times, were designed for women. Ancient texts contain subtle indications and techniques for male contraception, but most historians believe that they tell not about condoms, but about the interrupted sexual intercourse or anal sex. The factor contributing cessation of contraception, was the spread of Christianity, declared any contraceptive methods sinful.

At the same time, the male condoms were used before the 15^th century in Asia. Condoms covered only the head of the penis, and apparently were used only by the upper classes. At the end of the 15^th century, Dutch merchants began to bring condoms made of "thin leather" from China.

Renaissance

At the end of the 15^th century the epidemic of syphilis began. The first reliable mention of syphilis was dated 1495 year. Then pustules often covered the body from the head to the knees, and death occurred within a few months. The first authentic mention of condoms was found in the treatise De Morbo Gallico by the Italian physician Gabriel Fallopian, published in 1564, two years after the author's death. To protect against syphilis Fallopian recommends a device that, according to him, he invented himself: a linen cover, soaked in a special chemical solution and then dried. Fallopian wrote that he tested their device on 1100 people, and none of them got infected with a terrible disease. After the publication of De Morbo Gallico the widespread distribution of condoms begins (Hatcher, Trussel, Nelson, 48-50). Their use for the prevention of infection was referred to in many texts across Europe. The first explicit reference to the use of “un petit linge” (a small piece of tissue) to prevent pregnancy occurs in the French novel and the play L'Escole des filles (“The philosophy of the girls”) in 1655. In 1666 the English Birth Rate Commission found that the cause of reduced fertility was in wide use of “Condon” (condons). This was the first mention of the word "condom" or the one similar to it. Besides linen, condoms during the Renaissance were made from the intestines and bladders of animals.

18^th Century

In the texts of 18^th century, condoms were mentioned more frequently than in earlier sources. Not all of these mentions were positive: thus, in 1708, John Campbell unsuccessfully called on Parliament to prohibit them. The famous English physician Daniel Turner condemned condoms. In his view, condoms did not provide complete protection against syphilis, but a false sense of security forced men to engage in promiscuous sex with dubious partners. Later in the 18^th century, doctors criticized the use of condoms from the ethical position: they believed that the use of condoms was immoral.

Despite the criticism, condom sales grew rapidly. They were made ​​of linen, or “skin” - intestines or bladder treated with sulfur or sodium hydroxide. They were sold in bars, hair salons, pharmacies, markets and theatrical performances throughout Europe. The first mention of checking the quality of condoms is found in Giacomo Casanova’s memoirs.

In colonial America, only female contraceptives were used. The first mention of the use of condoms in the United States dates back to 1800, almost 30 years after gaining independence.

Before the beginning of the 18^th century, condom use was limited to middle and upper class. The reason was lack of awareness of the working class on sexually transmitted diseases, and their high price. For the typical prostitute price of a condom was consistent with her earnings for several months.

19^th Century

At the beginning of 19^th century, promotion of contraception among the working people began. Although the authors recommended other methods of contraception because of the high cost of condoms and their unreliability (then condoms were often torn, fell or were full of holes), however it was noted that condoms were useful in some cases, and that only they protect against syphilis (Oriel, 85). One group of British supporters of contraception began to spread in poor neighborhoods literature about condoms, with instructions for their production at home, and in 1840, the same treatises were distributed in both urban and rural areas of the North American States.

From 1820 to 1870, the lecturers, men and women, traveled across the U.S., lecturing on physiology and sex. Many of them after the lectures sold contraceptives, including condoms. In the 1840s, condom advertising appeared in the English newspapers, and in 1861 in the New York Times.

The first rubber condom was made in 1855, and by the end of 1850 some of the largest rubber products companies have established, among other things, mass production of condoms. The main advantage of rubber condoms was reusability, making them more efficient. By the end of the 19^th century the word "”rubber” became a euphemism for a condom in various countries around the globe. First, rubber condoms covered only glans. The doctor had to measure the glans size, and then the right size was ordered. Despite this, condoms often fell. Later, the producers realized that they could increase sales of products, making condoms of the same size, covering the entire penis, and selling them in pharmacies.

The second half of the 19^th century was marked by the struggle against condoms using legislative methods. In 1873, in the North American United States Comstock act, prohibited the transfer of materials having “obscene, lewd, and / or lascivious” character was adopted. This category covered condoms, and information about them. In addition, 30 states have passed laws prohibiting the production and sale of condoms. Despite all the obstacles, condoms were widely available in Europe and America and advertised under such names as the “male shield” and “rubber good.” At the end of 19^th century in Europe, they were called “a little something for the weekend.”

Not only moralists were opponents of condoms. At the end of 19^th century, the feminist movement in Europe and America was strongly against condoms. According to the feminists, birth control should belong entirely to women. Despite criticism and legal prohibitions, at the end of 19^th century, condoms were the most popular means of birth control in the western world.

From the second half of the 19^th century, the incidence of STDs in the United States has increased dramatically. Among the reasons historians call the Civil War and ignorance in the prevention of STDs, which were caused by the Comstock laws. Sexual abstinence was declared the only way to prevent STDs.

20^th – 21^st Centuries

At the beginning of 20^th century, experiments carried out in the U.S. Army, showed that the distribution of condoms to soldiers dramatically reduced the incidence of STDs. Quality control of condoms became more popular. Worldwide, condom sales doubled in 1920.

Still there were many opponents of condoms, among them – feminists, moralists. Doctors and… Freud (because they reduced sexual satisfaction).

In 1920, the latex was invented. American Youngs Rubber Company was the first to produce latex condoms. They were thinner and stronger than the old rubber condoms and could be kept for 5 years instead of 3 months.

Condom sales boom falls to the Great Depression years. Only in the U.S. alone people purchased 1.5 million condoms a day. In 1937 FDA classified condoms as a medicine and required that each condom to be tested before packaging (Youssef, 118).

During World War II, condoms were not only distributed to male U.S. soldiers, but their use has been heavily promoted in the films, posters and lectures. Many slogans were invented for the army, such as “Don't forget - put it on before you put it in.”

Between 1955 and 1965, 42% of Americans of reproductive age relied on condoms as a means of birth control.

In 1957, Durex manufactured the first lubricated condoms. The first television advertisement for condoms in the United States came out November 17, 1991. Condoms began to be sold in a variety of stores, including supermarkets and retail chains. Condoms have continued to improve: in 1990 Durex released a first polyurethane condom Avanti. Durex was also the first condom manufacturer, who opened its website. It happened in 1997.

The use of condoms in the world continues to grow: according to statistics, in 2015 only developing countries will need 18.6 billion of condoms.

 

Works Cited

Harper, Douglas. Condom. Online Etymology Dictionary. 2001.

Hatcher, RA; Trussel, J; Nelson, AL. Contraceptive Technology (19th ed.). New York: Ardent Media. 2008.

Oriel. The Scars of Venus: A History of Venereology. London: Springer-Verlag. 1994.

Youssef, H. The history of the condom. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2001.

Boston Women's Health Book Collective. Our Bodies, Ourselves: A New Edition for a New Era. New York, NY: Touchstone. 2005.