Vampires Take Condoms Mainstream
September 18th, 2009
My husband and I have started watching True Blood – the HBO vampire series that takes place in the American deep South. Vampires are about nothing if not sex and lust; they seduce you so that they can drink your blood. So, as one might expect, it’s a pretty sex-filled show. I was impressed to see that condoms featured in two scenes early in the first season. Of course, ideally it would be so commonplace for sex in the media to be accompanied by condoms that I wouldn’t have noticed. But it isn’t, so when the first vampire-orgy condom came flying off with that familiar elastic latex “thwack”, my hubby and I exchanged wide-eyed grins and exclaimed in unison, “That was a condom!”
We both went to the same conservative small town high school, where the biology teacher was on a personal mission to obliterate condoms from the face of the earth. He was known (and respected in the community) for his unwavering commitment to abstinence-based sex education. Multiple choice quizzes were marked to the tune of “that’s right, A for Abstinence” and “C, for Condoms, which will not protect you from AIDS”. He famously mimed putting on and zipping up the “full-body titanium steel body armour that you would need to protect yourself from pregnancy and AIDS”. With the virtual absence of condoms in the media and this kind of blatantly false messaging from school and church, it’s no wonder people do not really understand the role that condoms have to play in HIV prevention.
These days, there can be no reasonable doubt about the effectiveness of the male condom at preventing the transmission of HIV. Even the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which exists under a great deal of conservative political pressure, clearly state in their fact sheet: “latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective in preventing the sexual transmission of HIV”. Studies (like this one) have followed couples in which one partner has HIV and the other does not (called serodiscordant or magnetic couples). The studies show that less than 2% of heterosexual HIV positive individuals pass the virus on to their long-term partners if they always use condoms. Where condoms are not always used, 10 to 18% transmit HIV to their partners. This is a significant difference and clearly, the widespread use of condoms would substantially curb the spread of HIV.
It will take some creative work to get condoms into the mainstream consciousness. In this part of the world, where people get most of their ideas and assumptions from TV, I believe the appearance of condoms in hit shows like True Blood is a big piece in the HIV prevention puzzle. Let’s hope executive producer Alan Ball is just paving the way!
-Miriam
This blog represents the ideas of individual writers, and does not necessarily reflect any formal stance taken by Positive Women's Network.
This was posted on Friday, September 18th, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under HIV Prevention, News . Feel free to respond, or trackback.
One Response to “Vampires Take Condoms Mainstream”
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dana Says:
This is a great article! Not only do I completely agree, but I also love that you found a way to bring Vampires into the conversation!
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