The Female Condom (FC2): News and Reviews

Shout-out to all the females who want to step up and take control of your protection; your moment in the sun has finally arrived!  The Female Health Company has developed a new version of the female condom made of synthetic latex in a considerably less expensive manufacturing process--and it was approved this week by the FDA Advisory Panel.  FC2  prevents the transmission of STIs and prevents pregnancy, allowing women not only the opportunity to be in charge of their contraception, but their overall health as well.  Plus, the new device has the potential for wider acceptability and utilization since it is expected to be more affordable for individuals and programs, the latter of which might actually push it this time around.  Oh, and did I mention that it feels and sounds slightly less like a Ziplock sandwich bag?

Our own Dr. Colleen Hoff, director of the Center on Research on Gender and Sexuality, co-authored a study on the OG female condom back in 2000 (with principal investigator Dr. Kyung-Hee Choi), and published in the 2008 American Journal of Public Health. Today, Dr Hoff told me that lowered cost probably would make folks more likely to use female condoms, but the real barrier was lack of familiarity:

"Women had difficulty inserting the condom, and negotiating using it with their partners. We actually had them practice--with us--how to use it until they were comfortable. We also introduced communication skills that made it easier for them to discuss it with their partners. Both of these things were instrumental in increasing their use of the condom."

The fact that the FC2 is made of latex, like typical condoms, could also be a problem, says Hoff:

"Male partners really liked that the polyurethane was more sensitive and transmitted body heat; this made it easier to get over some of the aesthetic issues with the female condom. If the FC2 is not as sensitive as the original one, men might be less likely to use it."

As always, accessibility and cost are huge when it comes to making healthy sexual choices--and the new FC2 holds hope for breaking those barriers. But ultimately, having knowledge, skills and support are key to getting contraceptives off the drawing board and into the bedroom.

So unroll the FC2--but let's see some real sex ed to go along with it.

Here's what our readers said about FC1:

Excerpt from “So Many Choices,” American Sexuality magazine, 2007:

Suzie: “It scared the crap out of me. It was so big, I felt as though it was going to rip me apart; its uncanny resemblance to the future of Ziplocks might have had something to do with it.  Definitely a bit of a mood kill…  Even though it comes pre-packaged with a silicone based lubricant, we still added some extra water based lube (polyurethane can handle both types of lube) cause we heard it might decrease the noise.  Did I mention that yet?  It’s very noisy. We weren’t exactly sure where to put the extra lube and ended up putting too much on the outer ring.  Read: too much lube makes vagina very hungry.  Swallowed it up like a guppy fish.”

Rachel: “I just felt its size was way too cumbersome.  I should probably mention that I wasn’t using it for heterosexual intercourse so maybe that was also a problem; I think they’re made with the intention of penis/vagina sex.  Anyway, I got frustrated with it and basically ripped it out mid way through (the act) cause it was just disgusting.  Another time I tried using it during a fisting situation but there wasn’t enough lubricant on it- we weren’t able to keep the area lubricated enough which is super, super important when you're shoving a fist up a loved ones vagina”

Rob: “Note to all the guys out there who think double bagging it is a ‘good thing’:  it’s not.  And that goes two fold for teaming up male and female condoms, which my girlfriend and I regrettably discovered. The friction between the two caused my (male) condom to slip off every now and then.  But the worst part was that since we kept going, the female condom ended up getting lodged inside my girlfriend’s vagina. And we all know how embarrassing those hospital visits can be.”