What happens when an administration changes...

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:07pm

... and government health fact sheets start getting real?

Previously, in The Unreal World, mentions of condoms were struck from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheets. Today, in The Real World, things are slowly, quietly shifting to honest discussions about actual behaviors and relative health risks associated with them.

Perhaps this was quietly released while people were distracted by the piggy flu. But the fact is, it's significant that grown up discussion about grown up things appears to be back. Sure, it airs on the side of caution, but at least the topic is out in the light of day.
Oral Sex and HIV Risk

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:11pm

Wow. Rimming mentioned in an official CDC document!

[Q]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:14pm

Where do things stand with the needle exchange issue? The last I heard, they had back-pedaled.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:17pm

they're still working on the roll-out for that, q.

this was one of the initial working images for the program:

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:20pm

Papa! Where did you get that? My nephew wanted one for Christmas and all the stores were out. He had to settle for a Crack Whore Handy Manny instead.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:23pm

it came with my nyc needle exchange kit. just add heroin!

Updated On: 6/5/09 at 01:23 PM

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:30pm

Oooh, cola flavored! Is it more Pepsi or Coke?

[D2]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:31pm

Oh my God, Papa. You're needle is HUGE!

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:32pm

deet, flattery will get you everywhere.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:40pm

Nobody would say an injection tickles! From here on out, it's "a little pinch."

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:43pm

i'm glad you resisted what had to be a very powerful urge there, namo.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:49pm

People really love the novelty of those flavored condoms but as the gifted alternative theatrical impresario Abe Rybeck once rhetorically asked, "Why don't they make a dick-flavored condom?"

Updated On: 6/5/09 at 01:49 PM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 1:54pm

ugh, i still have nightmares about a mint-flavored condom that was applied backwards. "oh yes! oh god! ow! jesus! holy f***!!!!!! owwwwwwww!!!! oh god it burns!! it buuuuurrrrrrnnnnnnnnsssssss!!

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 2:02pm

LMFAO!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 2:12pm

If you want to talk condom disasters, a certain person I know who never bottoms was enjoying an exceedingly rare encounter that included homosexual intercourse. I He had no idea that the condom I he gave the guy to put on was of the colored variety. And not just any color but fire engine red. When the enthusiastic romp came to its conclusion, I he turned to inspect the integrity of the disease-preventing prophylactic and found what resembled nothing so much as a cruller that had been dipped in red paint.

I He embarrassed himself by reenacting Linzi Hateley's frantic gym shower scene from "Carrie: The Musical."

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 2:17pm

Is this the one where Tootie overhears Jo being pushed by Eddie the sailor to swallow for their next rendezvous after the Cotillion, but after silently struggling with her moral dilemma and a poorly-blocked tender discussion with Natalie, she agrees that blabbing to Mrs. Garrett is in Jo's best interests?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 2:26pm

No, this is the one where Lana wants to give Jack and Philipe a lesson in salad tossing at Angelino's Restaurant but when Janet and Chrissy overhear him telling Lana he can't wait for them "to toss salad together," they get the entirely wrong idea.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 2:43pm

Red condoms. Why do they even make them?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 2:45pm

To scare the hell out of me my friends.

By the way, I'd just like to point out that it may be the toniest thing nowadays to mock the very notion of small, incremental changes (often compared to the steps taken by toddlers) as not being radical or satisfying enough in the short term, but I actually do take comfort in how a seemingly small course correction can have big implications for the future. Perhaps it's just the wisdom of advancing years and the attendant increase in patience that often comes with having been around the block a few times, but this sort of thing is a really good start for a country that is awful at talking about sex and that has been officially prevented from doing so for a long time.

Updated On: 6/5/09 at 02:45 PM

[NYadgal]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 2:50pm

I like pink.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 2:51pm

However, I would applaud and encourage anybody who has the wherewithal to make a bold, radical move like the one in the above photo!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 2:53pm

These condoms were blessed by the pope...



...in his own adorable way.

Updated On: 6/5/09 at 02:53 PM

[Scripps2]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 3:31pm

I prefer blue.

Seriously, the advice different governments put out in different countries can be surprising.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 4:39pm

Definitely. But hey, it's nice the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are no longer forbidden from mentioning rubbers, no matter their color or flavor.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 4:46pm

Or their ... ?

...ahem...gulp...size?