An embarassment of condoms

Working in a convenience store, one is bound to see and experience a broad scope of people, things, actions and emotions. Some of these are funny, others annoying, and some are downright stupid …

The one scenario that never ceases to amaze me though is how embarassed people are when they come into the store to buy a box of condoms. I have had people whisper their request, ask me away from other customers, go crimson red, and even attempt to disguise it by using the lesser known term ‘prophyllactic device’.

I don’t understand–in a world in which we are bombarded everyday with images of sexuality and provocativeness, messages of safe sex and disease awareness, and knowledge of children abandoned or aborted because they weren’t wanted, why is it such a big deal? Even the average conversation of the people coming into the store is typically loaded with comments based around sexual nature. Let’s face it, having sex just isn’t a social taboo to the extent it once was, if at all … so why should people be embarassed?

Embarassment should come from things that are regretable. To walk into a store and ask for a box of condoms should not be one of those things … instead, it should be something to hold your head high over.

Why?

My personal beliefs on sexual conduct not withstanding (I don’t believe in extra-relationship sex), by wearing a condom, you may have prevented a disease from spreading, or a baby from being abandoned or aborted because they simply weren’t wanted. That simple question at the convenience store counter, or purchase at the pharmacy, is an adult, responsible decision, regardless of whether you think or intend it to be one.

Still embarassed?