While we unfortunately still live in a society in which women can be shamed for having (and god forbid, enjoying) sex, a new survey may indicate that our attitudes are shifting.
According to results from a survey shared with Refinery29 by Trojan Condoms, when seeing a woman buy condoms, only 4% of people polled made a negative assumption or judgment about her. 96% of those polled, on the other hand, said that they saw her as being responsible and smart, or don't find it to be any of their business. (It's not.)
In other words, an overwhelming majority of people refreshingly saw a woman who bought condoms as responsible instead of "slutty," as they should.
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Additionally, the survey found that 68% of women either "strongly disagreed" or "disagreed" that it was a man's "responsibility" and not the woman's to provide condoms during a heterosexual hookup, though only 18% of women said that they purchased the condom for their last sexual encounter.
The findings were part of the results from Indiana University’s National Survey of Sexual Health & Behaviour, which is soon to be released publicly.
The survey also found that over two-thirds of condoms are purchased by men, and 65% of women had never bought condoms. Plus, just 3% of women carried condoms in their bags or purses regularly.
That, of course, isn't to say that these women aren't being responsible when it comes to safe sex — after all, there's more than one way to be safe. But the survey's results at least suggest that women who do choose to buy condoms may not face as much stigma as they used to — and that's the way it should be.
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