Customer Reviews

The Humble Little Condom: A History

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"It is the story of the human spirit, with all its flaws and foibles." A book on this subject must surely be about something lofty, like aviation or inoculations. But the words are from Aine Collier's introduction to her book, _The Humble Little Condom: A History_ (Prometheus Books). For a long while, even into the twentieth century, merely mentioning the condom in print could get you into trouble, so just looking into the pages of this funny and idiosyncratic history should be a reminder that we are living in an unprecedented time of open communication on sexuality, though, darn it, there are reminders in the last chapters of just how backwards we still are in some ways. There seems to be through the centuries the same sort of pattern, where cultures discover that sheathing the male member has benefits in reducing disease or pregnancies, but then the established church or government rail against such sheaths because they don't think the delights of sex should be unlinked from the punishment of the consequences. Collier is an academic, but this is a fizzy, fact-filled text with lots of sidebars. It is as if Collier is saying that using a condom ought to be fun, so reading even a history that goes back twelve thousand years ought to be fun, too.

The ancient Egyptians used papyrus, the Chinese used oiled silk or paper, and also, like the ancient Greeks and Romans, used animal gut, still available today. The Renaissance guilds of the sausage makers didn't just make sausages. They cleaned and treated animal intestines and sold them to condom-makers. Glovers, those who made gloves (Shakespeare's father was one), were allied to the sausage makers, and it isn't just coincidence that "glove" was used as a synonym for the condom. The great innovation in materials for condoms came with the development of rubber. The firms Goodrich and Goodyear are synonymous with rubber goods like tires, but before tires they were producing rubber diaphragms, sexual toys, and condoms. Those first rubbers were nothing like the ones we have now. They were advertised as lasting for a lifetime, as long as they were washed after every use, an indication not only of durability but of how thick, stiff, and uncomfortable they must have been. It was only when they became thinner, and disposable, that they could compete against those made from guts. The latex version debuted in 1920.

In World War I, America's soldiers were the only force in Europe that were not given a standard issue of condoms. In World War II, the lesson had been learned. Posters promoted the slogan: "If you can't say no, take a pro." Again, the military was operating out of simple practicality; a soldier in the hospital for venereal disease was as negligible a fighting asset as one wounded by shrapnel. Some civilians complained that soldiers were not being taught to control themselves and were being issued excuses to behave immorally. This attitude toward members of our military seems to have faded; twenty years ago any of them could go to a military pharmacy and get condoms free just for asking (as could members of their families). Our concern has shifted to our young people, with official funding for sexual education only as long as it promotes having no sex. Dr. C. Everett Koop, with full conservative credentials, worked against the silence of the Reagan administration on AIDS and condoms, but people still get upset at the idea that their children may learn about condoms in the schools. We are not doing nearly so well as in Sweden where advice to young people about contraception was made explicit and condoms were made free to them, or Norway where the attitude has been encouraged that it is an insult for a man not to use a condom with any partner to whom he is not married. Collier quotes condom pioneer Phil Harvey: "They are so simple and so effective. They're cheap, they work anywhere in the world, and they fit everybody." Collier's amiable, informal review (it is arranged chronologically, but is within each chapter often a grab-bag of facts) helps show a history of ambivalence toward what ought to be a tool that is not only fun to use but can prevent the scourges of disease and overpopulation.

This is a fascinating history of this product, but it's a dead end: the author lists no references. Especially in the ancient history section of the book, where the author is honest that her opinion that condoms were used is controversial among historians, it would be nice to have more information to judge the reliability of her claims. And when she refers to something as a "legend" (like the Roman muscle condom), where did that information come from?

While a significant part of the book is devoted to Europe, the preponderance of the details in the book are about the U.S. and, to some extent, Britain. For example, the author mentions that "advanced manufacturing methods" were "developed in Germany" (p.156), but neglects to include that these techniques were developed by Julius Fromm, one of the major names in condom history. Japan and Russia get a few paragraphs, and some other countries are mentioned briefly. But I was disappointed that the introduction of condoms to the developing world was largely glossed over as "U.S. AID promoted condoms in the developing world", full stop.

I was also disappointed in her coverage of testing methods. She talks about early testing methods in some detail, but makes no mention of the electrolytic testing (every condom) and burst testing (a percentage of each batch) now required by the U.S. FDA. And while she mentions quality requirements in the U.S. and Britain, international quality standards for condoms (such as ISO 4074) didn't make it into the book. References are again a problem here; on p.311 she says the FDA found that 20% of U.S. condoms did not meet quality requirements in the "mid-nineties". This may be of significant importance to people who rely on condoms, but no other details are given that would enable a reader to find the original FDA report.

Another reviewer commented that this book was meant for "light reading". While the first chapter or two of the book is rather choppy, the rest of the book is a fascinating and informative read. I learned a lot from the author's good presentation of facts. But overall, I guess I was looking for something more "serious".

That's how good this book is. Collier has taken a Traditionally a taboo subject and written A page turner. Nonfiction that is a joy to read is a rare commodity . Collier has hit paydirt with this funnyand enlightening facet of unreported human history.

I was surprised to find a book (any book) on a subject like this. It is extremely well written and researched. Many very interesting facts presented in an easily readable form. A great gift for your friends.

Meant for light reading, "The Humble Little Condom" is a delightful retrospective of just how humanity's been using and viewing contraception for the past few thousand years. With each chapter divided into vignettes, frequently interspersed with anecdotes too fun (or thought provoking) to leave out, it's an easy read that can be put down and picked back up without any sense of disruption. The only major drawback is the lack of a bibliography or source list: although there is no reason to doubt Ms. Collier's credibility, the lack of further reading options is frustrating. Four stars.

The claim that a 12,000 year-old cave painting portrays a prehistoric man and woman having sex using a makeshift condom that is the first instance of condom use described in this book should be backed up with a copy of said painting. (I'm from Missouri, the "Show Me State," and I'll have to see the painting myself to believe it and I've not yet been able to find reproductions of such art work anywhere even though I've searched high and low). Getting by that questionable opening claim, it was fascinating to learn that the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all practiced contraception because they wanted to limit family size to only one son and one daughter. The idea was to not dilute the family's wealth by having too many heirs. It's also amazing that those early civilizations were able to develop relatively reliable forms of birth control. It enabled the population to still have all the sex they could manage without having to raise unwanted children. And those early civilizations were definitely every bit as randy as current societies. Like politicians, people may have said one thing, but they were acting very differently in private.
The intestines and bladders of animals provided some of the earliest condoms. Roman soldiers along with their camp followers carried them to battles all over the known world. Victorious gladiators were much in demand for sexual trysts by wealthy women after surviving their life and death battles in the arenas, but bearing their children wasn't part of the sexual thrill so the women took precautions to avoid both pregnancy and disease.
In feudal times much of the knowledge and practices of safe sex were preserved and practiced by Christian priests. Some Popes actually wanted to see more use of condoms and birth control to cut down on the number of illegitimate children fathered and mothered by nuns, priests and their mistresses.
Among the sub-themes of this book are numerous examples of the monumental stupidity of politicians and pressure groups made up of utopian do-gooders and religious zealots that were so blinded by their absolute conviction of their rightness that they deny the basic laws of nature. The book also illustrates over and over throughout history how bad laws passed by these utopian seeking holier-than-thou coalitions are simply ignored or out flanked until they eventually fade away. But the stupidity of their ridiculous laws cost many people their lives and produced untold misery to millions of people throughout the ages. Queen Victoria was one of the best examples and her stubbornness and denials led to the death of her son and grandson from venereal disease. She was not alone however in beliefs that most people are too stupid to know what is best for them. Politicians throughout the ages have made and continue to make that error. Failure of face sexual facts could have cost the Allies World War I, but fortunately only the Americans and English were so dangerously naïve. The Americans had learned the same painful lesson in the Civil War, but those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Generals throughout history have known the importance of condoms to keeping their fighting men fit for battle. Armies not practicing safe sex often lost more men to disease than to actual battle wounds.
The writer was able to keep this 371-page history interesting from beginning to end. She definitely knows her subject as well as how to make it interesting to readers. A few examples of her sense of humor include facts such as condom conscious John Lennon used a condom "to cover his microphone while recording `Yellow Submarine.' He liked the sound effect." Another neighborhood legend reported by the author was about "a story going around during the war that a British soldier's use of his prophy to keep his gun's firing mechanism warm in freezing weather led to the suggestion that Durex manufacture eighteen-inch condoms (for the larger gun barrels); Churchill was said to have agreed on two conditions--that the condom be labeled `Made in Britain,' and `Medium.'" American bomber pilots on long bombing raids over Germany used handy condoms to urinate in and then dropped the sealed liquid-filled balloons on the enemy below. The author makes a point of lightening up her text by repeating many of the age-old jokes about condoms. The best of those jokes are the ones with an ounce of truth in them.
Everything considered, this is a fascinating, enjoyable book that is filled with interesting, and often unknown, and unpublicized history. It's also true that AIDS has made the condom more necessary in today's world than it was at any time throughout history. Few inventions of history are so functional that they continue to survive throughout the ages.