Valentine's Day Gets Told to 'Wrap It Up'

   For us veterans in the relationship world, Valentine's Day is a lot like an Anti-Independence Day. Every day of the year I'm required to be a good boyfriend by listening, paying attention, buying gifts, dressing up for dinners and paying for those dinners; there is, yet, another day where I have to go above and beyond just to make sure I get laid that night.

   Because I am a grown adult, and because I have a consensual partner, I should be able to decide how I want to have sex that night—especially since I've practically paid for it with the amount of dough I tend to throw around on the dinner, itself. But what do I do when my partner ix-nay's the idea of tossing the Jimmy hat?

   Being a huge proponent of safe sex, I think it's important to notate my flaws: the fact that I have had unprotected sex. Being a gay male in America, I laugh when I hear someone say that they "always use condoms", when in reality, there is an entire niche in porn for people to not use condoms and go "bareback". There are even websites dedicated to finding anonymous bareback sex, and foregoing the condom for just honest disclosure.

    As disastrous or risk-taking as this may seem, it would be unfair to point the blame to anyone but ourselves. Living in Arizona, I remember specifically being told in my high school health class, "abstinence is the only way." No talk of condoms- period.  

   Valentine's Day would seem to be the easiest target for condom manufacturers and sex-pioneers to get a safe message across to the general public; it would be a no-brainer to put condoms right next to the chocolates. In fact, that's how some major distributors on the east coast are doing it. In New Jersey, Walgreen's is now using end-shelves as marketing tools for condoms that have Valentine's memorabilia on the same aisle.

   However, it doesn't seem to be shooting in the right direction considering that many of the times people need a condom, it's not ideal to get behind the wheel and find a 24-hour shop.

   A local Phoenix non-profit called "Project Hard Hat" is fixing that issue by making condoms accessible and free in gay bars (the gay community has to be especially prevalent in dispensing condoms considering the conservative-pushed stereotype that all gay men are promiscuous). There are other avenues presenting themselves, as well.

   Last year, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched a mobile app on Valentine's Day dedicated to finding the closest free condom dispensary.

   The "NYC Condom" app was in response to accelerated STD's rising in the city, and, specifically, the consistent reports of STD's to the health department in February.

   However, it's interesting to note that STD's generally have an incubation period of 2 weeks to 3 months, putting the actual times of sexual intercourse more in the turn-of-the-year holidays time range.  

   So we have to wonder, is the condom being tossed on Valentine's Day more-so than other days? Or are they actually being utilized during the month of love? It's hard to tell because of the differences to people buying condoms and actually using them.

   However you choose to "do it", make it safe. Considering I tend to not practice what I preach, and so far I've batted 0-2 on my Valentine's, it looks like I'll have to stock up on the Trojans.