Misleading condom packaging inadvertently promotes sex ‘without consent’
Yikes
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Your support makes all the difference.Did you know that custom condom packaging was a thing?
Purpose-built and a slave to utility, why shouldn’t condoms get the same personalised touch as say, an office mug or a jar of Nutella?
The answer, as illustrated by personalisation company Say It With A Condom, is that you might accidentally incentivise rapists, possibly explaining why the personalised contraception industry is such a niche market.
In a poor attempt at wordplay, the brand released a condom wrapper that featured a cartoon doughnut followed by the words “go further without consent.”
It doesn’t take a genius to see the problem here.
The doughnut drawing was intended to be read as “do not,” significantly altering the wrapper’s slogan to read “do not go further without consent.”
The difference between discouraging and encouraging rapists is quite a significant one, particularly for a contraception company, that in this case only the canniest of catchphrase aficionados would have spotted.
Naturally, confused and offended customers took to Twitter to vent their bewilderment that a contraception company seemed to be promoting rape.
After seeing the backlash online, Say It With A Condom removed the condom from their site and have revealed that they will be more savvy with their designs moving forward.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan, the company’s founder Benjamin Sherman revealed that they will now be asking followers on their social media platforms to offer their thoughts on new packaging ideas.
Sherman explained that while he understands why the packaging was misleading, he is pleased to have brought the contentious issue of consent into the public domain.
“By way of the design, we're continuing the conversation about how important it is to ask for consent before engaging in any sexual activity," he said.
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