In the last decade of the twentieth century the «safe sex» message - advocating the use of
condoms to prevent pregnancy and curb the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases - has endured relentless attacks by conservative religious groups who seek to instill
doubt and promote an abstinence-only theme in American public schools. The essays in this book
provide a stimulating historical and cultural inquiry into the multiplicity of meanings
attributed to one prophylactic: the condom. Given the vast array of sexual attitudes toward
condom usage within American culture and around the world Culture and the Condom will provoke
readers into examining significant dominant discourses and alternative perspectives by viewing
condoms through the lens of cinematic and television imagery artistic representations
statistical analyses commercial advertising and animation.
