BUILDING BODY ACCEPTANCE

From the playground to the changing room to the mirror, being comfortable in the skin you’re in is a constant and often life-long challenge that many face. When talking about condom sizes, the conversation is rife with potential triggers for negativity, shame, or general discomfort.

MyONE^® Condoms recognizes the importance of creating an environment where people feel comfortable and accepted to discuss any potential issues they’re facing with their current condom use and explore how myONE’s products may help.

While many of us remember the classic stretch test from our sexual education where someone puts a condom on their arm to "prove" condoms fit everyone, it’s time to retire this age-old approach. The reality is that more than four out of five condom users experience issues with condom fit. Every body is different, but it’s a fair assumption that the majority of condom users are not concerned with fitting their wrist, forearm, or cucumber (or any other vegetable, for that matter) into a condom. There are bones in arm, but a penis can go instantly soft if a condom is too tight (no bones in “boner”). And many people actually experience condom slippage. In fact, the most common complaints about traditionally sized condom have little to to do with the ability of latex condoms to stretch:

• Condoms are too long
• Condoms are too short
• Condoms are too tight
• Condoms are too loose

Yes, you can fit a condom over many items, including this watermelon here — but fit is very different than comfort, and MyONE^® prides itself on providing both. And what if the watermelon is smaller than the condom? Now that we’ve debunked that approach, what approach do we recommend instead?

Lead with the data

Did you know off-the-shelf condoms properly fit only 12% of condom users. By establishing that many condom users experience discomfort with condoms (and potentially slippage as a result), customers will hopefully take solace in the fact that they are not alone in seeking a proper condom fit.

From an Indiana University study on penis size, regular off-the-shelf condoms are too long for 91 percent of people, too tight for 70 percent of people, and too loose for 20 percent of people. We also conducted a customer survey on people's prior condom fit challenges, see the results here.

Stay away from words like “small” and “large”

MyONE’s Perfect Fit products aim to offer customers a custom size through a dual letter and number sizing method (based on multiple measurements, length and nominal width). Think of it like the way you buy pants at a department store. If you need to reference condom fit, consider alternatives based on the condom, not on the user. For example, “the condom is too long” or “condom is too tight,” not “you, user, are too small.” This is about finding each user’s perfect fit, and moving away from a one size fits all system.

For other products, you can also use phrases like “condoms marketed as XL” or “condoms labeled as small on the shelf.” We want the MyONE^® to take center stage as a product that understands and accepts the condom users.

Bring samples and visual aids

MyONE^® has 52 condom sizes – that’s a wealth of opportunities to show users how committed we are to finding each customer’s custom fit. Learn about condom fit challenges (such as condoms marketed as large or small), so you can have informed conversations about condom fit. We also have resources how to have positive conversations, advice for how to talk to partner about condom fit, and an FAQ of the most commonly asked questions about condom size, you can equip yourself with all the product samples, diagrams, models, informational packets, and more needed to have a productive and informational discussion.

In addition to providing important information to customers, samples and other resources will also help address any concerns that they may not be able to find their perfect fit. Sometimes seeing, really is believing.