Touchy subject (condoms in china?)

[AlexanderH]

Hey all --

So I actually got lectured by an elderly man and my chinese teacher on condoms in china.. After getting the "the Chinese girls will love you long time" lecture, the old man leaned over and went "Not sure i'd trust the Chinese condoms.."

So, to prevent this from being a shallow discussion, this question isn't necessarily inquiring about "length" of the condom, but rather the quality.

Just as an aside: I'm not planning to have sex while over there, nor am I a "one night stand" kind of guy. However, I plan on being there long-term, so it's good to be prepared.

Now, are there European condom brands there? American? Or are the Chinese ones very reliable?

Any experienced buyers.. please inform me!

Thank you

[gato]

How did your conversation turn to condoms?

[AlexanderH]

I have no clue. After the old man said they would love me , I said "hopefully no one wants to marry me...". And then he followed up. I think it was scary old man antics (toss in that creepy bit of advice you don't want to imagine).

[taylor04]

You can find Durex over there, the only problem is the same problem with everything else, you don't know if its real or not.

[gato]

Chinese condoms are world class. China has a very strict "one child" policy, you know.

[Meng Lelan]

The Chinese teacher delivered a lecture on condoms? May I see the lesson plan.

[Don_Horhe]

Chinese brands are considerably smaller than western brands. I remember laughing my ass off the first time I bought a Chinese brand and read "Latex condoms specially made for the oriental gentleman." You can get Durex and Trojan in most big supermarkets and pharmacies.

[liuzhou]

The Durex on sale in China are specifically made for the Asian market.

Now, I have no desire to denigrate the sales target of Durex China, nor exaggerate my dimensions, but I have to say I find their product a tad on the far too small side.

Now, if they were sensible, condom manufacturers would issue their products in a range of size - as sock manufacturers do.

But it could all go horribly wrong.

Click here.

[AlexanderH]

Gato --

And the chinese have a notoriously low rate of condom use.

Liuzhou --

Haha, splendid. I don't think it would fit "100% grade A American beef" (Full metal jacket) though..

What about the Trojans? Are they also on the smaller side?

[Token_287]

Haha oh "old chinese man advice,"what would we do without it. The only thing I'd add to this is that you should look for an "international standards compliant" seal on whatever box you get (the seal says something to that effect, anyway), because not all of the condoms are up to international standards, even if they're international brands. When I was in Nanjing last year, durex fit into this category, though I can't remember which other ones did. I'm sure Chinese guonei standards are fine, but being extra sure can't hurt. With regards to size, once while myself and a (platonic) female friend were checking on a whim which brands actually are internationally compliant, an overly zealous pharmacy employee kept coming up to us asking if we needed anything, and after the third time, claimed that she "understood the situation," went in the back and came out with a box of magnums. So, I guess if the guonei brands aren't working for you, there's always that option.

[AlexanderH]

Hahaha, what an awesome story Token!

[gato]

Touchy subject, or hard object?

[GaoLao888]

Finding them at the store was interesting. Looked all over the "pharmacy" area. Finally located them right next to the checkout line Had to walk right up in front of everyone in line, grab a box, and get in line with everyone staring at the laowai buying condoms... Glad my girlfriend wasn't with me or she would have died....

[gerri]

I think I've been here too long - and it hasn't been very long.

But, I can't decide which is the worse joke in this thread:

The sine qua non-joking about sizes that has erupted immediately and is just plain stupid... did you see the recent study that found condom use tends to be less safe than it could be mainly because men will nearly always pick the larger sized condoms, and then oftentimes end up with condoms which are not truly their size (as in: too f*cking big)...

Or, is the real joke somebody who wants to come to China and states "hopefully no one will want to marry me"? Okay, okay, big cities may be different, but by and large, that's a dangerous attitude for much of China... love and marriage go hand-in-hand, more so than attraction and sex (and before that comes in: hookers only prove the point - the stronger the social stigma, the more you can act however you want once you have already lost the game "as it's supposed to be")

[abcdefg]

Just as an aside: I'm not planning to have sex while over there,

And you are also not planning to eat any rice while "over there," righ?

Edited April 3, 2010 at 03:05 AM by abcdefg

[taylor04]

Haven't you seen the latest South Park? He's just getting prepared in case he makes a lot of money...

[AlexanderH]

Gerri,

Love's overrated. Marriage too. Seriously, what in the hell did you think people would joke about on a thread about condoms.

Abcdefg,

Only brown rice for me, cheers!

[Don_Horhe]

@ AlexanderH

Get the Trojan 'Her Pleasure' ones, they come in a purple box and are slightly bigger than the other types.

[gerri]

True with the "what did you expect," but still... if marriage is overrated, nobody's told the Chinese I've met. So, does that make a joke of Chinese, or of a foreigner saying that "hopefully no one will want to marry me"?

And, while at it, in which ways is marriage overrated?

It's just too good a topic for clashes of culture and personality, one culture and another, opinion and fact - check out Ramit Sethi of "I will teach you to be rich" making fun of people who say they don't have to make plans for their marriage, they will never get married ... and then check out the (stereo)typical Chinese attitude towards marriage... and so on, and so forth... lot of fun...

[Scoobyqueen]

love and marriage go hand-in-hand

From what I have observed from many Chinese marriages, love plays a smaller role. It is more important how much money the man is likely to earn, status in society, how tall you are as a man etc. I was told by a Chinese guy, love is experienced when you are at university age and fool around, later you strategically choose your partner using other criteria.