Condom talk still embarrasses most Brits

Britain may be a highly sexualised society, but Britons still arent still comfortable about discussing condoms with their partners, a new study has revealed.

London, Aug 6 : Britain may be a highly sexualised society, but Britons still aren't still comfortable about discussing condoms with their partners, a new study has revealed.

The study conducted by the Family Planning Association (FPA) found that one-third of the respondents regretted not using the contraceptive with a new partner in the past.

"We have to ask why in the 21st Century when sex is so widely portrayed in British culture, talking about using condoms is still embarrassing," the BBC quoted Anne Weyman, chief executive of the FPA, as saying.

"Thirty-somethings are a forgotten generation. They received little sex and relationships education at school but grew up in an increasingly sexualised society. They've had to find the confidence themselves to talk about condoms and learn the hard way," she added.

Weyman added that it is easy for people to avoid condoms rather than putting themselves through the difficulty of discussing it.

"It's not surprising that people can feel it's easier not to use a condom than put themselves through the torture of talking about a subject they feel deeply uncomfortable about," she said.

"I'm afraid people still find it easier to have sex than talk about it. "This embarrassment about condoms is odd when you consider the alternative - putting yourself at risk of an infection or pregnancy that could have been prevented. Let's get over our blushes, and make condoms a normal part of a healthy sex life," Genevieve Clark of the Terrence Higgins Trust said:

The survey that polled about 2,169 adults also revealed that the cases of sexually -transmitted diseases are rising.

In 2006, genital herpes went up by 9 pct to 21,698 new diagnoses and chlamydia went up 4 pct to 113,585.

ANI