How to Put on a Condom

Step 2 Getting Condoms

You can get condoms in one of two ways: get them for free, or purchase them.

(As far as I know - no one is making them on their own, but if they were, I'd hope that Instructables would be the first place they would post about it!)

Let's start with the free options because free is usually better...

Free Condoms

Many institutions and governing boards provide condoms free of charge to their members or the public. If you go to a school of some sort, be it a middle school, high school or college, you might have access to free condoms at the school's health department or office. Although the federal government has all but denied the existence of condoms entirely, some city and state governments and organizations make condoms available for free in a variety of ways.

New York has the NYC Condoms program. Check out the hundreds of locations where you can get them at: New York City Free Condom Locations

A group called WeHolife.org lists free condoms in the Hollywood/Santa Monica Area: http://www.weholife.org/freecondoms.htm

In San Francisco the Stop Aids Project makes condoms readily available at numerous locations: http://www.stopaids.org/resources/free_condoms/

Casa Segura in Oakland gives them away during weekdays:
http://www.casasegura.org/center.html

And finally, the Aids Action Committee of Massachusetts organized the following page listing places to get free condoms in the Boston metro area: http://www.aac.org/site/PageServer?pagename=info_freecondoms

Regardless of what city you live in, if you're determined to get a free condom, you'll probably be able to find one. Check out bars, clubs, health clinics, schools, health departments, hospitals, health service buildings, and even sex shops. Many cities have organizations specifically trying to give you condoms.

Most of these places should give you condoms regardless of your age. School programs and school based health clinics often offer condoms to their students, but require them to go through a brief sex-ed class before students get access to them.

Buying Condoms

If you'd like to buy a condom rather than get it for free then you've got to head to a store. Drug stores, online condom stores, liquor stores, corner stores, bodegas, gas stations, sex shops and even bathrooms in seedy bars are all good places to buy condoms. You'll probably pay a premium for them if you buy them in small amounts from everywhere besides large drug stores and online condom wholesalers, but when you need a condom, you need a condom.

Probably the biggest obstacle to buying condoms is yourself. As a young male I remember how embarrassed I was to buy condoms the first few times. The actual act of buying the condom wasn't half as bas as I was afraid it was going to be, but then again, I guess that's how irrational fear works.

• Don't be embarrassed to buy condoms. If you're buying condoms, you're likely having sex, and generally speaking, sex is supposed to be something that you're happy about having.
• If you're feeling self conscious, buy other items with the condoms to make your purchase feel more normal and routine. You can also have an older sibling or friend get them for you too.
• The checkout people are happy that you are buying condoms. Don't worry about getting judged by them, they're usually pleased that they can have the opportunity to facilitate someone's pleasure.
• If you're really worried about the process of getting condoms in public you can always order tons of them online. Not only are the prices better, but you can have them shipped to your door in a non-nondescript box and no one has to know about it.

Cost could be another obstacle to buying condoms, but some easy ways around that are to purchase condoms from an online discount seller (just google discount condoms) or to get them from a free source listed above.