XS Condom for 12 Year Old Boys? Ethical? Disturbing?

Sort of off-topic, but there's no way of saying those sixth grade girls got pregnant by sixth or even seventh grade boys. I read somewhere (wish I could find it) that most girls losing their virginity at that age are having sex with older boys. I know it holds true for the few girls I knew in middle school who were having sex. less

I agree that this might standardize sex at this age, which I think is a real concern. I do find this product a little disturbing, but if it can help prevent unprotected sex and teenage pregnancy, than I'm in support. The only problem I see is that people may not actually buy it, but by it's very existence it may condone behavior. Hmmm. Talk about catch-22s. :/ less

I see where you are coming from, but availability doesn't imply permission any more than providing education implies permission.

My guess is that boys this young having sex is a very small minority. Of course I "don't like" the idea, but it is nothing new, and certainly not a symptom of our society in any way. Egyptian Pharaohs were often fathers at 12 or younger, in the 1920s my own grandfather married my grandmother (who was already an unwed mother) when he was only 16 years old, nearly every wedding in Puritan America in the 1600s and early 1700s had a child born within 6 months or less of the wedding.

While I don't think that one needs to condone such behavior, what happens happens.

People will have sex whether protection is available or not, and providing protection from pregnancy and disease to both younger teens as well as men with smaller members IS a good idea. less

I think so. I think that this makes it more convincing to have sex. Just like some kids believe everything they see on TV, some will believe that it's sold because it's okay (even standard or expected) that pre-teens have sex.

I think there needs to be more education about sex. In my opinion, it's talked about a little too late. I also think that a lot of the social factors are ignored. I know in my 6th grade sex ed class, we did not talk about STD/STI, (age of) consent, and costs (emotional, physical, financial) of having sex and/or children. We talked about it strictly in terms of anatomy--which is good, but doesn't necessarily affect the educated decision to have sex. less

The name is shitty but if it inspires sexually active young folks to BUY the damned things and USE them, then I'm all in favor, all the way around.

I'm not going to say I like the idea of preteens having sex but if they already are? I'd much prefer to see less pregnancies and STI's. less

Biologically speaking, kids having sex at the age of twelve is really not that out of this world. Historically speaking, up until the late 1800's and early 1900's in some areas a boy becomes a man at 13. At this time he is groomed to care for the family business and to take a wife and usually married between the ages of 16-21 to a 13 or 14 year old girl or at least one who had begun menstruating. This whole 'wait until you're [of a certain age]' concept is relatively new in comparison to our history on this planet.

I really find it laughable that people are so willing to believe that society's opinion of sexual reproduction actually matters to anyone who is horny. It doesn't. It's instinct and there are case studies showing children as young as three masturbating.

I myself, like another commenter's sister, began exploration at a very young age. I'm no more scarred or a statistic for it.

I think this is an excellent idea and I am hoping that eventually people will get off their high horses and understand that horniness and sex trump society's expectations any day of the week. Better to be informed, protected and in control than a victim of irresponsibility. less

Exactly, people don't want to talk about it, but even infants masturbate. A friend of mine was distraught to find her 9 month old son, when we went in to get him up from nap, pulling on himself and laughing. She asked me, "What should I do?" I simply said, "Give him some privacy and let him finish."

One of my daughters found her clitoris at about 2 years old. She asked me, "What is that thing? You know, it's like a pea? You know, that thing....that you like?" I was stumped (thinking she was talking about a toy or something) I asked her to show me, so she did. All said was, "That's your clitoris (she already knew what her vagina was) It's there to give you one more way to feel good about yourself. You can touch it and play with it, but it's best saved for private time, and in your room or in the potty. It's probably best not to play with it at the park or at Gramma's or at the dinner table. But, it's yours, be gentle with it, love it and it will give you a world of happiness. When you find a person you love when you are older, you may share it with them, if you want." She said, "Oh. OK." And that, as they say, was that.

My Man still sometimes refers to my clit as "that thing that you like." less

How very very awesome of you! I wish my parents had been that way. We didn't have the sex talk until after I had sex for the first time. If we don't acknowledge that sex is good and healthy, the only thing we will accomplish is a larger set of pre-teen/teen pregnancy and STI statistics to analyze.

I used to babysit a boy who would masturbate when he was in the bath, the only thing that made that situation difficult was the aspect of water and leaving him alone to finish would have been irresponsible on my part. I informed his father and he FREAKED and shamed the child. Shortly thereafter the child developed major behaviorial issues and began acting out towards other kids in his class by biting, slapping and kicking them. less

" A leading condom manufacturer in Switzerland has created extra-small condoms for boys as young as 12 years old, the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph reported.

The condom, called the Hotshot, was produced after family planning groups and the Swiss AIDS Federation campaigned to have the condoms made following several studies that showed adolescent boys were not using proper protection when engaging in intercourse.

"The result that shocked us concerned young boys who display apparently risky behavior,” Nancy Bodmer, who headed the research, told the newspaper. “They have more of a tendency not to protect themselves. They do not have a very developed sexual knowledge. They do not understand the consequences of what they are doing and leave the young girls to take care of the consequences.”

Bodmer said the results of the study suggest that early prevention makes sense.

A spokeswoman for the company, Lamprecht AG, said the United Kingdom would be a “top priority” if they expanded abroad, especially since the U.K. has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in Europe.

A standard condom has a diameter of 2 inches; the Hotshot's is 1.7 inches."

Source: link

So what do you think? I think the name itself is wrong lol. Hot Shot? Seriously? less

I'd be naive to think groups of people aren't having sex already, preteens to nursing homes. I hope they are using condoms all around, but specifically marketing...that's iffy to me. Then again, Sweden is a European country whose views are not the same as American.

I'd rather they spend the money on sex ed. though...but that's just my opinion. What I say has no bearing on anyone else's choices. less