In an ongoing effort to decrease HIV and AIDS globally, The Gates Foundation recently announced 11 winners of $100,000 grants meant to innovate a “new generation of condom”—to create a product that is more effective in preventing disease and pregnancy, as well as more enjoyable to promote its use. However, what may get lost in the shuffle of competition and punny condom names is the fact that bad condoms are not the only factor contributing to unprotected sex and the spread of STDs.

A focus on the individual behavior of condom use often misses the social conditions which make individuals vulnerable to disease.

• Bruce Link and Jo Phelan. 1995. “Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Disease”. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 35: 80-94.

While there is a shortage of condom availability in the global south, unprotected sex is not just a result of low supply; low demand plays a role as well.

• Jacqueline Papo et al. 2011. “Exploring the Condom Gap: Is Supply or Demand the Limiting Factor – Condom Access and Use in an Urban and a Rural Setting in Kilifi District, Kenya”. AIDS. 25(2): 247-255.

Relying solely on condom use for STD prevention also fails to consider gender roles and sexual power dynamics in different cultures. Often, women are not able to negotiate the terms of sex – or sex in general – and face unequal access to care.

• Campbell, Carol. 1999. Women, Families and HIV/AIDS: A Sociological Perspective on the Epidemic in America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• F. Nii-Amoo Dodoo and Maria Tempenis. 2002. “Gender, Power, and Reproduction: Rural‐Urban Differences in the Relationship Between Fertility Goals and Contraceptive Use in Kenya” Rural Sociology. 67(1):46-70.