Girls with Condoms

I came across an interview with will.i.am, one of the dudes from the Black Eyed Peas, this morning. No, I don't know which one he is, that's not the point. The interviewer didn't ask any meaningful questions, it's really just a puff piece for Elle magazine. It's not meant to be taken seriously, but I found some of his comments, and the way in which they were received, rather upsetting. Primarily his comment that a woman having condoms in her house was 'just tacky'.

What on Earth is 'tacky' about being prepared for and caring about safe sex? The interviewer even half-heartedly calls him out on it, but mister 'boom boom pow' dismisses health-conscious women by explaining that condoms should only be obtained by the ladies after discussing it with their partner. But every guy on the planet can walk around with a condom in his wallet and that's totally ok. Ridiculous double-standard aside, spontaneous sex is awesome. If things happen unexpectedly, I'm not going to rely entirely on the dude to provide protection. I'm the one who has to worry about getting pregnant, after all. It's just good sense.

But this is just one person. A pop musician even, so he's probably more than a little crazy. But by all accounts, he's an educated guy. A liberal activist, whose 'mother raised him right' according to the article. And that's what really makes me nervous. How prevalent is this kind of attitude? Are there really a bunch of otherwise reasonable dudes out there that find it downright distasteful for a woman to take some responsibility for having safe sex? Even more disturbing, are there women out there who agree with this guy? Who are embarrassed to own condoms, or feel like it's inappropriate for them to do so? Signs point to 'yes', and I don't like it.