Momentos liminares: dinâmica e significados no uso do preservativo

Abstract

The prophylactic or condom has played a key role in the development of strategies for preventing HIV and unwanted pregnancy. This article examines the dynamics and meanings associated with its use, and the implications of the assumptions which underlie the promotion of this form of contraception. Whereas those whose arguments are based on epidemiological assumptions see prophylactic use as a mean of practising safe sex, those who argue from socially-based assumptions tend to see socially acceptable sexual relations as safe in themselves, and therefore as not requiring the use of the prophylactic. Given that social actors alternate between safe and unsafe sexual practices over the course of their lives, the facts are that prophylactic use is, above all, inconsistent. This requires us to rethink the key role of the prophylactic as a mean of consistently reducing the risk of unwanted pregnancy and of sexually transmitted infections.