Letters: Ban on condom ads

The latest advisory by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to television channels banning condom ads between 6 am and 10 pm on the grounds that they are “indecent” and can “impact children” is a short-sighted intervention that can undo the gains in public health made by the aggressive condom use campaign. Condom use goes a long way in preventing sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and abortions. The fact that it is essential to ensure safe sex, avoid teenage pregnancies and succeed in family planning programmes validates condom ads. Condoms are a tribute to human ingenuity.

 

In this day and age we cannot be so prudish and puritanical to cite condom use as an illustrative example of a degenerate popular culture. As for the embarrassment caused to an orthodox family watching a condom ad together, it is far less consequential than unprotected sex. It is sheer hypocrisy to flock to get a glimpse of Sunny Leone and feel moral outrage at a condom commercial featuring the actress.

 

The justification put forward for the ban on condom ads is that they are sexually explicit and titillating and do not respect cultural sensitivity. Ads are put to catch your fancy and promote the product. To say that condom ads should not be erotic is like saying that food should not be seasoned to taste. One wishes that Kamasutra is not banished from book shelves and Khajuraho temples are kept shut between 6 am and 10 pm. That condom ads promote promiscuity is a myth that must be exploded. With porn available in smartphones and laptops, the ban makes no great sense. It is advisable “to condom sex” than “to condemn sex”. This comment by a proponent of condom ads should knock some sense into moral prudes. G David Milton   Maruthancode

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