International Women’s Day: Is your partner wearing the right size condom?

International Women’s Day is celebrated on Wednesday 8th March across the world to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. To celebrate, we thought it would be empowering to look at how we can take back control of our sexual health - and one of these ways is to ensure our partner is wearing the right size condom for safer sex.

We wouldn’t buy a pair of new shoes without trying them on, but many people just guess their condom size, often wearing the wrong size, either being too big or feeling too tight which can leave us at risk of sexually transmitted infections, HIV or pregnancy.

Why is having the right size condom important?

Have you ever walked down the condom aisle or purchased condoms online and just selected the first one you see? Without fully wondering if it fits? - then you’re not alone. However, when we take a gamble on our condom-use, we are also taking a risk on our sexual health. A condom acts as a physical barrier between a penis and a vagina that prevents sexual fluid from being transferred, so if you’re not wearing the right size condom, it could mean either your partners condom is too big and could slip off, or  one that’s too tight could break, leaving you at risk of not only sexually transmitted infections, HIV but also pregnancy. Also, If your partner is not wearing the right size condom, it may feel uncomfortable and decrease sensitivity, preventing their pleasure and comfort during sexual intercourse.

Therefore, this International Women’s Day, make sure your partner is wearing the right size condom for not only more pleasurable sex, but safer sex too.

Should condoms be hard to put on?

No. Condoms should never be hard to put on. If a condom feels hard to put on or too tight, then you are wearing the wrong size condom, which increases the risk of it breaking or slipping off during sexual intercourse. Condoms should feel comfortable but secure - if you feel the condom is too tight, you may need to go up a size. To practice safer sex, it’s important to be wearing the right size condom.

How do I know the right size condom to buy?

The best way to find out if you are wearing the right size condom is to measure the width of the penis. The length of the penis is not usually important, as a condom can be flexibly unrolled in length to cover the entire penis. The width affects how well a condom holds so that you and your partner can practice safe sex.

This International Women’s day, use one of these different ways to measure your partners penis:

1. Determine the condom size easily with our measuring app.
2. Print out our handy PDF measuring tool where you can print out your own individual measuring tool and place it around your partner's penis.
3. Order a condom sizer straight to your door.
4. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and use a ruler or tape measure. To measure the width, wrap the tape measure around your partner's erect penis to get the circumference of the penis in mm. You can then convert this into the condom size using our size chart. Simply measure the diameter with a ruler and then look at the corresponding place in the table. You can find the table below.

Just like you would a pair of new shoes, it’s a good idea to try on several condoms to get the perfect fit. With our tester kits, you can order a pack of three and see which one feels the most comfortable.

What size condom do I need?

Once you have your measurements - you can either order a test pack with three different types of condom in it or look at the table below:

How to talk to your partner about safe sex

We know it can sometimes feel difficult to talk to your partner about safer sex, but it’s an important conversation to have to ensure you and your partner are protected from sexually transmitted infections, HIV and the risk of pregnancy. Here are three ways to talk to your partner about safe sex this International Women’s Day:

1. Ensure you are having the conversation in the right time and place - free from distractions or interruptions.
2. Be honest with one another - share your concerns with your partner about the fears, sexual history or any risks you may have taken in the past. This will not only increase emotional connection, intimacy but make you feel more relaxed during sex.
3. Talk about different methods of contraception; there are many different methods to explore - but condoms are dual protected, meaning you are protected from sexually transmitted infections as well as pregnancy.

Mister Size
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