The real reason why men don't like to wear condoms

condoms
54 percent of British men admit to having unprotected sex [Photo: Getty]

Sometimes we can’t help but feel like we’ve heard all of the usual excuses. From discomfort to decreased sexual pleasure, it’s hardly surprising to learn that 54 percent of men regularly have unprotected sex.

But a new report by The New York Times has revealed the real reason why many turn their noses up at the rubber and it’s not something many men would own up to. It simply comes down to the fact that the average condom is too big for the average penis.

Debby Herbenick, a sexual health expert from Indiana University, conducted a study of 1,661 men living in the United States and findings indicated that 83 percent of men had smaller penises than the standard condom length.

A Boston-based company has launched custom-made condoms to combat the problem [Photo: Getty]
A Boston-based company has launched custom-made condoms to combat the problem [Photo: Getty]

Herbenick told The New York Times: “The idea was it [the condom] had to be long enough to fit most men, and excess length could just be rolled.”

In further studies, it was revealed that men also complain that ‘condoms tend to slip off’ according to Ron Frezieres, Vice President for research and evaluation at Essential Access Health. He also revealed that condoms can feel tight, as a consequence to the fact that ‘shorter men had a big roll of latex at the base of their penis’.

But things are looking up, as the Food and Drug Administration and fellow industry-standards groups have introduced a tailor-made condom service. A Boston-based company known as myONE Perfect Fit has started to sell custom-fit condoms in 60 sizes complete with nine cirumferences and ten lengths. Whereas standard condoms are approximately 6.7 to 8.3 inches long and 3.9 to 4.5 inches in circumference.

Best of all, the custom service doesn’t merely rely on inches or centimetres but ordered letters and numbers ensuring a truly unique fit.

And within hours of launching the made-to-fit condoms, customers had ordered them in all 60 sizes.

Looks like there isn’t much of an excuse anymore…


Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK.

Read more from Yahoo Style UK:

Everything we know about the male contraceptive pill so far

Could taking the contraceptive pill make you miserable?

Everything you need to know about stealthing: The disturbing new sex trend