I'm suggesting we call sex something else, and it should include everything from kissing to sitting close together.
- Shere Hite

We all do better with some practice and once you have the basics down, you can give condom negotiation your own personal touch. Some people may find it easier to discuss these skills with friends. Get a group of friends together and have each person bring a different condom. Exchange stories about your experiences with condoms.

While each of these things listed below can be done alone, Condomania suggests that being able to communicate with your friends about safer sex is the first step towards easier communication with your partner. Once you have practiced with your friends, you can confidently try out your technique with your partner.

The following offers a few ideas for building condom skills with a group of friends:

1. Take your condoms out and test them. Stretch them your arms length get a friend to help put a condom on your head. Blow them up like balloons.
2. If you want, see for yourself what happens to a condom when you use an oil-based lubricant. Blow up two condoms. On one, rub a water-based lubricant, on the other try using Vaseline or baby oil. You'll find the condom with the Vaseline or the baby oil will explode in under a minute, the condom with the water-based lube will still be kicking around the next day when you are cleaning up.
3. Try practicing putting a condom on with your mouth. Pinch the reservoir tip between your lips and use your mouth, in an "O" shape to push the condom down over the "penis" (various fruits and vegetables can be substituted for the real thing for practice). Use your tongue as a guide. Perfecting this erotic technique will make your partner forget that you're even putting the condom on.
4. Try a taste test to choose the sweetest tasting condom on the market.
5. Try cutting an unrolled condom down one side and opening it up. You can use this as a dam during oral sex, holding it over the vagina or anus to prevent the exchange of bodily fluids. Plastic kitchen wraps, while not tested or approved for this purpose, make a larger and more versatile dam.

Be creative and come up with your own techniques. After all, your mind is your largest, most powerful, sexual organ.

• Safer Sex Begins With You
• You Deserve Respect
• Take A Good Look
• Negotiating Safer Sex
• What If Your Partner Says No
• Practice Makes Perfect
• All About Condoms
• All About Lubricants
• Dams, Cots & Gloves
• Just The Facts
• What Is Safe?
• Tips On Testing
• Resources & Hotlines