NEWS
Return the movie, not the condom
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Carly Stingl:
- Snowy fun flying across Madison (February 14, 2008)
- Town to vote on Bush, war (February 16, 2007)
- Mayor: recycling work (February 7, 2007)
- YWCA organizes new transit system (January 31, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Students promote AIDS awareness at bar, distribute condoms (April 30, 2002)
- No consensus on consent condom (September 10, 2001)
- Internet scams gain police response (September 29, 2003)
- Alder upset with east side gift store (February 28, 2006)
- SSFC debates need for new sex devices (October 24, 2002)
by Carly Stingl
Monday, March 3, 2008
It’s a Friday night date. Movie, check. Snacks, check. Condoms, check?
Throughout March, Four Star Video Heaven is a one-stop shop for all three items. The local Madison video rental store, located at 314 N. Henry St., is celebrating the coming of a much-anticipated spring thaw with its every-other-year free condom promotion.
“Reproductive rights lie in education,” said Shawn Steen, general manager at Four Star Video since December 2004. “We believe if people are going to be having sex, we want to give them the tools to make the right decisions.”
Steen said the previous owner started the giveaway in 1990 to bring awareness to the AIDS epidemic. Now the free condoms and sexual health information have extended their purpose to include education on reproductive rights as well as commemorate Women’s History Month.
Steen said Four Star has already purchased 4,000 condoms and anticipates going through at least 6,000. Four Star collaborates with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin and the AIDS network who help donate and put together the condom and informational brochure giveaways.
Planned Parenthood public affairs organizer Shelle Michalak said she thinks the event will be particularly successful because it is so close to the University of Wisconsin campus. It is consistent with the mission of Planned Parenthood to provide sexual health information, reproductive health care and family planning.
The free packets, available in a glass jar wishing customers a “safe summer” on the front counter, include a “how to use a condom” flyer in English and Spanish, condoms and lubrication.
Adia Davis, a two-year Four Star employee, said sometimes parents with small children will get offended, but generally people are pretty receptive.
“People with kids will shield their answers about what those [condoms] are,” Davis said.
The packets anger others. Pro-Life Wisconsin director Peggy Hamill, who said her organization promotes purity and chastity and emphasizes abstinence until marriage, is quite offended.
“Pro-Life Wisconsin feels this type of publicity stunt is an affront to the dignity of women,” Hamill said. “It is disgraceful and disgusting and cannot be looked at in any positive way.”
Some say, however, that they cannot understand how a promotion like this could be controversial.
According to Mariamne Whatley, associate dean of the UW School of Education and professor of women’s studies and curriculum and instruction, there is no evidence that availability of condoms promotes sexual activity.
“People who are going to have intercourse might be more likely to use a condom,” Whatley said. “It’s not that they are that expensive, but if people see they are for free or have them around, that might just increase the likelihood that they’ll be used.”
Four Star workers said they do not generally experience problems with customers during the promotion except for the occasional hoarding of condoms.
Amber Cohen, inventory manager at Four Star, said she remembers someone during the event two years ago coming into the store without making a purchase and filling his plastic bag with handfuls of free condoms. Four Star fittingly discourages people from “bogarting” the condoms.
Cohen also received an obscene phone call two years ago from people asking lewd questions.
“The general idea of giving them to students I think is great,” Cohen said. “It’s the people who want to make a joke of it that I’m less thrilled by.”
Davis emphasizes customers should not feel shy about taking the condoms.
“They are here for people, and people shouldn’t feel like they have to make a purchase,” Davis said. “It’s something that’s for their health and safety.”
She said generally 60 to 70 percent of the students take a free condom.
Some Four Star patrons are attracted to the openness of the video store, which has a large selection of erotica, anime and LGBT films, Steen said.
“We don’t want to demonize sexuality at all; we want to have a very sex-positive attitude,” Steen said. “People who I think would feel really uncomfortable with having a jar of condoms — I doubt those people would generally be in here anyway.”
Anonymous (March 3, 2008 @ 4:28am):
The only foolproof method of preventing STD's and unwanted pregnancies is to develop an irrefragable intellect and an indomitable wit such as mine, which will therefore guarantee that you are too awesome to get laid. It's the only possible explanation for my involuntary celibacy.
- Germain Q. Stemme
Anonymous (March 3, 2008 @ 9:29am):
"Reproductive rights lie in education"
What the hell does that even mean? What do free condoms have to do with reproductive rights?
Anonymous (March 3, 2008 @ 11:25am):
Bravo to 4 star video for getting it right - there is nothing 'disgraceful' about consenting adults from making the responsible choice to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. For a group like Prolife Wisconsin who strives to outlaw all abortion - even when a woman's health and life is at risk, why would they NOT applaud efforts like this to prevent unintended pregnancy and the incidence of abortion.
Anonymous (March 3, 2008 @ 12:52pm):
do people really want reusable condoms??
Anonymous (March 3, 2008 @ 1:53pm):
"Reproductive rights lie in education" means that being educated opens options for women -we learn about choices and about our history as women. Without such knowledge, it's easier for others to take away our rights. At the core of womenâs equality is the ability to control whether and when we bear children, and our reproductive freedom is threatened every time a pharmacist refuses to prescribe birth control, a womenâs health clinic closes due to low funding, or a restriction is placed on international family-planning funds (i.e., the Global Gag Rule). In 2007, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed her dissent to a Supreme Court decision upholding the first-ever federal ban on certain abortion procedures by arguing the core of the right to abortion centers âon a womanâs autonomy to determine her lifeâs course, and thus to enjoy equal citizenship stature.â
Anonymous (March 3, 2008 @ 3:49pm):
Can someone please tell me why this is only an every-other year thing if it's something in which Four Star believes so strongly? Do they believe in abstinence in the odd-numbered years? Or do they just promote abortion clinics because they can't afford to pass out condoms?
Boycott Four Star. It's a sleazy place anyway.
Anonymous (March 4, 2008 @ 10:12am):
wow, so for you sex=sleazy. that's pretty sad. sex is an awesome thing as long as people are safe! it's not dirty or "sleazy", and we are tired being shamed into self-loathing about our bodies. people who think sex is "sleazy" are usually the sleazy ones in private.
and I wish Four Star would hand out free condoms every year all year, but it seems the Aids Network and Planned Parenthood have that covered. you can just go in there and ask for them! "Let's boycott a video store because they don't give us free condoms all the time" -whatever.
Add a comment
We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.
Login...
Not registered? Sign up now.
It's quick, free, and the email address you provide will not be sold or solicited.
