Trigger Issues: Condom

Never has human ingenuity been so much in evidence as in finding ways to counter conception. This is an intriguing history of the condom and an unusual unravelling of the politics and culture that surround this most practical item.

This Trigger Issue takes in the early history of contraception – think crocodile dung and sea sponges; the rubber revolution of the early 1900s and female liberation through birth control; the role of the condom in the frontline against HIV/Aids; Bush’s ‘war on the condom’. It looks ahead to a high tech future of spray-on and liquid condoms.

The Trigger Issues series presents single objects that have had far-reaching impact on the modern world. Each item is explored through its effects on society and often surprising cultural connections. Exposing topical items in a new light these are short, sharp and provocative booklets._