Women are no longer embarrassed to keep and display their own stash of condoms

And yes, the word "burden" is used intentionally because have you seen the list of side effects of contraception?

And as an individual who is on any kind of contraception for any health-related reason, you might also be familiar with the downside of being on contraceptives, while the fun and easy kind of contraception is conveniently allotted to men.

READ MORE: Using hormonal contraceptives exposes women to a higher risk of depression, yet doctors never tell you this

For a long time, cis-identifying women who engage in sexual activities with men were socialised to believe that as long they have their reproductive systems on lock, the other precautions pertaining to sex were the man's responsibility.

We all know how buying condoms, lubricants and toys would often be considered a walk of "shame" for women, but a "walk of game" for heterosexual men. As a result, openly sexually liberated women often gained unfortunate and unfair labels shaming them.

That's why up until very recently, a woman who carries condoms in her bag or keeps a few on her bedside table would be frowned upon even by the sexual partner she plans on using them with.

In a global survey ran by Durex in 2017, findings revealed that only 25% of women take responsibility for buying condoms.

Commenting on these results, Durex brand manager Tania Goncalves-Da Conceicao said that "this sense of shame and embarrassment for women often leads to having unprotected sex when they would rather not."

READ MORE: SEX SURVEY: Do women still find it embarrassing to carry around condoms?

But that's slowly but surely changing, as more women are taking ownership of their sexual prowess and their reproductive agency - from watching femme positive porn to keeping their own condom stash to buying sex toys with no shame to destigmatising abortion, we're waving goodbye to all the taboos.

READ MORE: Clicks and Dischem are selling sex toys - why it's so important

That's why a Twitter thread from this past weekend was so refreshing to stumble upon. In this thread, Twitter user @LeratoMannya posed the following question to her women followers;

"Ladies, how many condoms do you have in your place right now? What brand?"

This question was followed by a picture of her collection of condoms.

And then ladies joined in with their own latex and lube snaps...

Other Twitter users just dropped the number and brand of protection they use in the thread.

Honestly, amid #MeToo conversations about everything that happens to women sexually, it's reassuring to also see that there's still a lot of sex that happens with women, where they are active, consenting, initiating participants genuinely enjoying it. 

Also, does it even make sense to shame people for practicing safe sex?

So we're here for women's sexual empowerment any and every day.

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