Condoms that do not fit right could break and may reduce sexual pleasure for both partners, suggesting reasons why men and women often fail to use them, researchers reported on Monday.
The study has implications for countries trying to encourage people to use condoms to reduce the risk of AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy, the researchers reported in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.
“Men and their female sex partners may benefit from public health efforts designed to promote the improved fit of condoms,” Dr. Richard Crosby of the University of Kentucky and Dr. Bill Yarber of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction in Indiana wrote.
They surveyed 436 men aged 18 to 67 for their study.
Nearly half — 45 percent — said they had used a badly fitting condom during the previous three months.
These men were more than 2 times as likely to say the condom broke or slipped when they used it. They also often reported it was irritating to wear.
The men who wore poorly fitting condoms were twice as likely to say that using one reduced sexual pleasure for themselves and their partners.
The findings may make some people giggle, but the researchers said the implications were serious. Men will often not buy condoms sized “small” or even “medium,” they said.
“Moreover, the increased likelihood that men using ill-fitting condoms will remove condoms before sex ends constitutes another form of condom failure. Fortunately, it seems likely that these problems could be rectified through education programs,” the researchers wrote.
from Reuters

LONDON – He was convicted of a crime more than half a century ago, but what he did in 1959 — have consensual sex with another man — would be perfectly legal today.
So John Crawford, 70, wants his criminal record cleaned up for good, so that he doesn’t have to disclose his conviction when he seeks volunteer work, and because of a deeply held belief that he should not be punished for his sexual orientation.
“I came into this world without a criminal record and I’d like to leave this world without one,” said Crawford, a retired butler. “The police beat me and beat me and forced me to confess to being gay, but I know in my heart I did nothing wrong.”
Crawford’s bid to clean up his record is backed by gay organizations looking to help others who were convicted under Britain’s once draconian anti-homosexuality laws, which began to be eased in 1967 as social values changed and sex acts between consenting adults began to be decriminalized.
“These laws were homophobic in the first place, that’s why they were rescinded, but the laws are still penalizing people,” said Deborah Gold, director of Galop, a gay rights group that has helped Crawford. “We’ve always had a regular trickle of people asking about it, how to get their records cleaned up.”
She said Crawford suffered horrific treatment from the police and should not have to disclose his criminal conviction when seeking employment or volunteer work.
His lawyers wrote to Justice Secretary Jack Straw last week asking that the law be changed so that Crawford and others in his position would not have to disclose their convictions during the job interview process.
If no action is taken by March 12, attorneys will seek a formal judicial review because the policy is not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, said lawyer Anna Mazzola.
“John Crawford wants to do it, to change the law for other people,” she said. “Others are in exactly the same position. The justice secretary has the power to do this, without going through Parliament.”
Mazzola’s firm has also filed a freedom of information request for data about the number of people convicted of consensual sexual offenses that would now be legal.
“I think there are quite a lot,” she said.
Crawford’s legal campaign has already been productive. In response to a letter from his lawyers, police have removed the record of his conviction from the criminal database, meaning it will not turn up during a computerized criminal records search.
“We are very sympathetic to Mr. Crawford’s concerns,” said a Hampshire police spokesman, who asked not to be identified under department policy. “We recognize that this is an exceptional case and have acted quickly to resolve it.”
The spokesman said the conviction is no longer relevant and has been taken out of the Police National Computer database. The special ruling applies only to Crawford, however, not to other gay or bisexual men with similar offenses in their past.
This welcome decision removes one substantial obstacle Crawford faces in his retirement as he pursues voluntary positions, such as hospital work where he would be helping to feed ill people.
He is not satisfied, however, because he is still legally required to reveal the 1959 episode when asked if he has ever been convicted of any criminal offense. This happens frequently on questionnaires when applying for volunteer work with vulnerable persons.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Crawford said.
His lingering anger comes in part from the humiliation he suffered at the hands of police officers in 1959. He said they abused him physically and harassed him with vulgar taunts, then coerced him into pleading guilty by threatening to continue beating him if he did not cooperate.
As a result of that plea, he said he was saddled with a conviction that would not have been possible otherwise, especially since he was not accused of having sex in public.
“I wanted to plead not guilty, and the case would have been thrown out and I wouldn’t be talking about it now,” Crawford said. “Until the police drop it completely, I won’t be happy. I’ve got to be able to put my hand on my heart and say to the world, I haven’t got a criminal record, and I can’t say that now.”
from The Associated Press
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Kenneth Starr

TEXAS – Baylor University has a new star — Kenneth Starr, to be exact. The former U.S. solicitor general who led the investigation into President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky and recently defended California’s ban on same-sex marriage will bring his long and distinguished resume and his particular brand of religious judicial activism to Baylor as president this summer.
R. Dary Stone, head of Baylor’s board of regents, defended the controversial hire in a news release, saying Starr’s “depth of experience and exceptional record as a university dean and legal scholar, his dedication to the highest ideals of the Christian faith and his profound commitment to public service and visionary leadership make him the ideal person to lead Baylor at this remarkable time in the university’s history.”
Although Starr is a member of the Church of Christ — a distinctly different denomination than Baylor’s Baptist affiliation — the board is confident that his values will be compatible with those of the university, according to the Associated Press.
We are confident that his values are compatible with the university’s on at least one controversial issue: Baylor has a long history of discriminating against and repressing its gay and lesbian population.
In 2004, Baylor student Darrin Adams was coerced into signing a statement in order to graduate admitting that he violated the school’s conduct code by organizing a gay-rights rally. Adams had been charged with misconduct for organizing the off-campus event.
The letter containing the charges said the event was “part of an advocacy group that promotes understandings of sexuality that are contrary” to biblical teachings, Baptist beliefs and Baylor’s Christian mission.
Baylor’s official policy reads, “The university affirms the biblical understanding of sexuality as a gift from God. Christian churches across the ages and around the world have affirmed purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman as the biblical norm. … It is thus expected that Baylor students will not participate in advocacy groups which promote understandings of sexuality that are contrary to biblical teaching.”
Adams organized the rally to protest another discriminatory decision made by officials at Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, who revoked student Matt Bass’ scholarship because he was gay and openly supported same-sex marriage and other gay rights.
Most recently, a Baylor University Starbucks coffee shop removed cups printed with a quote by gay novelist Armistead Maupin after local outcry.
Starr’s role in defending California’s Proposition 8 — which banned gay marriage in the state — by arguing for the majority’s right to deny a minority rights gives us confidence that he will fit right in with Baylor bigwigs. Baylor, a private institution, is free to make the ideologically motivated, discriminatory decisions and appointments it has made. And there is no denying that Starr is a storied legal scholar with an impressive resume.
But because Starr’s appointment reaffirms Baylor’s direction as an organization that oppresses the rights of its students to express their beliefs and support gay rights, we advise prospective students to spend their money elsewhere — perhaps at UT­­.
Although the cost of tuition at UT continues to approach the astronomical costs of private higher education, we remain incredibly grateful for the legal protections that guarantee UT students a wider realm for free speech and expression.

from The Daily Texan / Jillian Sheridan