A new condom that requires four hands to open - created to highlight the importance of consent - has received criticism online.
The Consent Pack was created by Argentinian ad agency BBDO Argentina for Tulipan, a company that sells condoms and adult sex toys.
"If it's not a yes, it's a no," and "Without consent there is no pleasure" are the taglines in the promo video, along with a viral hashtag #PlacerConsentido, translated to "permitted pleasure”.
Another tagline reads: "Consent is the most important thing in sex."
The packaging requires two people to open – with one person holding down two pressure points whilst another opens the box at the same time.
Though well-meaning, the condom has been criticised by people – women in particular – because it reduces consent to a superficial binary.
Many women are pointing out the obvious: Condoms don't actually stop rapists
If a man doesn’t care about your consent I can promise you he doesn’t care about putting on a condom first https://t.co/HjQxDYsysd— Blaec Francis (@Blaec Francis) 1554917296
And importantly - such a device doesn't encourage consent - it makes consent a discussion rather than something uncompromising
What if two people open the condom together, and then one of them changes their mind and no longer wants to have sex?
@YEVG3NIYA 👏👏👏 Stunned at this. This doesn’t prove consent in the first place, and consent can change at any time… https://t.co/wCaT20HfZQ— Lara Belle 🐰 VAXXED & BOOSTED (@Lara Belle 🐰 VAXXED & BOOSTED) 1554871842
@MissLaraBelle @YEVG3NIYA OK so first I was annoyed I was like OK well it is an effort but then I thought about it… https://t.co/UuVK6XUY9Y— Ahh Hee Hee Hell! ♉️💜Ƭ̵̬̊ (@Ahh Hee Hee Hell! ♉️💜Ƭ̵̬̊) 1554930990
@DragHris @MissLaraBelle @YEVG3NIYA Consent isn't a one time on/off switch. It's an ongoing process and can be terminated at any time.— RebElle42 🟩⬜🟪 (@RebElle42 🟩⬜🟪) 1554925774
People are also pointing out that while it's an interesting idea - and the motivations behind it pure (to raise awareness about consent) - it seems to come almost entirely from the perspective of heterosexual men
@MissLaraBelle @YEVG3NIYA They have definitely thought this through. It’s just that their thinking comes entirely f… https://t.co/d5Q34vJ2sh— Giada #FBPE #Resist 3.5% 🌊🇪🇺 (@Giada #FBPE #Resist 3.5% 🌊🇪🇺) 1554930311
Others think the condom is 'useless'
From: Land of Useless & Unnecessary Things 🤦♀️ https://t.co/vA2bzSlXbD— Kelly Nakatomi (@Kelly Nakatomi) 1554834639
The Independent's Holly Baxter argues it does very little to actually protect women - and protects men instead
OK so I have seen & taken the piss out of a LOT of products in my time but the Consent Condom is definitely the wor… https://t.co/3G6gxKiur4— Holly Baxter (@Holly Baxter) 1554920178
The worrying thing is that this frames consent as a 'discussion' and implies that the real issue is that women migh… https://t.co/PbA0pEWM7z— Holly Baxter (@Holly Baxter) 1554920247
I feel like we see this a lot when we talk about consent - products and strategies devised (usually by men) which a… https://t.co/TFCFMwc1h1— Holly Baxter (@Holly Baxter) 1554920322
It's also being argued that the condom trivialises healthy communication around sex
I know this is probs just a way to try and go viral but: 1. This dumbs down the idea of healthy communication re:… https://t.co/BUdFi8Mfkf— Julia Pugachevsky (@Julia Pugachevsky) 1554917890