An Inclusive Litany

6/8/98

The New York City Board of Education's HIV/AIDS Curriculum Guide recommends for ninth-grade sexual education instuctors a game informally known among teachers as "Condom Line-Up." According to the guidelines, the teacher is supposed to shuffle 13 index cards, pass them out, and tell students to arrange them in their proper order:

  • Buy a latex condom
  • Buy a contraceptive foam or lubricant ...
  • Check to make sure condom package is not torn ...
  • Check condom expiration date
  • Remove condom from package
  • Check to see which way the condom unrolls
  • Squeeze the tip of the condom to press out air
  • Place the condom on the erect penis
  • Unroll the condom onto the penis ...
  • Apply the foam/lubricant
  • After ejaculation, hold onto the base of the condom
  • Carefully withdraw penis
  • Wrap the condom in a tissue or piece of paper and discard.

When demonstrating how to use a condom, the teacher is advised to stretch it out, explain that "one size fits all," then unroll it onto two outstretched fingers.

The book of guidelines also includes a sidebar that warns, "Teacher Note: Make sure that learning-disabled and all students understand that a condom goes on the erect penis, and not on the fingers as demonstrated."