R&S: Condom Earrings!

Ever since I was in high school I have been stacked with condoms. I used to keep them in my locker at school and give them out to students when they asked. And despite some peoples total delusion and denial toward young people and sex, there was (and still is) a really positive response to being able to get them in a judgement free way. I have stood out on streets giving out condoms, distributed them at events, parades, house parties, given boxes as house warming gifts to university students, birthday presents, carried bags of them across the world to friends who didn't have any, I even collect condoms from different conferences & places I have been in the world. In short condoms have kind of always been a part of my life both sexually and non-sexually.

Recently I decided that condoms can be, and should be jewelry! This came about as a solution for expired condoms. Condoms should never be used after their expiry date! So I can’t very well give them to people, as the latex from which they are made has more than likely deteriorated making them more susceptible to breakage…ultimately defeating the purpose of using them.

I have worked in several AIDS service organizations (ASO) & community health centers (CHC) and I have seen more condoms thrown in the garbage than I care to acknowledge. So when I was looking through my distribution stash at home for expired condoms, I just couldn't bring myself to throw them all in the trash! So as a recycle & save project (R&S) I decided to re-purpose condoms in a way that they do not have to strictly be used for sexual experiences. They can be used to make a statement, start conversations, or normalize condom carrying in non-threatening, and more importantly fashionable way! They are really easy to make, do not require many materials and since condom packages come in all kinds of fancy colours and designs now a days you can seriously have a lot of inexpensive fun with this! 

Materials:

Instructions:

1. Assemble materials
2. Poke a hole at the top of condom package
3. Use needle nose pliers to open jump ring
4. insert jump into into hole in condom package
5. Use jewelry cutter to cut desired length of link chain
6. attach cut link chain to jump ring and close
7. Open bottom of fishhook attachment with pliers to attach to unattached end of link chain
8. close bottom of fishhook attachment

Thats it!

even my plants <3 condoms!

xcited about condoms

My approach to sexual health isn't to bombard people with information in a fear mongering way, but to make it fun and accessible. If someone on the street sees me wearing these earrings and it gets them thinking or talking with their social networks then I think that is one step closer to challenging the shame & silence that has so far been of no help.

If you live in the Toronto, Ontario area here are a few places you can get FREE condoms and FREE HIV rapid tests. You do not need to have a health card or be referred to access these services!

West Toronto:

Rexdale Community Health Centre

8 Taber Road

Phone: (416) 744-0066

Jane Street Clinic

662 Jane Street

Phone: (416) 338-7272

Crossways Clinic

2340 Dundas Street West

Phone: (416) 392-0999

Central Toronto:

The Talk Shop

5110 Yonge Street

Phone: (416) 338-7000

Hassle Free Clinic

66 Gerrard St E

Work: 416 922-0566

Central Toronto Community Health Center

168 Bathurst Street

(416) 703-8482

                         Women's Health in Women's Hands                          

2 Carlton Street, Suite 500

416-593-7655

East Toronto:
Scarborough Sexual Health Clinic

180 Borough Drive

Phone: (416) 338-7438

Very Important Note: Do not poke holes into condoms you want to use for sex...

Smiles :)
Tuly Maimouna

'Contemporarily' Historical?

When I was in high school as a part of my a final media project, some peeps and I came together and made a documentary on HIV and black youth in the city of Toronto. Mind you the population of colour in my school was minimal, there were only three authority figures of colour and a scoop of black students. The racial divide was clear, yet the school did nothing to address that. And why should they? Most of us were there due to circumstance trying to attain our french immersion certificate. Bless their hearts, they really tried their hardest to get the darkies out by attempting to convince our parents that French was not our strong suit and we'd get better marks if we dropped out of the program. Dropping out would have led to us ultimately having to leave the school and go to schools closer to where we lived. There is always a clear message and distinction between what people say and what they do. Our school did not provide many opportunities (other than black history month) for youth of colour to address issues that are relevant to them. As I said before in a previous post, black populations are seldom represented beyond traumatic events, and this includes black history month. There is too much focus looking at the past while we ignore the contemporary issues that affect our present. There is a huge disjuncture in creating linkages between historical and contemporary 'blackness', we are contemporarily historical! My problem was and still is that black history month celebrations never seem to be more than a show, in the ones I have attended seldom have I been left thinking about current issues. That is why it was so important to make this documentary around HIV, we wanted to outline how race as a systematic reality in Canada affects vulnerability to HIV and stress why youth involvement in all capacities is beyond necessary.

While that documentary is now a bit dated and I have since graduated high school (and yes of course with my french immersion certificate), recently some friends and I got together to try and address the different aspects of vulnerability to HIV within communities of colour. Taking a more holistic look at what the African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) community looks like, this multi series installment looks at the different challenges and barriers faced by young persons of colour through the different aspects of their identity beyond race. Participants were able to share ideas about what HIV looks like or does not look like, and examine the obstacles faced in those contexts. Through a collaborative effort each individual had their own installment within the larger idea of sex and sexual health. The creative process was entirely up to the group empowering them to explore more personal ideas of self, community and HIV, and to interpret and identify the intersecting points through their own eyes and own lived realities. Check the images below to see a bit of what we did!

While this is not a craft I normally talk about, it is true that different art mediums produce different responses, outcomes and interpretations. The audience is able to place themselves within an image that fairly represents the artist, and it has the ability to facilitate an internal dialogue that informs external ones. This collaborative effort was effective in doing that because each piece of work served to work as a means to reclaim space and increase visibility in a way that each individual wanted to be represented. I believe that the use art mediums has the potential to challenge ideas that place the onus of talking about and understanding race relations on populations of colour while somehow neutralizing white populations in these discussions. Artistic forms cut across all borders and transfer messages we are seldom given the chance to vocalize. If my high school experience taught me anything it was that we have to work together to create platforms where our lived experiences are given meaning and they become building blocks and tools of power for the present and future.

crafts speak volumes!

Smiles :)

Tuly Maimouna

Artducation: Crochet condom cases!

Crochet Condom Case

I remember once being told that if someone can't afford to buy condoms they probably shouldn't be having sex. While I am neither for or against that comment as we are all entitled to have the kind of sex we enjoy, I do believe that being able to negotiate condom use gives room to fairly evaluate and assess what kinds of risks we take or do not take with our body. I see condoms as tool to providing choice and sexual agency, meaning you can decided what kind of sex you want to have or do not want to have.

I have only recently come to realize and appreciate that being brought up in a informative environment has heavily informed the sexual decisions I make and the risks I take. My mother is and always has been open to talking about any questions I had about sex and sexual health. To this day she still provides me with information to questions I have not even thought to ask. I never had that "awkward" sex talk because she was never awkward about it. She was always willing to address issues and frame them in a way without shame...this is really a privilege afforded to me! So sex in my mind is a very healthy, normal and well enjoyable aspect of life. I can not stress that enough!

So why crochet condom cases? They came about as an arts based workshop some peers and I facilitate in communities of colour,  where we talk about sexual health and HIV/AIDS. They are so much fun...I get paid to talk about sex!  We do not entourage people to have sex, we create spaces where youth get to talk about sex in a positive and safe way to be able to answer any questions people have and challenge any misconceptions or negative perceptions. Participants get to decorate the pre-made cases how ever they want while engaging in conversations and discussions around sexual health and HIV/AIDS. Its artducation (art education)! Mine is really extra cause I just do it like that, but they can be as modest or flamboyant as you'd like :)

Choices should be linked to personal preferences, so whether you have sex or not why not be prepared with information and resources to be able to exercise choice in a way that is comfortable for you? Sex is not always planned and sadly not always consensual, but whether you're carrying condoms for your own use, a friends or even a total stranger condoms often open a dialogue that help us in negotiating and analyzing our position in sexual experiences and inform our decisions. I also have to say that not everyone has that ability, space, support systems or comfort level to have these kinds of conversations. So we have to start thinking about what prevents these conversations from happening in our respective communities. Furthermore, we need to think of how can we use these conversations to work collectively to challenge silence, and empower our communities.

All of our desires, sexual appetites, and lived realities vary, therefore I can never tell someone that they have to use condoms, but I can provide you with all the information, positive and negative, that you need to come to that decision on your own.

FYI: Never store condoms in your pocket, wallet or purse as over time the friction deteriorates the latex (that's why the cases are so great!)

Smiles :)

Tuly Maimouna