this is my *unamused by shame culture* face

[freezingrayne]

So the condoms at my local groccery store are locked up. As in, behind glass, to circumvent the hideous possiblity that someone might buy them and then use them in order to perform sexual acts. Safely. Oh, the humanity.

But that isn't a huge shock--I've seen it before, though not in this state. What really made me want to punch someone in the face was the fact that the pregnancy tests were behind glass. As if the stress of a possible unwanted pregnancy isn't bad enough, someone has gone ahead and made the simple act of getting the tools you need to help yourself as difficult as possible.

I mean, okay, the condom thing I can buy, if you're one of those idiots of the opinion that condoms are what cause people to have sex, and that sex is evil, and therefore, making condoms harder/more embarrassing to get will cut down on the amount of people (or underage people, which is who I imagine this brilliance is intended for) having sex. But pregnancy tests?. Honestly? What other reasons could there be for doing this, besides making the experience as painful as possible? But I suppose our culture can't pass up an opportunity to shame women for having sex, now can we?

Comments

[cypher]

I've always assumed that was done because they were frequently-stolen items.

Which doesn't really excuse the culture, I don't think, because the reason they'd be more frequently stolen than other things of similar size & value is because of the stigma attached to buying them. :x

[freezingrayne]

Yeah. You know there's something odd going on when people would rather commit crimes than buy something to protect themselves.

The world is weird.

[lassarina]

I, too, assumed that it was because they are frequently-stolen items compared to their value; here, at least in the drugstores in the city, other things behind glass include razors and razor blade cartridges, and baby formula.

[mmefrankenstein]

But! On the bright side, Plan B is now sold over-the-counter, at least where I am. ^_^ Yay for the small triumphs (though that, I think, is a rather big one, especially for a typically red state).

But yeah. I agree with you that it's dumber than shit to make those things harder to buy. They should just have vending machines like they do in Europe and Japan--condoms 24/7, 365 and at your discretion and convenience. Ah, but that would make some sort of sense....

Silly world.

[rev_marsh]

Actually, a vending machine would be an ideal compromise between 'not as easily stolen' and 'anonymously available.'

That being said, ain't nothin' locked up at the Dollar Store, and dollar store pregnancy tests have been shown to be as or more sensitive than name brand ones.