Why are we not talking about dental dams in Africa?
Intro - sexual safety
Sexual safety is one of the elements of sexual well-being and mental health. Protective sexual behaviours such as using condoms and dental dams increase sexual safety and reduce the risks of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Heard about dental dams?
I am sure that some of my African readers would already wonder, what are dental dams? I only learned about dental dams late in my life, after I had gone through college. I only knew the condom. Even when I first heard about the dental dam, I thought it was something exotic, like a sex toy.
I thought perhaps that my knowledge lags because I belong to the generation X cohort. But that is not the only reason. In Malawi, for instance, I see condoms in shops and pharmacies, but never have I encountered a dental dam. So, there is something about dental dams that makes them scarce in my country and probably other countries in Africa.
But are not these dental dams important to know about? Why then are we not talking about them on the continent?
What is a dental dam?
Let me use an analogy with the condom. I am sure most people know what a condom is. A dental dam is a piece of synthetic rubber like a condom except is it not shaped to be worn on the penis.
The dental dam also does what a condom does, it prevents the mixing of fluids between the partners during sexual contact. However, the dental dam is specifically designed for oral sex, for instance, when one person uses their mouth to stimulate the genitals of another.
So, dental dams are definitely important because they protect sexual partners from STIs.
(I added this bit as an afterthought: If you were wondering, you wondered right. Dental dams are used in dentistry. It appears their application to sexual safety came later.)
Why are we not talking about dental dams in Africa?
I wanted to say that condoms are African while dental dams are un African, but it sounds almost ridiculous. But I will not edit out this sentence because there is something there. I mean, dental dams are being talked about elsewhere but not in Africa. Why is that?
I could think of 2 reasons:
- Condoms are a 'western imposition' on Africans. The 'donors' choose to send condoms to Africa but not dental dams (un African?). That is why we do not see dental dams around.
- Oral sex is not common in Africa (un African?) so we can ignore dental dams. If we stock them in our clinics and pharmacies, no one will buy or claim them. Dental dams would not make business sense in Africa.
Let us talk about oral sex
Some people do not consider oral sex true sex. They think of it as inferior, perhaps because it is not procreative. And then here is where the logic can be twisted. Some people engage in oral sex, but because they consider it not true sex or inferior, they ignore safety. In fact, they are ignorant about safety.
Perhaps it is not the dental dams that we should be talking about. I am sure that in some sex education classes on the continent, the learners come out only knowing penile-vaginal sex because the teacher never mentioned oral sex. We must understand that this perspective that sex is only when it involves the penis and vagina is a masculinist perspective. That is, it only serves the interests of people with penises (men?).
Oral sex is as sex as penile-vaginal sex. It is just as pleasurable and can contribute to feeling good, sexual well-being and sexual health of the partners. But, one needs to consider safe sex even with oral sex.
So, what we need in Africa is to talk about oral sex so that people who are engaging in this kind of sexual conduct should also consider sexual safety. Then dental dams will make sense.
A final tip
If you cannot find an already made dental dam, you can make one from a condom. Check how you can do that here.