Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter

Most men can identify with feeling awkward when first being asked to pick up feminine hygiene products. Women experience a similar twinge in the pit of their stomachs when purchasing a box of condoms.

But with changing times, has this apprehension become rare?

"It's just childish behaviour to feel uncomfortable about those things. It's a necessity," said Peter, an accountant who has no problem getting tampons or sanitary napkins for women he is close to.

However, it was not always this easy for him. He admitted that as a teenager, he attached a stigma to men purchasing feminine products and that he wouldn't have done it. A tendency he attributed to his socialisation.

When he used to help his mother unpack the groceries, she was sure to take that bag away and unpack it herself. When he asked about the contents, she would say it was nothing for him to worry himself about, and from there he learnt about the secrecy surrounding the product.

Personal item '

John, another accountant in his 30s, believes those items should remain a woman's secret. "I think that that's an item a lady should buy. It's a personal item. I'm not going to look at it and read it and check if it's good," he said.

If his girlfriend were to have an emergency and she were to ask him to run this errand for her, he would ask a female friend to do it.

But he said the request would not go down that easily. "I would ask her why she has run out, seeing it's an item she definitely needs," John said.

For condoms, the item which may prove a little embarrassing for some women to purchase, both men believe they should not be apprehensive.

Peter acknowledged that there might be a level of embarrassment for women but he thinks that she should be equally prepared for spontaneous sex, with condom in hand, and not leave the responsibility solely to him.

"It has the potential to kill a moment," he said, if she has no condom and he has to leave to purchase them.

John doesn't understand the reason a woman would be embarrassed about doing it. "It's not a personal thing, it's for both people," he said, unlike with feminine products which, he said, have nothing to do with a man.

In an episode of the comedy, The Golden Girls, the middle-age female characters Rose, Blanche and Dorothy go shopping for condoms and other toiletries to take with them on a cruise. When they arrive at the cashier, the man gets on the telecom system and does a price check on each box of condoms, detailing the specific types. To say the least, all the customers turned and stared.

Embarrassment

This scenario might shed some light on the embarrassment people feel, even when they are older, at having to request condoms from an attendant in front of strangers.

Keisha, a woman in her 20s, admits she feels embarrassed about doing it as it feels like she's allowing total strangers into her private life.

Yvonne Laughton Foster, a counselling psychologist with Family Life Ministries, explained that socialisation has a lot to do with how we approach sexuality.

In the past, men rarely knew the intricacies of women's bodies and the initiation of sex was mostly left up to men, so the responsibility of getting condoms would be left up to them.

She said there is more openness about these topics now as it is being discussed in the media. It provides more ease for individuals.

"It's what creates life and we should really know about each other," she said. Individuals should not focus on how they are perceived by others.

"You can't legislate people's feelings but you shouldn't be bound by old-time views," she said. Both partners being able to purchase such products shows support in a relationship.

"People should get into relationships which are mutually supporting to partners."

Keisha said despite the awkwardness, she takes hold of her own destiny and purchases condoms to prevent contracting sexually transmitted infections and getting pregnant.