No one is completely sure when and where condoms were first invented - the ancient Egyptians used linen sheaths as a protection against sexually transmitted infections, and the Romans may well have used similar devices.
The first detailed information about condom use comes from the 16th century, when linen sheaths were used to protect against syphilis. A variety of other materials were also used for condoms, including leather, dried sheep's bladders and the intestines of other animals. These condoms tended to be expensive, the preserve of the well off, and were frequently re-used.
a 1700s condom
By the eighteenth century the word condom appears for the first time, though no one is quite sure of its origin. Also, condoms came to be used more and more as a form of birth control in addition to preventing sexually transmitted infections. In the sexually adventurous environment of Restoration and early 18th century London condoms were widely available and openly advertised. Approval extended to royalty, as it is thought that Charles II himself used condoms to help prevent the birth of yet more illegitimate offspring.
The 19th century saw the gradual evolution of the familiar rubber condom, and the manufacture of condoms on an industrial scale. At first these were relatively inflexible, and aged quickly, but by the 1920s the latex condom had appeared in its familiar contemporary guise. However, along with the increase in the manufacture and new production techniques there was an increased concern with the "sexual immorality" supposedly encouraged by mass access to birth control and the means of preventing sexually transmitted infections. The advertising of birth control devices was banned in 1873, and postal services were authorised to confiscate condoms sent by mail.
Femidom
During the twentieth century there was a massive increase in the production and use of condoms, but also the rise of alternative devices for birth control, such as the coil and contraceptive pill. Condoms became available at a greater variety of outlets, and the female condom or femidom has been available since 1992. Condoms also now come in a variety of shapes and sizes: flavoured and non-flavoured, latex and non-latex (polyurethane), in different sizes and thicknesses.
