Notes on the acceptability of the female condom: a study among female and male students in Abidjan

Based on in-depth interviews with students of the University of Cocody-Abidjan, this article examines the acceptability of the female condom, and tries to understand the students' reasons for accepting or rejecting its use. I examine conceptions of sexuality and power that emerge from their answers. These issues constitute real hindrances to the adoption and to the use of the condom insofar as it gives the woman a margin of freedom. The acceptability of the female condom is more to do with the inherent relation of power between sexual partners than it is to do with its utilitarian or hedonistic value.