We could compare the use of condoms to prevent sickness and unwanted pregnancies as taking precautionary measures against potential consequences. You cannot be sure at 100% that by using condoms nothing will happen, but at least the risk is strongly reduced. Additional means like taking the pill or having regular medical check-up are like wearing safety clothing for bikers, because wearing a helmet is sometimes not enough. If you respect the speed limit and do not break traffic rules (or the condom), it would even be better.

So you have the choice, either YOU are convinced that you are the best biker in the world and that nothing can happen to you because YOU are in control, and so you don’t need any protection when biking. YOU should know that despite all your skills, other road users could involve you in an accident with dramatic consequences, so you should wear protection even if riding without a helmet is much more cool… we all agree on that.

In some countries, people have insurance for everything and will never take a risk without being covered (sickness, travel, break of glasses, fire, car accident, medical evacuation when travelling abroad ,etc.) as they know that paying a small amount of money for insurance will protect them against unlikely but costly consequences that will jeopardize their whole existence.

These people do not even evaluate the risk, being big or small, they take insurance to feel more secure. But the insurances will only pay if you are respecting some basic precautionary measures as they want to be able to allow everybody to be covered (and of course to make some profits as well), so the cost for it needs to stay affordable. For this purpose, the State and the insurance companies are promoting precautionary measures to reduce the number of cases that need to be covered. Being a responsible citizen is contributing to this risk reduction.

Use of condoms is similar. If you do not care about the society where you live in, the people you live with and about yourself, and furthermore if you strongly believe that the State is the only responsible, just do not wear a helmet. You look so cool anyway.”

There’s no sense in it. First of all, if you would watch the bedroom scene of the ads, you will see how ungentlemanly the guy is. The girl was soaked in the rain, but instead of standing up from the bed to help her dry her body, the man started to relish her “yumminess” while watching her wet body. How sweet! Where is the sense of manly protection? Maybe he is not giving her a disease but he doesn’t care whether she will be sick.

Besides, why did Robin think that this guy might infect her should he not use condoms? Does he want to imply that this guy (and all other guys) might have been unfaithful and might have incurred an infection from someone else? Where is the manliness there?

A true man knows how to master himself. Self-discipline is his protection against his “frenzy”. If he doesn’t have control over himself, and thus just resort to condom use, then he is like the man in a song that says, “Ako’y ibigin mo, lalaking matapang. Ang baril ko’y pito, ang sundang ko’y siyam.”

Contraceptive ads are always ironic.

Oh, his creations are truly works of art! There was once a book of his works compiled in a coffee table book produced by the Rustan’s group. Unfortunately, apart from the copy that was shown to me by his nieces when I did the interview for this piece, I have not seen other compilations.

Hi Ben! Just wanted to tell you that I saw copies of the Valera coffeebook I mentioned in the earlier thread yesterday at Beauty Bar Rockwell. I hope this helps. : )

Thank, Franz! Drop by the site again soon. =)