The Manila Times: Good “Bad” Boy

I’ve always said that I love a man who isn’t afraid of wearing protection.

Really, it’s amazing how something as innocuous and small as a condom can make some men so anxious. Well, for that matter, the same applies to some women who feign being scandalized by condoms lest any other reaction would belie their good girl image.
So I’m only too happy that the quintessential bad boy and now, the most eligible man in showbiz, is talking about how real men use condoms.

Actually, happy, is putting it lightly. I am ecstatic that Robin Padilla is on national television talking about the need for protection. It’s every sexual health advocate’s dream and every relationship columnist’s answer to most sex-related questions thrown at her.

Yes, Robin is just the right man to go hard on the need to use condoms, considering:

Robin appeals to both men and women

He owns the “tough guy” bravado from all the action movies that he made early on his career, which earns him the respect of men. At 41, he still oozes with the bad boy charisma of Colin Farrel earning him the title of irresistible DILF (the male equivalent of Stiffler’s MILF), among the ladies.

His lean and buffed physique from the intense physical training and muay Thai adds a surprising element of health that makes him credible to talk about condom use beyond the aspect of titillation.

Robin can talk man to man

Of course, guys can always ask each other about safe sex practices—but the problem is they don’t. It’s just not a “guy thing” to do. When you have a Robin Padilla alluding to how real men use condoms to avoid untimely pregnancies and STDs, it shifts the male perspective on the often-stigmatized prophylactic.
This, I believe, is critical especially since most men remain indifferent to matters of reproductive health, relegating it as a “girl thing.”

In the many sexual/reproductive health conferences that I have attended where topics such as family planning, reproductive health care maintenance and birth spacing are discussed, the attendees are usually all women. (At one particular launch of a book on the state of abortions in the Philippines, there was only one man in attendance. I’m not even sure if he counts since he was one of the co-authors of the book.) It’s evident that we ladies are all for birth control (wasn’t the pill considered the greatest invention of all time?). Unfortunately, we cannot—even with the aid of modern science—get pregnant on our own. And so until women can impregnate themselves at will, there is a need to make men understand that the many aspects of reproductive health are not just a “girl thing.”

Robin makes condom use SOP

Here’s the thing about condom negotiation—it isn’t sexy at all. If the argument is that putting on a condom disrupts the moment, then condom negotiation totally ruins it.

Rather than get right into the action scene, you have to deal with the condom negotiation drama that can be as dramatic and as tension-filled as hostage release negotiations and as dangerous as walking through a minefield. Consider just one of the potential questions and insinuations:
Why do we need to use condoms if we’re only sleeping with each other?

The answer here is when you sleep with someone, you also sleep with their history—meaning their past partners. So even if you, as an individual are clear of any STDs, you won’t know if your partner and his past partners are.

If you remember some years back, an outspoken and very controversial showbiz personality went on national television and disclosed that her boyfriend gave her a sexually transmitted disease.
In short, monogamy doesn’t always equate to being STD-free. So condom use and regular testing are a must.

Western society may have said it first with the SOP: “No glove, no love.” But Robin just says it better in our vernacular by saying, “Bago umaksyon, proteksyon [before action, use protection].”

And lastly, there’s nothing like a bad boy telling you that if you want to be really good in bed, you should wear a condom.

Like I said, I’ve always loved a man who isn’t afraid of a little protection—especially if that man happens to be Robin Padilla.

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What do you think of Robin being the poster boy for safe sex? E-mail your thoughts on positive sexuality, bad boys and just about anything else under the sun to ana@anasantoswrites.com