Safer Sex at the Olympics, Thanks to ‘Capt. Condom’
by Sue Denim
YNOT – Have no fear, Vancouver visitors! When it comes to any sexual Olympics you have planned to occupy the downtime during the Winter Games, SafeGames 2010 has you covered.
The international consortium of safer-sex and substance-abuse groups has rounded up more than 200 volunteers — mostly students and social workers — to hand out 250,000 packets containing condoms, lubricant, glow sticks, hand warmers and safe-sex educational pamphlets during the Olympics. Many of the volunteers, to be stationed on street corners throughout Vancouver, will be attired in superhero costumes: Capt. Condom, Methadone man and Bi-Curious Man, for example.
“There’s really no limit, and you can expect to see lots of different characters,” SafeGames 2010 spokesman Lucianno Colonna told Canwest News Service. “We’re encouraging the volunteers to be creative.”
The program, with a projected cost of about $100,000 (not including in-kind donations), was designed to spread the word that safer sex is good, clean fun, Colonna said. The idea germinated in Salt Lake City more than eight years ago, and the program debuted there as SafeGames 2002.
In Vancouver, organizers added a series of films, lectures and parties to the lineup of activities.
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games begin Feb. 12. Nonsexual events will be televised on NBC.
Sue Denim is a freelance journalist specializing in sexuality and the adult entertainment industry.
