“Double Butterfly” Condom - Futures Group

© 2002 Horizon Research and Futures Group Europe
Economic interests influenced condom use. Nearly two in ten (19%) of the sex
workers admitted that condom use affected their income. In Yunnan, commercial sex
workers said they could charge an average of RMB 247.4 6 for sex without a condom
– 1.7 times that of sex with a condom at RMB 144.7. In Sichuan, non-condom sex
service could earn an average of RMB 180.6, 1.4 times that of condom-using sex
service at RMB 125.8.
Section 3 Preference and Requirements for Condoms
I. Function – lubrication ranked first
Generally speaking, the sex workers shared the top 10 tastes of a condom’s function:
“lubricated” (81.9%), “durable” (55.3%), “flavored” (42.1%), “elastic” (28.2%),
“famous brand” (26.1%), “thin” (24.4%), “good-looking package” (17.7%), “bright
color” (15.7%), “thick” (11%) and “cheap” (9.7%) (Table1).
The Sichuan and Yunnan sex workers had slight differences in their preferred condom
functions. The Yunnan sex workers had higher demand for “thin” (27.0%) and “bright
colored” (18.9%) The Sichuan sex workers had higher demand for “elastic” (30.5%),
“famous brand” (32.6%) and “cheap” (12.6%).
The sex workers in different types of sex work establishments also had slight
differences in preferred condom functions (Table 2). The sex workers at sauna/bath
houses had higher demand for “durable” (61.9%) and “thin” (29.8%), those at
nightclubs/hotels had higher demand for “bright color” (18.2%), those at bars/karaoke
clubs had higher demand for “lubricated” (85.3%) and “flavored” (46.7%), those at
beauty saloons had higher demand for “famous brand” (29.3%), and the street sex
workers had higher demand for “good-looking package” (21.8%) and “cheap”
(21.8%).
The sex workers in different age groups also had slight differences in favorite condom
functions (Table 3). The sex workers below 16 had higher demand for “good-looking
package” (23.1%) and “thick” (19.4%), those at 19-24 had higher demand for
“flavored” (46.1%) and “bright-color” (19%), those 25-29 had higher demand for
“lucrative” (90.3%), “durable” (59.1%), “elastic” (31.4%), “famous brand” (33.3%)
and “thin” (28.6%), and those above 30 had higher demand for “cheap” (21.5%).
The qualitative supplementary investigation results indicated that good promotion
measures would help encourage people to use condoms. First, the condom should help
achieve the true feeling of non-condom sexual behavior, having “thin” and “elastic”
functions. Some suggested new functions of condos may be helpful, such as new
Sexual workers report 5