How long have condoms been around and what were they made of before they started being made in latex?

People have used condoms for thousands of years, though the material has changed, of course. About 2,000 years ago, the Chinese used oiled tissue paper condoms. The Japanese are said to have used leather condoms. For a long time in Europe, linen cloth was used to put on the glans, but it chafed and was soon replaced by pig caecum and fish bladders. The answer to how to avoid unwanted pregnancies has long been sought in the animal world. Long before the time of the condom, a spermicide made from crocodile feces was used in ancient Egypt which was considered completely safe.

The view of condoms changed in the 16th century. Then Columbus’ men brought syphilis to Europe from Haiti, and suddenly the condom became necessary again. Haitian Indians were resistant to syphilis because they had the disease as children. But Columbus’ men were infected, and at the time syphilis was a painful, deadly disease.

It took a while for the condom to really become acceptable though. Neither in Germany nor in England did they call the condom by its proper name during the 18th century. Instead, they were known as “French letters” in England and “English caps” in Germany – expressions that were used well into the 20th century. The French court physician Astruc is probably the originator of this. He wrote the following: “He who is about to have intercourse puts his penis inside as if in an envelope, to protect himself, in the same way as against the dangers that an uncertain battle can bring.”

Giacomo Casanova, the great 18th century seducer, was a big consumer of animal gut condoms. He used to blow up his pet condoms to make sure there were no holes in them.

The big condom breakthrough came at the end of the 18th century. England’s King Charles II had a reputation as a ladies’ man with many children in the countryside. This was not considered very appropriate. Therefore, Charles tasked a doctor with finding him some protection. The doctor’s name is said to have been Condom, and he suggested to the king to use a bag on his penis. If the story is true, Mr. Condom can be named the father of the modern condom. Those who don’t believe the story of Mr. Condom instead suggest that the condom got its name from the Latin word for container, “condus.”

Sweden’s oldest preserved condom can be found at the History Museum in Lund. It dates from 1813 and is provided with a special instruction manual. It says that before use, the condom must be boiled in milk and then powdered with flour.

We have a tire manufacturer to thank for today’s condoms. In 1839, Charles Goodyear invented the vulcanization method. It turned sticky raw rubber into dry, elastic rubber. In addition to car tires, it was possible to manufacture rubber condoms as well. These were stretchable and cheaper to manufacture than intestinal condoms. Thirty years later, condoms began to be manufactured and distributed in earnest. When there was talk of birth control around the year 1900, more condoms were used than ever before. But it also increased resistance to condoms.

In 1911, the Contraceptives Act was introduced in Sweden, a law that prohibited information about condoms and all other contraceptives. Condoms were seen as a threat to marriage and the family. Another argument was that they helped to maintain prostitution.

In Sweden, you could buy condoms made from animal intestines right into the 1930s. The method of making condoms was further developed in the 1930s. Condoms became even cheaper, thinner and more stretchy. The medical profession finally succeeded in convincing parliament that condoms were the only protection against venereal infection.

The Contraceptives Act was repealed in 1938, but the secret stamp lived on for a long time. Condoms were sold under names such as “rubber goods”, “medical supplies” and “controlled goods” until 1959, when condom dispensers were allowed.

The last vestiges of the law of the Contraception Act were repealed in 1970 and condoms became free to sell, advertise and use. Birth control pills had been approved as a contraceptive and in the mid-1970s they had their big breakthrough. This meant that the use of condoms was halved in ten years. People enjoyed themselves without “carbon paper,” but without condoms the setbacks came, resulting in a sharp increase in venereal diseases.

Condoms began to be marketed by RFSU largely with humor and with a focus on the greatly increased number of venereal diseases. One of the most well-known campaigns was “Tonight 80 Swedes will get gonorrhea – a condom is the only contraceptive that protects!”

Read more about our campaigns from the past under the heading RFSU.

The motto “the condom is the only contraceptive that protects both against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections” still applies today. In addition, condoms are the man’s only form of contraception.