All around the world, governments, communities and families have engaged in the safe sex debate. With AIDS still a prominent force in the world, despite the media’s less frequent coverage of it, most governments believe promoting safe sex and abstinence is key to keeping the epidemic at bay. One such debate is happening in India today; the main argument hinges on when exactly the promotion of safe sex crosses the line into promoting recreational sex.
Behind this argument lies a seemingly innocent piece of vibrating plastic. The Crezendo is a small vibrating ring that is powered by batteries and comes attached to a regular condom. Conservatives in India are appalled by the marketing of this product in a country that strictly prohibits pornography and sexual devices. Those who are against the marketing of this device, including residents of Madhya Pradesh, feel that the Crezendo is simply a vibrator in the guise of a condom. They point to the back of the Crezendo box which clearly states “the vibrating ring can be used without a condom for self-pleasure.” They are equally upset that the company responsible for marketing this new condom is owned by the government. According to Kailash Vijayvargiya, the minister for road and energy in the state of Madhya Pradesh, it is the government’s duty “to promote family planning and population control measures rather than market products for sexual pleasure.” He goes on to say that “the vibrating device is nothing but a sex toy being sold as condoms.”
The manufacturers of the Crezendo, Hindustan Latex, Ltd., have stated their production of the Crezendo line stems from the steady decline of condom usage and the fact that regular condom users felt a “lack of pleasure when using condoms.” Further market research showed that many regular condoms that have been supplied and offered through other marketing techniques have not been used and therefore wasted. At a dollar a pop, the Crezendo offers Indians a safe sex experience coupled with “ultimate pleasure by producing strong vibrations.”
Of course, as we all know in business, many times any press is good press. By simply stirring up the controversy, protestors offered Crezendo a lot of free press which was akin to extra marketing for the brand. In fact, the company has not really had to utilize any extra marketing to promote the product. In two months time, over 50,000 packs were sold. Guess which state contributed to approximately 15% of these sales? If you guessed Madhya Pradesh, you would be right.
Boiled down, the question remains whether in a country where over 3 million people are living with HIV/AIDS any measure should be taken to prevent the further spread of AIDS. Should products like the Crezendo, that border on the line between preventative and erotic, be taken from the shelves despite the fact that they may help safeguard against a growing epidemic? Indians are asking themselves these questions today in their efforts to couple the promotion of safe sex with their conservative beliefs against promotion of items and beliefs that are considered erotic.
译文:
Crezendo：印度引起争议的避孕套
在世界各地，政府、公众和家庭都在进行着性安全的辩论。由于艾滋病在世界上仍然是一个突出问题，尽管媒体不再频繁的对它进行报道，大多数政府还是认为提倡安全的性爱和节制是控制艾滋病的关键所在。今天，在印度就正在进行着这样一场辩论。主要争论是什么时候才能实现安全性爱和快乐性爱的结合。
争论的背后，是一件似乎无害的振动塑料棒。Crezendo是一种由电池提供动力的振荡小环，附加在一个普通避孕套上。在这样一个禁止色情书籍和性器械的国度的市场上出售这种产品，印度的保守派确实被吓住了。反对在市场出售这种器械的人，以及中立派居民，认为Crezendo就是一种以避孕套为借口的振荡器。他们指出，Crezendo盒子后面清楚地写着“此振动环可以在不用避孕套的情况下用作自慰。”令他们同样恼火的是，公司出售这种新避孕套是政府批准的。Madhya Pradesh州道路与能源部长Kailash Vijayvargiya说，政府有责任“提倡家庭计划生育和控制人口增长措施，但不是所谓出售追求性爱乐趣的产品。”他还说，“这个振动器械只是一种当作避孕套出售的玩具。”
Crezendo的制造商Hindustan Latex有限公司已经表明，Crezendo生产线源自于持续不断降低的避孕套使用率和普通避孕套使用者感觉“用避孕套时缺少快感”的事实。深入的市场调查表明，多数市场上或通过其它市场技术提供的普通避孕套都没有被利用，而白白浪费了。以一美元一个的价格，Crezendo为印度人民提供了安全的性爱历程，“通过制造强烈振动引起无限快感。”
当然，就像我们所知的，在商业中，任何广告在重复多次后都会是一个好广告。通过这场争论的引发，抗议者为Crezendo做了大量免费广告，这对于扩展此品牌的市场也一样有益处。事实上，这家公司根本就不用去扩展市场来推广此产品。在两个月的时间里，至少出售了50,000包。猜一猜哪个州的销量占了几乎总销量的15%？如果你猜Madhya Pradesh的话，你就对了。
总的来说，在这个至少三百万人染有艾滋病的国家，是否应该采取措施以阻止它扩展的问题依然存在。像Crezendo这种徘徊在预防和色情之间的产品，是否应该从消失在货架上，而不管它们可能帮助防卫不断蔓延的传染病呢？今天，印度人民在努力中和安全性爱和他们反对色情的保守观念的同时，仍然在扪心自问。