The state in sexual life

Abstract

During the 1970s, condoms were introduced into Singapore as a medical device. Health officials described men’s condom use as sharing women’s risks and responsibilities in birth control and family planning. For the officials, condom distribution helped contain the spread of venereal diseases, deal with unwanted pregnancies and maintain an optimal birth rate for national economic development. With the emergence of AIDS and a more self-assertive middle class of well-educated, globally aware citizens, the official discourse on male contraceptives came under fire from social conservatives, who associated condom use with the moral decline of society. This article examines the dialectical relationship between government policies and public perceptions of condom use in Singapore. The 1980s debates over condoms revealed greater male involvement in state-directed contraceptive projects and a burgeoning dichotomy between state and society.