Condom packaging, Durex 'Arouser'

Empty carton of 12 Durex 'Arouser' ribbed condoms 'for heightened pleasure', spermicidally lubricated, with instruction leaflet, manufactured by LRC Products Ltd, England, c1995 (expiry date April 1998)

Part of a small personal collection of condoms and packaging dating from around the 1990s, this product is an example of the increased use of condoms internationally following the emergence of HIV and AIDS. Previously marketed as contraception, condom products diversified as they began to be targeted at a wider range of people, which led to new flavours, textures, and colours.

Alongside new flavours, ribbed condoms started to appear on the market in the UK in the early 1980s. Ribbed condoms offered the same protection as standard ones, with the addition of raised ridges on the outside in order to boost stimulation and pleasure during penetrative sex.