But We Used a Condom: Difference between revisions

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Nana]]'': Hachi and her boyfriend used a condom. Hachi's ''other'' boyfriend didn't....

* In ''[[Midnight Secretary]]'', both Kyouhei and Kaya are very careful on not getting Kaya pregnant. When Kaya thinks she is pregnant because she was missing her periods, she thinks this. {{spoiler|First time, she isn't. Second time, however, they forgot the condom}}.

 

* A ''[[Chick Tract]]'' on the dangers of premarital sex had a character use birth control and a condom, which she obtained from a neighbour (prescription? what prescription?) but worry nevertheless that she was pregnant. She turned out not to be, but she managed to pick up both a case of the clap and HIV. Also a case of [[You Fail Biology Forever]], since it pushes the spurious claim that HIV can pass right through latex.<ref>It also conflates AIDS and HIV (AIDS is caused by HIV but does not set in until some time, often years, after the infection has wreaked havoc on the patient's immune system) and gives the impression that either one can be diagnosed within a month of infection. (A person cannot be confirmed HIV-positive until at least three months after infection, with a follow-up recommended six months after potential exposure to the virus.)</ref>

* ''[[Stuck Rubber Baby]]'': Averted with {{spoiler|Toland and Ginger}}.

 

== Film ==

* In ''[[Fools Rush In]]'', the two protagonists get married as a result of this trope.

* ''[[Nine Months]]'' had a variation where birth control failed, mentioning it being only 98% effective. Followed by Hugh Grant's character remarking that this would mean that they are 2% ''entirely ineffective''.

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[The Cider House Rules]]'': Wally and Candy used a condom that later turned out to be sabotaged.

* The ''[[Andromeda Nebula]]'' by I. Efremow, one of the protagonists was conceived on board of a spaceship, because the hormonal contraceptive has lost its effectiveness due to long storage (a typical spaceship's journey took 5–20 years at that time).

* ''[[Honor Harrington]]'': A high tech variant of the concept is what causes the conception of Raoul Alexander-Harrington. Female members of the Royal Manticoran Navy have contraceptive implants since health and safety laws preclude pregnant woman serving in orbital and space based positions. They're supposed to be replaced regularly but Honor's wasn't due to a paperwork error caused when she was presumed dead for a period.

* In the ''[[New Jedi Order]]'', these are {{spoiler|Mara Jade's}} first thoughts upon discovering her pregnancy.

* ''[[The Stand]]'' does this with Frannie. A "But I used the pill" variant. Possibly an act of God kind of thing, given the nature of the book.

* Played with in the first ''Starship Troupers'' novel by Christopher Stasheff. The main character is escaping a [[Shotgun Wedding]], and notes that the would-be-bride must not only have deliberately not taken a guaranteed birth-control pill (or taken the I Changed My Mind Pill), but must have been taking something that counteracted ''his'' pill as well.

 

* The British soap ''[[Eastenders]]'' between Martin and Sonya. Result: Rebecca.

* ''[[Friends]]''

 

== Oral Tradition ==

* A joke told among American schoolchildren goes as follows: A young Native American lad came home from school one day in tears. When his father asked what was wrong, the young lad lashed out against his father for giving him [[Embarrassing First Name|such a horrible name.]] His father explained that it was the tradition of their tribe to name ones children [[Meaningful Name|after the circumstances in which they were conceived.]] "For example, your sister was conceived during an autumn sunrise, so we named her Autumn Sunrise. Your brother was conceived during a raging thunderstorm, so we named him Raging Thunderstorm. "Ah," said the young lad, "So that's how it's done." His father replied, "Yes, Broken Rubber, that's how it's done."

 

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Ctrl+Alt+Del]]'': Used straight. Of course, [[Internet Backdraft|we all know]] how ''that'' [[Convenient Miscarriage|turned out]].

* ''[[PvP]]'': Jade's pregnancy scare.

* ''[[The Law of Purple]]'': Lette's mother was in her mid-forties and using two kinds of birth control when she became pregnant with Lette. This is why Lette is about the same age as her nephew.

** It's all thanks to the [http://www.rhymes-with-witch.com/rww02062011.shtml Condom Kitty]

* Recently in ''[[Shortpacked]]'', Amber finds out she's pregnant with Mike's child. And is confused since she's been taking her birth controls pills faithfully. Turns out Robin thought they were mints, and had been sneaking them and replacing them with actual mints. [[MST3K Mantra|Best not to think too much on the logic of that scenario.]]

 

== Web Original ==

* While ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' has its fair share of pregnant characters, only one actually invokes this trope. Elsie Darroch was shocked to discover she was pregnant after having had sex with her boyfriend, Matt Vreeland, because they had used a condom, both of them unaware that it had broken. When she brought it up to Matt, he had the cliché response of denying it, calling her a whore, and breaking up with her. She's also a rare "pregnant" character in that she's the only one so far that's been abducted early in the pregnancy, before they've started "showing".

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Family Guy]]'' once mentioned that Chris was the result of an unplanned pregnancy due to a condom breaking. The lawsuit against the manufacturer gave them money to buy a house. Then again, this is [[Rule of Funny|Family Guy]]. Just to top it off, the broken condom is in Chris's baby book.

{{quote|"Meg, did anyone tell you that if you take antibiotics it means the pill doesn't work? Cause nobody told me!"}}

 

== Real Life ==

* Some instances of condom failure can often be attributed to users simply not using them properly or ignoring instructions.

** And with ''the pill" as well--birth control pills have to be taken on a regular daily basis (except every fourth week for menstruation) so missing a day or two for whatever reason increases the risk of failure.

* Former [[Hello! Project]] and Morning Musume member Tsuji Nozomi invoked this trope when announcing her pregnancy and subsequent engagement to Sugiura Taiyo (AKA the actor who played Haruno Musashi/Ultraman Cosmos in [[Ultraman Cosmos]]).

** This unintended-pregnancy-followed-by-immediate-engagement seems to be standard procedure among Japanese celebrities. The latest such individual is [[Koda Kumi]], but she is far from alone; the very fact that [[Ayumi Hamasaki]] ''wasn't'' pregnant when she married an Austrian model/actor out of the blue was itself a shock. Someone should really show them how condoms are supposed to work.

* Apparently this trope is more common in reality than people think. [[wikipedia:Condom#In preventing pregnancy|Perfect-use pregnancy rate is about 2% per year,]] and typical-use failures range from '''10-18% per year'''.

** Interesting tidbit there: non-use, when intending to use a condom, counts as 'typical use'. "Typical" only means that people list condoms as their primary method of birth control, whether they ever put one on or not, hence the absurdly high failure rate.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Pregnancy Tropes]]

[[Category:Post Sex]]

[[Category:Stock Aesops]]

[[Category:Truth in Television]]