Carolyn Cooper, Contributor

World AIDS Day 2010 will be observed this Wednesday, December 1, with the theme, 'Universal Access and Human Rights', prevention, treatment, and care are the watchwords. Despite the global attention to the pandemic, 2.6 million people became infected with the AIDS virus last year, and approximately 1.8 million died.

Even Pope Benedict now seems to have got the message. Moving from the hardline position that the use of condoms is completely sinful, the pope has recently conceded that exceptions can be made in the case of HIV/AIDS prevention.

Of course, it's a whole other matter if you use the condom for contraception. I guess it will be left to the conscience of the faithful to declare the exact purpose for which the condom is used. But it seems to me that the Pope is trying to have it both ways: seeming to budge while digging his heels in.

In all of the grave controversy in the Catholic Church about the Pope's apparent backing down on a fundamental moral principle, there are moments of wicked humour. The satirical Secret Diary of Pope Benedict, written by Stephen Braunius for the Southland Times, acknowledges the problem of HIV/AIDS transmission in Africa. The fictional diary turns the pope's actual statements into racist reflections on the condition of "ignorant savages":

"After surgery, I read over my papal statement, which I think will bring the Church kicking and screaming into the 20th century. I want to state there could be instances when the use of condoms is not wholly repugnant, merely semi-repugnant.

"For example, it's entirely possible that someone will use a condom because they wish to reduce the risk of infection. People will ask: what sort of person? And the answer is: ignorant savages. These poor black devils have been indoctrinated by health and charity workers, and told that condoms are some kind of miracle cure. We in the civilised world know that the opposite is true, and have documentary evidence that condoms cause AIDS, cancer and baldness."

Despite the universally acknowledged benefits of condom use, there are still a lot of foolhardy men with no papal ambitions who believe in bareback rides. They need to have their head examined. Both of them. Desperate women who carelessly end up in relationships with these high-risk men also need to have their head examined.

Sane women have long accepted responsibility for protecting themselves from infection of all sorts. As the feminist quip puts it: if it's not on, it's not on. But vulnerable women do sometimes find themselves in situations where they simply don't have the power to insist that the man use a condom. Indeed, as Sussex University Professor Hilary Standing observes, "A condom is only as useful as the capacity to negotiate its use."

The invention of the female condom has helped to put power in the hands of women who now can exercise much more control over their own bodies. However, a major issue is the relatively high cost of the female condom. Checks at local pharmacies reveal that, on average, a pack of three female condoms costs about $400. By contrast, at the bottom end of the market, three male condoms cost $60. Quite a disparity!

But things are gradually getting better. A decade and a half ago, three female condoms cost $600, in comparison with three male condoms at $20! I wrote some lyrics then, in Jamaican, which I called "Woman kyaan gwaan like man." I've translated them into English - unfortunately, losing much of the raw energy - and I've updated the cost of the condoms.

Women Can't Go On Like Men

If it's the female condom you're depending on

Women can't go on like men

Let me tell you the truth

I'm not going to lie

Women don't fizzle like men

Women don't flop like men

Women last longer than men

But if it's the female condom you're depending on

Women can't go on like men.

Now listen to me!

3 male condoms, 60 dollars

3 female condoms, 400 dollars

What kind of wicked division is that?

Let's turn it around.

600 dollars - 4 female condoms

600 dollars - 30 male condoms

No wonder the men are slamming all about

The money for the female condom

Finishes quick, quick, quick

The money for the male condom

The man can't finish it

The man is finished long before

The supply of condoms

One piece of plastic

Two little rings

How do they price this thing?

They must have made a mistake

To call it 'Reality'

Whose reality are they dealing with?

It couldn't be the women around here

Who are barely making a living.

Couldn't be the women around here

Who are hustling to make ends meet.

The jackass says the world is not level

The hen and the rooster

Are not equally lucky

3 male condoms, 60 dollars

3 female condoms, 400 dollars

If it's the female condom you're depending on

Women can't go on like men.

The supposed power that the female condom was designed to give women is really an illusion for working-class women in Jamaica. Virtual reality. If you have to be rationing the use of the condom, you might as well not bother. The financial calculation is sure to take the pleasure out of the act. Celibacy is much cheaper and much holier, as I'm sure Pope Benedict would agree.

Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a teacher of English and an advocate of Jamaican language rights. Visit her bilingual blog, Jamaica Woman Tongue, at carolynjoycooper.wordpress.co. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com or karokupa@gmail.com.