History Main / TrojanGauntlet

* In an episode of ''HeadOfTheClass'', as nerdy Arvid prepared for his date with the school bike, he ventured to the drugstore to purchase condoms. Of course, he was thoroughly embarrassed and thwarted at every turn. He finally prepared to leave the store when a completely random woman--who'd apparently figured out the reason for his nervousness--called him out, telling him "don't you DARE leave here without those condoms!" and proceeded to buy them for him, lecturing him on safe sex and responsibility.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* There have been a few well-publicized incidents of pharmacists refusing to dispense contraceptives on religious or moral grounds, with [[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5490-2005Mar27.html an attendant controversy]] over the rights of the pharmacist versus those of the customer.
* Back in TheFifties, this was TruthInTelevision. Condoms were sold as a ''behind the counter'' item; you had to actually go up to the pharmacy counter and ask for them. (Not like today, where you just grab the kind you want off the shelf and go pay for them.) (And heaven help [[MyGirlIsNotASlut a woman who attempted to buy them]], even if she was married.)
** Still TruthInTelevision at times; condoms tend to [[FiveFingerDiscount grow legs]] -- due to a combination of, among other things, being costly for their size, the embarrassment factor, and their resale value -- and some places keep them behind the counter or within a locked case for that reason.
** Go back even further and it was illegal for the pharmacist to sell them to unmarried people. So you would have to prove you were married.
** There was an alternative to running the standard Gauntlet back in the 50s: Condoms could also be purchased unobtrusively at barbershops. Thanks to SocietyMarchesOn, this has rendered the polite barber's inquiry about providing the customer with "something for the weekend" mystifying to modern audiences.
** Also in small towns and other close-knit communities. Teenagers have reported fearing that if they are spotted buying condoms at the local store that it won't be long before word gets back to their parents.
* TechMarchesOn and more or less renders this trope irrelevant: nowadays, every large pharmacist has an online store.
** Of course, if you're in a hurry, you might not want to order online and wait for delivery.
** And if you're in that much of a hurry, that just opens up a whole other can of worms.
** Department stores (Fred Meyer, Target, etc.) with shelved condoms and self-checkout counters justify all human technological achievement to this point.
** Check the men's restroom at a gas station ('least in parts of the US), coin-op vending machines, in various colors, textures and sometimes flavors. Now the trick is finding enough quarters.
*** They have also been spotted in women's rooms at US gas stations.
*** They're not uncommon in college dormitories, either, for fairly obvious reasons.
*** In the UK the ladies' toilets in pubs and clubs often contain machines that dispense condoms and... other necessaries.
* In South Africa, due to the aforementioned FiveFingerDiscount often applied to condoms, they're usually kept behind the counter at petrol stations. However, there is no stigma or awkwardness attached to buying them; it sends the clear message that you are going to have sex, and [[AManIsNotAVirgin is kind of a badge of honor to most men in SA]].
* TheMoreYouKnow: If you are really worried about doing this, ''don't wait until you actually need condoms''. Get off the computer, go to the nearest store and buy a pack. If you're really worried, go to a store across town you don't usually frequent. You will see it's not that big a deal after you've done it once.
* Some cashiers report a distinct difference in people buying condoms. Girls are usually very cool, guys are usually nervous. The theory is when guys buy condoms they only HOPE they will have sex. Women KNOW they will be having it.
[[/folder]]

* Some cashiers report a distinct different in people buying condoms. Girls are usually very cool, guys are usually nervous. The theory is when guys buy condoms they only HOPE they will have sex. Women KNOW they will be having it.

* Some cashiers report a distinct different in people buying condoms. Girls are usually very cool, guys are usually nervous. The theory is when guys buy condoms they HOPE they will have sex. Women KNOW they will be having it.

Note that, should you ever be so lucky in real life, buying contraceptives is almost never like that these days. You buy them off the shelf, and the register biscuit doesn't glance twice at your purchases. (Unless, of course, you're buying ''only'' [[NoodleImplements condoms, six feet of garden hose, vaseline, maraschino cherries, and a rubber ducky.]]) Between this and changing views on sexuality, this trope has largely became a DiscreditedTrope. However, not that long ago, it was normal for condoms to be ''behind'' the counter, so you had to ''ask'' for 'em. This was something of a rite of passage.

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Jokes ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In an episode of ''{{That 70s Show}}'', Eric goes to the pharmacy to pick up some photos while his girlfriend's father is there to pick up her prescription, which he believes to be cough syrup. When the pharmacist tells him it's birth control, Eric bolts out of the store.

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Urban Legends ]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Inverted in an old joke: a man with a tic that causes him to keep winking goes to a job interview. At one point, he reaches into his pocket for some aspirin, but a huge pile of condoms spills out. "It's NotWhatItLooksLike!" he says. "Have you ever tried asking a pharmacist for aspirin while winking?"

* A sequence in ''AmazonWomenOnTheMoon'' features a youth trying to buy a package of condoms. After hitting some of the usual aspects of this trope (embarrassment because the pharmacist is a family friend, etc.), the trope is spoofed when the youth is surprised by the president of the condom company coming out of hiding and informing him that he is the condom company's one millionth customer. This "wins" him the privilege of being the condom company's public mascot for a year, at the cost of entirely spoiling his planned evening of passion.

* Subverted in [[http://www.redstring.strawberrycomics.com/?p=956 this]] ''RedString'' page and the following one. Serves as something of a one-time UnusualEuphemism, as well.

So your fantasy couple is finally going to consummate their relationship! Hooray for them!

* In ''CarryOn Camping'', one character complains about the difficulty of asking for pamphlets for a nudist colony. He likens it to going into a chemist to buy some "you know whats" and finding a pretty girl behind the counter and instead coming out with a tube of toothpaste. His mate then replies "I wondered why your medicine cabinet was full of toothpaste".

* The titular character on ''{{Felicity}}'' was humiliated repeatedly over the course of an entire episode over her decision to have sex with love interest Noel, including one Planned Parenthood employee's condom usage demonstration with a hilarious red plastic penis.

* There's an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xHRT0b2Bv4 hilarious scene]] in the dark comedy ''Main/{{GBH}}'' where labor leader Mike Murray, eager to make love to the beautiful blonde waiting in his hotel room, tries to find a packet of condoms in the middle of a ''Series/DoctorWho'' convention. Unfortunately the hotel's vending machine is empty thanks to a large influx of firemen the previous night. Mike has to borrow some from the hotel's owner who's in his office with several conventioneers, including one dressed as a Dalek.
-->'''Mike:''' "Where do you keep your Durex? I need to be armed!"
-->'''Dalek''': "DUREX, THE BIGGEST THREAT, EXTERMINATE THEM ALL! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EX-''(hotel owner hits Dalek on the dome)'' OW!"
-->'''Hotel owner:''' "Well I've got two in my wallet..."
-->'''Dalek:''' "TWO?"
-->'''Hotel Owner:''' "I don't work social hours, you know!"
* ''EverybodyLovesRaymond'' devotes a Halloween episode to this one. In deference to the relatively family-friendly nature of the show, the condoms are referred to as "the stuff". So Ray buys "the stuff" to prove to Debra that he can be responsible. Brightly colored ones, to be specific. Unfortunately, before Ray gets to use them, Frank sees them in the bag on the kitchen counter and, thinking they're colorful candy, gives them to the trick-or-treaters.
* ''{{Bottom}}'' does this in the first episode.

* ''{{Seinfeld}}'''s episode "The Sponge" sees Elaine's preferred method pulled off the market leaving her desperate to find whatever sponges remain in New York. This, of course, leads to the {{catchphrase}} "Spongeworthy." This gets a callback in the final episode when the pharmacist is called to testify against her and her need for birth control is made to make her sound like a loose woman rather than one taking responsibility for her reproductive health.
* In an episode of HeadOfTheClass, as nerdy Arvid prepared for his date with the school bike, he ventured to the drugstore to purchase condoms. Of course, he was thoroughly embarrassed and thwarted at every turn. He finally prepared to leave the store when a completely random woman--who'd apparently figured out the reason for his nervousness--called him out, telling him "don't you DARE leave here without those condoms!" and proceeded to buy them for him, lecturing him on safe sex and responsibility.

* There's an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xHRT0b2Bv4 hilarious scene]] in the dark comedy ''Main/GBH'' where labor leader Mike Murray, eager to make love to the beautiful blonde waiting in his hotel room, tries to find a packet of condoms in the middle of a ''Series/DoctorWho'' convention. Unfortunately the hotel's vending machine is empty thanks to a large influx of firemen the previous night. Mike has to borrow some from the hotel's owner who's in his office with several conventioneers, including one dressed as a Dalek.

* There's an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xHRT0b2Bv4 hilarious scene]] in the dark comedy ''G.B.H.'' where labor leader Mike Murray, eager to make love to the beautiful blonde waiting in his hotel room, tries to find a packet of condoms in the middle of a ''Series/DoctorWho'' convention. Unfortunately the hotel's vending machine is empty thanks to a large influx of firemen the previous night. Mike has to borrow some from the hotel's owner who's in his office with several conventioneers, including one dressed as a Dalek.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* There have been a few well-publicized incidents of pharmacists refusing to dispense contraceptives on religious or moral grounds, with [[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5490-2005Mar27.html an attendant controversy]] over the rights of the pharmacist versus those of the customer.
* Back in TheFifties, this was TruthInTelevision. Condoms were sold as a ''behind the counter'' item; you had to actually go up to the pharmacy counter and ask for them. (Not like today, where you just grab the kind you want off the shelf and go pay for them.) (And heaven help [[MyGirlIsNotASlut a woman who attempted to buy them]], even if she was married.)
** Still TruthInTelevision at times; condoms tend to [[FiveFingerDiscount grow legs]] -- due to a combination of, among other things, being costly for their size, the embarrassment factor, and their resale value -- and some places keep them behind the counter or within a locked case for that reason.
** Go back even further and it was illegal for the pharmacist to sell them to unmarried people. So you would have to prove you were married.
** There was an alternative to running the standard Gauntlet back in the 50s: Condoms could also be purchased unobtrusively at barbershops. Thanks to SocietyMarchesOn, this has rendered the polite barber's inquiry about providing the customer with "something for the weekend" mystifying to modern audiences.
** Also in small towns and other close-knit communities. Teenagers have reported fearing that if they are spotted buying condoms at the local store that it won't be long before word gets back to their parents.
* TechMarchesOn and more or less renders this trope irrelevant: nowadays, every large pharmacist has an online store.
** Of course, if you're in a hurry, you might not want to order online and wait for delivery.
** And if you're in that much of a hurry, that just opens up a whole other can of worms.
** Department stores (Fred Meyer, Target, etc.) with shelved condoms and self-checkout counters justify all human technological achievement to this point.
** Check the men's restroom at a gas station ('least in parts of the US), coin-op vending machines, in various colors, textures and sometimes flavors. Now the trick is finding enough quarters.

[[/folder]]

Note that, should you ever be so lucky in real life, buying contraceptives is almost never like that these days. You buy them off the shelf, and the register biscuit doesn't glance twice at your purchases. (Unless, of course, you're buying ''only'' [[NoodleImplements condoms, six feet of garden hose, vaseline, maraschino cherries, and a rubber ducky.]]) However, not that long ago, it was normal for condoms to be ''behind'' the counter, so you had to ''ask'' for 'em. This was something of a rite of passage.

* ''{{Seinfeld}}'''s episode "The Sponge" sees Elaine's preferred method pulled off the market leaving her desperate to find whatever sponges remain in New York. This, of course, leads to the {{catchphrase}} "Spongeworthy."

** Still TruthInTelevision at times; condoms tend to [[FiveFingerDiscount grow legs]] -- due to a combination of, among other things, being costly for their size, the embarrassment factor, and their resale value -- and some places keep them behind the counter for that reason.