Basic Trope: A character is angsting about having to buy condoms.
- Straight: Bob goes into the drugstore and is very self-conscious as he picks out and pays for a box of condoms.
- Exaggerated:
- Everyone is staring at Bob, and shaking their heads in disapproval.
- There are no condoms anywhere in town, and the clerk who handles the one store that has them is deaf, and the person that disapproves of Bob buying condoms is The Fundamentalist, and then the pack is harder to break open than the main vault of Fort Knox, and then there's the pain in the neck that is putting them on...
- Downplayed: Bob is rather proud that he has reason to buy condoms, but he still glances around sheepishly before picking up the condoms.
- Justified:
- The series or movie is set during a time (such as The '50s) or place where condoms are/were sold as a behind-the-counter item (rather than an over-the-counter item.)
- The character attempting to buy them is female and has
always been taught that "nice" girls don't buy ''those''! - Bob is new at this; it's natural to be embarrassed the first time. Next time (if there is one) will be easier.
- Inverted:
- Bob is proud to buy condoms. The pharmacist is embarrassed.
- Bob regularly buys condoms with no problem. After he breaks up with his lover, he is embarrassed about not buying condoms.
- Subverted: Bob goes into the shop looking furtively over his shoulder, sidles up to the till, and... "do you have any... chewing gum?"
- Double Subverted: "...oh, er, And Another Thing... - some johnnies, please"
- Parodied:
- As Bob (already embarrassed) buys the condoms, something bad happens, and everyone blames his condom purchase for it.
- Bob is so embarrassed, that he cannot even speak to the (female) pharmacist... So, he tries to purchase the condoms using sign language and a ridiculous over-the-top mime routine.
- Bob is the purchaser of the umpteeth package of that brand! Queue the ticker tape, the company reps, and even a marching band to proclaim him the brand's new spokesperson.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: The issue is never dealt with in-story.
- Enforced: The writers want to give An Aesop that buying condoms isn't nearly as embarassing as their teenage viewers might imagine.
- Lampshaded: "Oh, crap! I'm here buying condoms, and there's my math teacher in the same checkout line!"
- Invoked: Bob uses this as an excuse not to buy condoms - really, he doesn't want to use one.
- Exploited: The pharmacist sees himself as a Moral Guardian, and tries to use teenagers' embarrassment to scare them out of buying condoms at all (that'll stop them having sex for sure!). They're all sold as behind-the-counter items, and he asks things like "Do your parents know you're buying these?" or "Are you married?"
- Defied:
- Bob laughs off the idea of being embarrassed about this. It's not like it's the first time he's done it.
- Bob demands to see the cashier's supervisor when he gives him a hard time. Carl gets fired; Bob gets lucky.
- Discussed: "Hey Charlie, looks like we have a first-time condom buyer — 5 bucks says I can make him cry!"
- Conversed: "Why do guys in sitcoms always act so embarrassed about this? Are they fifteen?"
- Deconstructed: If Bob feels too self-conscious about buying condoms, he might decide it's not worth it, and have unprotected sex (or try improvising a condom out of plastic wrap or something), resulting in STDs and unwanted pregnancy.
- Reconstructed: Bob gets over the angst, marches up to the cash register with the condoms in hand...and finds out that he didn't have anything to worry about, as the cashier simply rings up his order.
- Played For Laughs: Everyone Bob knows is at the drugstore. His grandmother. His priest. The chairman of his Abstinence Club...
- Played For Drama: Bob meets his girlfriend's Boyfriend-Blocking Dad at the drugstore. She gets sent to an all-girl boarding school (that'll stop her having sex for sure!) and Bob receives a late-night visit from her three Knight Templar Big Brothers. When the Star-Crossed Lovers inevitably reunite, Bob is so scarred by the experience that he forgoes buying condoms, and Alice gets pregnant.
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