This penis sticker wants to help you (literally) seal the deal for sex — but it’s causing a wave of controversy even in its testing stages.
“Feel your partner, feel freedom, feel safe.” This is the concept of Jiftip the Diktip, a controversial product that’s starting to gain some attention on the internet, generating headlines like ” Men are sealing their penises shut to prevent pregnancy.” But as with any new potential product — especially one of a personal sexual nature — you might want to heed doctor warnings before you test it.
This one is relatively simple to use: Cover the tip of a penis with the Jiftip sticker and secure it. The product uses an adhesive flexible sticker covering just the urethra to block urine and semen. In development for several years, the product started out “as a desperate attempt to avoid using condoms,” according to its website. As advertised, “nothing gets in or out until you remove it. Make sure and remove it in time.” — i.e., prior to ejaculating.
Jiftip is made with a “polyurethane film similar to female condoms, the adhesive layer is found in specialty skin bandages, but with a maximum grip,” according to an email response from a member of Team Jiftip Beta, who declined to be identified. These are Food and Drug Administration-approved materials, the company says, though the product itself must first pass beta testing itself before the company seeks FDA approval.
The store section of the website includes a critical disclaimer for the Jiftip’s actual functionality, noting that it’s “not intended or approved to prevent pregnancy” or sexually transmitted diseases. “Use Jiftip for pleasure enhancement and convenience only,” the disclaimer reads.
Health experts are raising red flags. Dayton, Ohio-based family physician Dr. Gary L. LeRoy says the product doesn’t make any scientific sense to him and it strikes him as something potentially very dangerous — especially in the hands of a young person experimenting with sexuality or people trying to duplicate the product.
“…There’s a reason that you have a urethra, so that you can expel urine and semen and to seal it makes no scientific sense, no biological sense,” he says. “How do you unseal it, and what are the potential unintended consequences of doing something like that?”
Dr. Arik V. Marcell of the Johns Hopkins Department of Pediatrics and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center wouldn’t recommend this to his patients.
“I would tell my patients that this product is a complete waste of money that potentially puts their and their partners’ sexual health at risk,” he says. He would suggest alternative products to enhance sexual pleasure.
For what it’s worth, the company will give you a complete refund for your Jiftip if you don’t “feel it” or “love it,” according to its website. A Jiftip three-pack costs $6. The company email also says “everyone should be responsible and use condoms,” but that the product is for those who can’t use condoms “for whatever reason.”
When asked where the company is based, the emailed reply said, “Do you have another question? We working that out right now. Let you know when we have an answer. lol.”
When asked to clarify: “We’re focused on a successful beta at the moment. If that works out, we’ll have time to scout a location.”
LeRoy adds that he’s heard of cases where products like this are put out into social media, just with the intent to see how many people jump on board, when it’s merely more of a stunt to see if it can get media attention.
Marcell also points out that every year there are about 20 million new STD infections and 39,000 new HIV infections, not to mention 2.8 million unintended pregnancies.
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Controversial Product Claims to Seal the Tip of Your Penis Shut originally appeared on usnews.com
