| abstract | - So your fantasy couple is finally going to consummate their relationship! Hooray for them! If the decision to have sex is a conscious, in-advance one, rather than a spur-of-the-moment twist near the end of an episode -- and especially if it's going to be the character's first time (or first time in a while) -- the characters will often prepare. This means birth control. The acquiring of said birth control is where this trope comes into play. For some reason, buying condoms or getting on the pill is made a torturous experience that explains why most sex on TV is hasty, unplanned and thoughtless. The pharmacist will give a character a hard time about buying his condoms, or an unrealistically insensitive clinic worker will make going on the pill the most embarrassing thing possible. Even worse is if a parent or parent figure finds out, and instead of berating the character, supports their responsibility... often with humiliating advice and anecdotes. In comedies, this will be milked for all its worth. 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 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. Of course, being able to get condoms doesn't necessarily mean they will always work. Examples of Trojan Gauntlet include:
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