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Yvonne Ncube, Showbiz Reporter

Perhaps the scene sounds familiar.

Have you ever been in a situation where you need to buy something, but you are too embarrassed to purchase it?

This behaviour is very common among people.

You become so worried that people are looking at what you are buying and mocking you.

Many of us have once walked into a shop, approached the cashier, shuffled, stammered and went red like a teenager talking to a crush.

The atmosphere is different than when you are buying your ready-made food or candy.

Like a fish out of water, the weather suddenly becomes too hot and you start feeling itchy everywhere.

You try to gather all confidence but the consciousness keeps pulling you down.

Some of the things are just normal, but people tend to be shy about them.

You feel too embarrassed to such an extent that you start adding things that you do not necessarily need in your trolley.

These serve to draw out the embarrassment you feel over your intended purchase.

You just don’t want to make eye contact with anyone at this moment.

No matter what age you are, there are just some items you feel awkward buying from the store.

For some reason, you suddenly feel like everyone is staring at you even if they are not.

This is usually caused by the self-consciousness of social presence which may be a result of real or imagined audiences.

I think most people can agree that there are things they hate to buy in stores thus many hail the emergence of online stores which have rescued them from this kind of embarrassment.

Chronicle Showbiz took to the streets of Bulawayo to find out the products that people are too embarrassed to buy from stores.

The most common products from our findings were condoms, emergency contraceptives, pregnancy tests, alcohol and menstrual products for ladies.

Along with the above, the mention of mealie-meal could have knocked one down with a feather as it came as a bolt from the blue.

“To be seen carrying mealie-meal in the CBD is not so pleasant.

Imagine you are all dressed up and then you have to carry that 10kg sack which makes you slant to one side a bit.

Even your step changes when you’re carrying it,” said Anaya Nkala (19).

Faith Tevera (24) said the awkward look that cashiers in pharmacies give when one is purchasing emergency pills weighs one’s confidence down.

“When you are at a pharmacy, one should be able to find Plan B on the shelves.

However, most, if not all pharmacies in the city don’t do this.

Most of them store the pills behind the counter which actually creates more problems for customers.

When you go into a pharmacy to buy the pills, the cashiers usually give you an awkward look that drains your confidence which was already at its lowest.

“This trend is common everywhere.

What we should understand from the word go is that Plan B prevents pregnancy by preventing ovulation and it’s not an abortion pill.

However, the stigma we face when purchasing such products makes us feel as if we’re committing crimes,” Tevera said.

Mia Moyo said purchasing pads from a store is embarrassing.

“I’d say pads and cotton wool especially, are the most embarrassing things to buy.

If there is a line of people waiting to pay for their products as well, you have that great feeling that they’re looking at your stuff.

Even if someone poses an innocent stare, you feel too embarrassed and you cannot wait for the cashier to get over and done with.

“It’s not that I’m embarrassed about being female, but I feel like these things need to be confidential.

They need to be kept a secret.

So when you go into a store to purchase them, it’s like you’re announcing to everyone who’s there that this is what’s going on.

So personally, I’d rather have someone else buy them for me,” Moyo said.

A 43-year-old man who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity said feeling embarrassed when buying sexual products is a psychological issue that is influenced by social setups and upbringing.

“It happens to the best of us and I think this is as a result of our upbringing and the society that we live in.

It’s awkward for someone who’s been raised in a culture of sex negativity and was taught to be ashamed of their body and bodily functions, to walk into a store and buy condoms or any other sex-related products.

“No matter how grown you are, that sixth sense that was instilled in us, will haunt us forever.

It’s even worse if you’re still young.

I remember when I was still in my teenage years, I’d walk up and down the aisles of a store looking for other things to buy so that I could hide the condoms.

“I was terrified that if that was the only purchase I made, the woman at the till would look at me oddly.

This is one of the contributions that trigger unwanted pregnancies in teenagers and young adults.

“This explains the kind of society that we live in as well as the cultures.

Sex is something that people consider as shameful, something to be kept hidden and not discussed unless absolutely necessary.

In our social setup, these topics are not discussed openly, so we internalise attitudes about it as children and teens that we often carry into our adulthood and this then leads to us feeling awkward when purchasing contraceptives,” he said.

He advised people not to be shy when buying any product because it is normal.

“The question is why we are so embarrassed and shy to buy things that are so normal?

A person cannot shy away from unwanted pregnancies if they cannot purchase contraceptives.

How is one supposed to be certain about their pregnancy if they can’t buy a pregnancy test?

I mean babies are loved by everyone everywhere but the moment you walk into a pharmacy and buy the test, it looks weird,” he added.

– @SeehYvonne