Washington Blade - June 2, 2006
Joshua Lynsen

There is no shortage of websites and listserves catering to those interested in bareback pornography and in meeting like-minded men for condom-free sex. Some sites host personal ads, while others tout gatherings for men seeking such risky encounters.

The messages are so prevalent that Tokes Osubu, executive director of Gay Men of African Descent, said he received an unsolicited e-mail invitation last month to a sex party where condoms were to be banned.

"I was shocked and disgusted," said Osubu, who announced plans to protest outside the New York gathering of black and Latino men. He said this week that the event was cancelled due to media attention.

"I'm sick of 18-year-olds coming in here HIV-positive," he said. "It's got to stop."

Medical experts say such unprotected sexual experiences are open invitations for infection.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in Atlanta estimates more than 1 million people in the United States were living with HIV or AIDS by the end of 2003.

Dr. Philippe Chiliade, medical director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, D.C., said gay men who are HIV negative should never have unprotected sex. The rule holds even when the encounter is with another man believed to be HIV negative, he said, because neither party can be certain.

But the rules aren't always followed. James, a 29-year-old gay man who lives in suburban Atlanta, said passion sometimes overrides prudence.

"I've done that twice in my life," he said, "and both times it was very much unplanned and very much unexpected."

James, who requested his full name be withheld because his partner is not out, said he entrusted two casual partners to truthfully state their health status moments before intercourse.

"I was concentrating on that I was going to have sex," he said. "At some point, I made a conscious decision that it was more important to get laid than it was to take two minutes - or two seconds - to reach over to the nightstand, take a condom and put it on the guy."

Chiliade said men who bareback must understand the potential repercussions of their decision.

He said HIV-negative men can become infected with the virus, or any of several other sexually transmitted diseases. Many men who are HIV positive choose to have unprotected anal sex with other HIV-positive men, eliminating the risk of HIV transmission. But they can still risk other sexual transmitted diseases, especially if their immune system is compromised.

"If a person is HIV positive, and they have a partner who is HIV positive, they will not risk spreading the disease," Chiliade said. "But, clearly, they are taking other risks by doing that."

Choosing unsafe sex

Some men discount this advice. Steven Dwyer, a 52-year-old gay man who lives in Baltimore and now has AIDS, said adults can make their own decisions.

"I think that some people in the gay community, or in the general community, say you shouldn't bareback," he said. "As a gay man, I find that rather discriminatory."

Matthew, an HIV-positive 29-year-old gay man who lives in Washington, D.C., agreed.

"As long as both people in the sexual relationship are informed of each other's status, they're adults," Matthew said. "Who am I to say what they can and cannot do?"

Matthew, who requested his full name be withheld because his partner is not out, said couples considering barebacking should first talk seriously about the risk.

"I, personally, wouldn't feel comfortable barebacking with my partner, who is negative, because I love him," Matthew said, "and I wouldn't want him to have to deal with the long-term ramifications of becoming HIV positive."

The barebacking phenomenon made national headlines in 2003, when Rolling Stone magazine published a story claiming that some gay men were actively seeking to become infected with HIV.

"The men who want the virus are called 'bug chasers,' and the men who freely give the virus to them are called 'gift givers,'" Rolling Stone reported. "While the rest of the world fights the AIDS epidemic and most people fear HIV infection, this subculture celebrates the virus and eroticizes it. HIV-infected semen is treated like liquid gold."

The story was criticized as sensationalizing the subject and wildly exaggerating the number of men actually engaged in the practice. Right-wing pundits seized on the story at the time to claim that gay men were engaging in promiscuous sex and recklessly spreading HIV.

The BBC conducted an investigation of "bug chasing" just last month and found that most of those who claimed they wanted to become infected were merely "fantasizing" and not acting out on the notion.

"There is very little evidence of people trying to get infected with HIV," Deborah Jack, chief executive of the U.K. National AIDS Trust told BBC. "The real issue is why risk-taking behavior continues when HIV positive men have no wish to pass HIV on HIV negative men wish to avoid infection."

No quick fix for HIV

James escaped his barebacking experiences unscathed, but he faced uncertainty again when his HIV-positive partner's condom broke during intercourse.

Although no fluids were exchanged and the risk of exposure was low, James received post-exposure prophylactic, or PEP, treatment as a precaution. He said the 30-day regimen, and its side effects, made "a lasting impression" on him.

"I'm pretty sure that guys who routinely have unsafe sex, if they could experience a little bit of that, it might change their perspectives," he said.

James took two common HIV medications, including two pills three times each day and another pill twice daily. He said the medication, which was difficult to swallow, frequently caused nausea and diarrhea.

James said that too many gay men believe HIV medication is a quick fix.

"I think that there might be a little bit of an attitude going around where guys will bareback and they say, 'Yeah, I know it's a risk, but it feels really good, and if something happens, I'll just get treated,'" he said. "You don't want to experience what I had to experience."

Matthew said it's important that gay men who resolve to have safe sex always hold to that pledge.

He said men who try barebacking or other risky behaviors and escape unscathed are like drunk drivers who safely return home - repeating their behavior until disaster occurs.

James agreed. He said no good can come of any such experimentation.

"I also think if people keep on having it, and keep on coming up negative, they just fool themselves into thinking they're immune," he said. "They're not. It's just the luck of the draw."

James said caution is ultimately the best option.

"If you're negative, you have to stay negative," he said. "If you're positive, you have to take the responsibility."

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