AEGiS-15IAC: How gay men negotiate risk through the Internet.

15th International AIDS Conference

Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

How gay men negotiate risk through the Internet.

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. C10127)

Davis M, Bolding G, Sherr L, Hart G, Elford J
City University London, London, United Kingdom

BACKGROUND: The Internet appears to represent a new sexual risk environment for gay/bisexual men. Men who seek sex through the Internet are more likely to report high risk sexual behaviour than other men. Consequently it is important, for HIV/STD prevention, that we understand how men negotiate risk online. This is a qualitative study about how condom-use/non-use is managed through Internet-dating profiles, chatting and messaging.

METHODS: A categorical analysis of accounts of risky anal sex from interviews with 104 gay/bisexual men living in London in 2002-2003. Interviewees were from the Internet and HIV study which comprises men who use gay Internet sites (gaydar, gay.com); HIV positive men attending a hospital clinic; men who recently tested HIV negative; and men from community settings. We asked men to talk about episodes of anal sex with Internet and non-Internet partners, with and without condoms.

RESULTS: Internet profiles, chatting and messaging were used to filter potential sexual partners online. Filtering criteria included serostatus, risk characteristics as well as a person's appearance. For example, some HIV positive men reported choosing other HIV positive partners for sex without condoms on the basis of their Internet profiles, chatting and messaging. Likewise, some HIV negative men reported choosing partners who preferred safer sex, filtering out those who wanted sex without condoms. In this way, the Internet plays a role in assortative mixing according to serostatus as well as safer sex preferences. Use of condoms can therefore be predetermined via the Internet through a process of sorting.

CONCLUSIONS: Gay/bisexual men appear to use the Internet to filter sexual partners according to HIV serostatus as well as safer sex preferences. These findings have important implications for STD/HIV prevention on the Internet.

Keywords: AEGIS, Homosexuality, Male, Homosexuality, Bisexuality, Safe Sex, Sexual Partners, Sexual Behavior, Condoms, HIV Seropositivity, Internet, Negotiating, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, London, Risk Factors, Interpersonal Relations, Coitus, Humans, Male

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C10127