LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Barebacking: New Danger for Gay Men |
There is so much to say about barebacking. It is a very complex issue involving the gay community. Recently, I was searching the net looking for some tidbits about sex. I happened to come across several sites that were devoted to barebackers, bug-givers and bug-chasers. Heard of these terms? Let me quickly define: BareBackers: Guys who like to have anal sex without using any condoms Bug-Givers/gift-givers: Gay men who are HIV+ and who knowingly pass the virus Bug-Chasers/gift-takers: Negative gay men who want to get HIV. I have heard these terms before but I didn't realize the extent to which so many gay men in our community were promoting barebacking behaviors. This new phenomenon, referred to as "raw," "skin-on-skin," or "bareback" sex may be linked to the perceived effectiveness of protease inhibitors and the promise of "morning after" exposure treatment. While the issue of unprotected anal sex has always been a concern, recent media attention capitalizing on the sound bite allure of the term "barebacking," could potentially create a self-fulfilling media prophecy. Speaking of barebacking as if it were a new fad or fashion, Bruce McDonald claims the trend is "sweeping the country." Why has unprotected anal sex, a concern throughout the epidemic, suddenly become so hip? What does barebacking tell us about the effect of past HIV prevention efforts on community organizers? What does it tell us about the role of gay men in HIV prevention as we enter the third decade of the epidemic? The barebacking phenomenon can be seen as a reaction to prevention efforts, which have failed to adequately address the complex meanings of sexual behavior in relation to the divergent identities that have developed around HIV serostatus. Moreover, prevention campaigns have not adequately addressed the different needs of negative and positive men. Odet, an HIV activist, argues that HIV prevention campaigns have been simplistic at best, and patronizingly absolutist at their worst. Gay men have been told to wear condoms "every time," as if such behaviors are sustainable over a lifetime. But what if one is already positive or doesn't care either way? Naturally, people find ways to rationalize behaviors that put their health at risk, whether the risk is fatty foods, smoking, or unprotected sex. Breaking the rules gives meaning to our actions and this quest for meaning has only intensified as a result of the AIDS epidemic. Ironically, the attention focused on anal sex as a risk activity has given it even more symbolic meaning as an act of profound intimacy or even rebellion. This problem is only compounded when the target population is one that already sees its identity as a community tied to a recently acquired sexual liberation. Gay men have traditionally been at the vanguard of sexual liberation and experimentation with new forms of human relationships. This experimentation has always existed under the threat of sanction from powerful institutions such as the police, the church, schools, and the family. Barebacking can thus be seen as merely the latest in a long line of challenges by gay men to the sexual status quo, and the institutions which support it. Attempts to "manage desire," whether they originate from within or outside the gay community, tend to produce "transgressive desire," a fetishizing of certain acts because they are dangerous, stigmatized, and emotionally charged. Thus the barebacking backlash appears to be particularly aimed at subverting AIDS prevention messages by fetishizing not just sex without condoms but the very "exchanges" of fluids that have been prohibited between gay men. The information that I found on the website brings up more issues. The barebacking phenomenon has been most extensively debated on the Web. The anonymity of the internet provides an ideal place to confess and discuss "forbidden desires," as well as find others who share them. Within the last few years, a number of chat rooms, mailing lists, and personal ads devoted to barebacking have allowed men to discuss, and occasionally act on, their desire for "raw" sex. Michael, web master of "Xtreme Sex", says that his site primarily offers a place where HIV-positive men can meet up to have unprotected sex. In a typical personal ad, a man calling himself "SpecialFX" states he is looking for "real man sex. No condoms. No spermicide. No f___ing water-based lubricants. Just hard cocks, assholes, fingers, fists, toys, Crisco, and as much cum as can be delivered. I'm in San Francisco & am looking for simpler things." The webmaster offers the disclaimer that his site does not advocate HIV-positive men infecting HIV-negative men "without consent." "PlowYouRaw," a participant in an XtremeSex discussion group says, "safer sex is not real sex; it's pretend sex. The need for [the] intimacy of actual skin to skin contact is primal." His sentiments seem to reflect those of many other men on the site and elsewhere. But how men act on this feeling is still not well understood. Advocates of barebacking also stress the "manliness" of "real" sex, and the etymology of the term "barebacking" provides a wealth of macho rodeo imagery which is often contrasted with what can seem like a "fussy" and "complex" safer sex regimen. The barebacking phenomenons are symptoms of a larger issue that gay men face. Anyone who knowingly participates in this type of behavior is taking a very high risk. A risk that has fatal consequences not only for yourself but also for others you might infect. Wake Up! You have a responsibility to the gay community to put your health and others health ahead of your own need to get laid. Sal Seeley is director of CAMPsafe, a health oriented program of CAMP Rehoboth. He may be reached at 302-227-5620. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 14, Oct. 20, 2000. |