I decided to do this newsletter because there needs to be more public awareness on this danger. Personally, when I found out about it, I was shocked. Let me explain.
BAREBACKING PARTIES
The definition of 'barebacking' is 'sex without a condom'. Now a barebacking party is an orgy where in most of them it is prohibited to wear a condom.
A 'cover charge' that ranges anywhere from $5.00 to $45.00, is charged.
The participates in these 'parties' are gay men. These men have titles. Gift givers and bug chasers. The bug chasers are there to meet up with the gift givers to recieve a gift from them.
The gift?
HIV.
At most of the parties there is a 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy. Which really doesn't make alot of sense because the gift giver is there to give another the 'gift' of HIV. The bug chaser is there to receive the 'gift' of HIV.
The term 'barebacking' for unprotected anal sex was first coined in 1995 by U.S. gay HIV porn star and writer Scott O'Hara in an editorial in Steam, his magazine for people into sexual adventurism. In it he wrote, "I'm tired of using condoms and I won't, and I don't feel the need to encourage negatives to stay negative." The term stuck and before long, in the pages of other U.S. magazines such as The Advocate and POZ, other writers were "fessing up to going back to barebacking."
Numerous barebacking sites have developed on the internet in the past few years, providing opportunities for people to meet others interested in barebacking and to organize barebacking parties and to generally enhance the acceptance of the idea amongst some gay men. There are two opinions in the gay community on barebacking. The anti barebackers screaming "dangerous sex fiends" and those defending barebacking countering with "Condom Nazis" often with little middle ground.
RESULTS OF BAREBACKING
Some positives think that they are less infectious because the treatments have lowered their viral load counts. This is true for some but not all. Plus transmission is still possible even with low or undetectable counts.
Some negatives think that these treatments have made HIV a much more manageable condition and even if they do become infected, a cure must bee just around the corner and they will be able to benifet from it. One of the biggest reasons that barebacking has become a so widespread and the parties are easy to find is because of the internet. They can go 'underground'. Meeting at individuals houses and such.
There are also issues of STD's to be considered. These could place a strain on already compromised immune systems. There is also the issue of uperinfection with another strain of HIV. It has been proven possible for individuals to be separately infected with HIV-1 and HIV-2, with HIV-2 being a more virulent strain.
The possibility of re-infection with a drug-resistant strain of HIV, which would make you less responsive to anti-HIV treatments has also been suggested by scientists.
WEBSITES FOR BAREBACKING
Most of these sites offer negative guys to engage in unprotected sex, presumably with people who are very likely to be positive.
If you visit some of the more extreme sites in the U.S. they not only do not give any sort of safe sex message or warning, but actually provide sections of their websites for negative guys who want to be infected by someone with HIV.
Called the "Bugchasers" sections, these provide for negative guys looking for someone to provide them with the "demon seed" or the "screw of death" (appropriately named) to list their stats and details. And to add to this outrageousness, there are also the cutely named "Gift Givers" sites for positive guys who want to give HIV, to state their details.
CONCLUSION
Suggestions in overseas gay magazines as to why people want to solicit to become HIV positive include low self esteem, feelings of inevitability about eventually becoming invected especially in cities with a high number of positive gay men, and a desire on the part of some negatives to join in some sort of solidarity with their positive brothers.
This is becoming more and more widespread. We have a need to know of these things. I hope that if you are a participant in this that you will become more educated on HIV. If you aren't and know someone that is a participant, please inform them and help them to become more informed about HIV. It is a deadly thing to play with.
If you have any questions or comments or any more information that i have not put on here, please feel free to e-mail me at the address below.
