The Body: Barebacking in the Gay Community

Barebacking is an extremely controversial and complicated issue, especially since it is dealing with human behavior. Not all gay men engage in barebacking. Many gay men use condoms every time they have anal sex with every partner. But some gay men prefer to have unprotected anal sex and they are willing to take the risks. For some gay men, the benefits of unprotected anal intercourse (intimacy, pleasure, etc.) outweigh the risks (HIV and other STDs). On the other hand, if two gay men have unprotected anal intercourse, and neither of them is infected with HIV, nor any other STD, then barebacking would be completely safe as far as infectious diseases are concerned. But if either partner has HIV or another STD, then there are significant risks of infection for these diseases through barebacking. Future HIV and STD prevention efforts targeted toward the gay community must incorporate the issue of barebacking.

from May 1999