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Bug Chasers and Bareback Sex
Bug chasing is a subculture of a larger community of barebackers, in which gay men purposely engage in unprotected sex with the goal of becoming infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Barebackers are individuals who participate in unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). Barebackers are not intentionally seeking the HIV infection; rather, barebackers are creating a culture in which men bond over UAI as a means of defiance and extreme pleasure. The salient feature distinguishing barebackers from bug chasers is intention. Bug chasers are accompanied by “gift givers.” Gift givers are individuals who seek opportunities to engage in bareback sex to knowingly infect those who are seeking to become HIV positive. All bug chasers and gift givers are barebackers, but not all barebackers are bug chasers or gift givers.
Demographics
Bug chasers represent an extremely small percentage of the homosexual community. Previous research identified less than 1% of HIV-negative men who are actively seeking HIV-positive partners.
Bug chasers and gift givers are distinct in demographics, appearance, and sexual activity preferences from the larger bareback community. On average, bug chasers and gift givers are predominantly white men around the age of 30. Compared with barebackers, bug chasers and gift givers are more likely to engage in “party and play,” which entails using drugs during sexual encounters. Previous research indicates that the majority of bug chasers indicate no specific preference for their partners' HIV status, which would suggest that the majority of bug chasers are apathetic chasers.
There are two distinct types of bug chasers: ardent and apathetic. Ardent bug chasers report a strong tenacity toward engaging in high-risk behavior by choosing partners for UAI who are HIV positive. Apathetic chasers report a greater uncertainty toward becoming HIV positive. Rather, these individuals appear to be more attracted to the idea of becoming HIV positive. Bug chasers and barebackers are also behaviorally distinct. Bug chasers have a greater propensity for being receptors of anal intercourse, or taking a “bottom” position. Barebackers are more versatile as regards anal intercourse and take both “top” and “bottom” positions.
Social Networks
The Internet is used as the medium to locate other bug chasers or gift givers. Barebacking and bug chasing have become frequent topics of websites, chat rooms, mailing lists, and personal ads. Specific jargon is used on these forums to identify those who are bug chasers, gift givers, or barebackers. For example, bug chasers use language such as “poz me” or “convert me.” Bug chasers and gift givers occasionally participate in what is called “bug parties.” Bug parties are sex parties that range from multiple individuals to one-on-one participants with the purpose of converting HIV-negative men to HIV positive.
Rationalizations for Bug Chasing
The literature on bug chasing has developed five main theories for involvement in such sexual activity: fear and relief, medical improvements in antiviral treatments, risk taking as eroticism, loneliness and group solidarity, and political action.
Fear and Relief
Some homosexual men restrain their sexual behavior to such a degree that quality of life declines to excessively low levels due to fear of infection. HIV-negative men desire the relief of knowing they are infected. For these individuals, infection is thought to be inevitable, and thus, they wish to merely hasten the inevitable. These individuals are under the impression that HIV is a manageable disease and rather than wait to become infected, they choose to seek out those already infected. In this sense, these individuals likely believe that they are securing a form of control over their future by deciding when and from whom they become infected.
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