Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Raw or Wrapped? Is Barebacking a Concern?
You are HIV+ and Undetectable. Are you jeopardizing your health because you think it’s ok to play raw? Unsafe sex isn't worth the risk. You are risking your health. For PHA’s unsafe sex places both individuals at risk for a wide array of STDs. STDs can behave differently in PHA’s. Hepatitis, Syphilis, HPV and many others can have far more serious consequences for PHA’s than for those with intact immune systems. HIV reinfection (dual infection, superinfection) can also occur early in the course of infection. Safe sex does protect against many blood-borne infections that are major causes of life-threatening diseases and death in people with HIV. What do you think? Is it condom fatigue or wishful thinking? How are you playing?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I've been around the bend and back again on the issue of barebacking. In my own life I went through a period where I totally embraced it. Then I got hepatitis C.
In the year or so since I've done a lot of soul searching and my feeling is that health problems associated with barebacking among poz guys are less about barebacking per se and more about the sexual patterns we get into. In other words, large numbers of casual partners or the fact that we might share sex partners in group situations.
I'm not trying to come down on guys for having fun with their sex lives. God knows poz men face lots of challenges in the love department but I think we have to face up to the fact that these kind of sexual activities create a perfect storm for the spread of STIs, some of them pretty serious. High rates of syphilis in poz guys and the recent outbreak of sexually transmitted hepatitis C should give us reason to pause and think about our motives.
Is what we do with our sex lives about desire and sexual freedom or is there something else behind it? How does loneliness and the desire to feel included play into it? What about rejection from HIV-negative guys and feelings of low self-worth? Or what about our need for love and validation? Do we soothe our pain by getting into situations we might not otherwise find ourselves?
One night I was walking home alone at 3 in the morning. I had just spent 2 hours with a couple of strangers. We had taken turns raw fucking each other in a sling, lubed-up with pot, poppers, and Viagra. Feet wet hands cold, I remember asking myself, "Why are you doing this?"
I would prefer if the questions posed here with the intention to spark debate/comment/participation were not constructed with any opionions or judgements at all.
I found this latest question/topic way too 'know it all' and 'preachy'. It also came across to me as disrespectful of peoples right to choice and freedom.
Post a Comment