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Sexual Health Dialog Has Long Been A Defining Aspect Surrounding The Sex Essay

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Sexual health dialog has long been a defining aspect surrounding the sex lives of men who have sex with men (MSM); especially, since the commencement of the AIDS epidemic. These conversations have focused on reiterating the significance of sensible and rational sexual behavior. However, despite this recurring dialog the incidence rates of HIV transmission among MSM persists at an alarming rate.
Subsequently, such recognition has led to an increase of academic interest in efforts to understand the complex behaviors involved in unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) commonly referred to as barebacking. Research suggest “barebacking may be seen as an act that can allow for the re-exploration of personability, intimacy, eroticism and love” (Anderson-Robinson, 2014, p. 235). Although barebacking increases one’s vulnerability to HIV infection, participants are cognizant of the risk, yet navigate this behavioral practice as safely as possible in efforts to preserve their sexual health.
On the other hand, there’s a sub-culture within the MSM population who willfully and with reckless abandon engage in the practice of barebacking with the intent to acquire or transmit the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a practice known as bug-chasing (BC) and gift-giving (GG). While research cannot pinpoint an exact time in which this practice began, the early work by Gauthier and Forsyth (1999), indicates that “bug chasers have existed since the beginning of AIDS, but that their numbers were

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