Bareback male
Porn laid bare: gay men, pornography and bareback sex
journal contribution
posted on , authored bySharif Mowlabocus, Justin Harbottle, Charlie WitzelThis article details the preliminary findings from Porn Laid Bare, a collaborative research project between the University of Sussex and the Terrence Higgins Trust, Brighton. We search the multidimensional relationship that respondents identified as having formed with pornographic material, together with its role within gay male subculture. We then consider how interview respondents understood and conceptualised bareback pornography. Our findings reveal consistent contradictions between general discussions of gay pornography and specific discussions of bareback representations. Utilising Dean’s () function on bareback subculture and the ‘ambivalent gift’, we develop a critical reading of these contradictions in order to identify the methods by which the anxieties and pleasures of bareback pornography were handled by respondents.
History
Journal
SexualitiesISSN
Publisher
SAGE PublicationsIssue
Volume
16Page range
What Is Bareback Sex?
"Bareback sex" is a common term in the gay male community that originated in the mid-'90s; it means having anal sex without a condom.
The phrase stems from equestrianism: You're said to be riding “bareback” when you're riding a horse without a saddle. When you're riding a man—or a man is riding you—without a condom, well, that’s bareback sex. (More recently, the term has been co-opted by some straight folks to describe unprotected vaginal penetration, too.)
There are serious risks to having anal or vaginal sex without a condom—STIs being the main one. (Vaginal sex comes with the risk of unplanned pregnancy, but that can be mitigated with other forms of contraception.) Still, there are plenty of people out there who knowingly take the exposure to have bareback sex with their partners. Some folks say they loathing the feeling of condoms (though we'd argue they haven't found the right one yet); others say it makes them feel closer to their spouse, or that they like the reality that it's "taboo."
If you're curious about the origins of bareback
Attitudes towards men who ‘bareback’ are a barrier to wider apply of PrEP
Two new qualitative studies from Toronto shed clear on how stigma affects the uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and the experience of taking it. In the first, new gay men acknowledged that they did not always use condoms but did not see themselves as the kind of ‘barebacker’ for whom they thought PrEP was intended.
“PrEP embodies the notion of bareback sex, which traditionally has been associated with negative elements, and it is quite clear that the young queer men in this research undertake not want to be linked as a barebacking subject,” writes Julien Brisson in Anthropology & Medicine. “This is one reason why they did not long to use PrEP.”
In the second study, early adopters described concealing their PrEP use because of what it might suggest to others about their sexual behaviour. Nonetheless, most had an overwhelmingly positive experience of taking PrEP.
Glossary
stigma
Social attitudes that suggest that having a particular illness or existence in a particular situation is something t
A new survey of same-sex attracted and bisexual men shows almost half report having unprotected sex always, often or sometimes.
Of the men surveyed, most say they are educated about HIV/AIDS, and fear getting infected or re-infected.
Dr Freddy Molano and Renato Barucco of New York’s non-profit Group Healthcare Network (CHN) focused on men who operate apps such as Grindr, Scruff, Manhunt and Growlr to meet sexual partners.
The focus of the survey, which received replies from men in Australia, South America, Eastern Europe, the UK, Canada, and mostly the US, was to gain insight into men’s perspectives on HIV/AIDS and unprotected sex. It also included an optional section asking respondents why they might take risks during sex.
According to the findings, 81 percent of respondents know HIV is transmitted through “unprotected anal sex, vaginal sex and, less frequently, oral sex.”
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