BAREBACKING and BAREBACKERS

BAREBACKING and BAREBACKERS

The post below to DETENTION and OTHER BAREBACKING FANS is from the gay message board Squirt www.squirt.org. I have a wide diversity of readers and for those not gay, barebacking, refers to anal sex between two men (usually gay)without a condom. These barebackers for the most part have HIV/AIDS. They posted the desire to have a sex party gathering with one rule being no disclosure/talking of HIV. POZ is another term being used to define a Gay Male who is HIV positive. Often Poz men look for other Poz men and this is so they don't need to use a condom. An individual by the anonymous handle DETENTION started the thread calling for a public Barebacking sex party--Jamie Lee.

DETENTION and OTHER BAREBACKING FANS:

I think its kinda sad that you guys feel the need to bareback. I've chatted with a Poz friend lots about this issue and he informs me that Poz guys (Barebackers-BB) prefer not to want to wear condoms and this is why they advertise for other Poz (BB)guys.

I know there are different strains of HIV out there and participating in a behaviour (BB) which may cause mutated strains of HIV is troubling. I don't think the esteemed AIDS expert, Dr Julio Montaner, would be happy to hear how his patients are barebacking.

In fact, I wonder if BB should be put into the Criminal Code under the sexual assault category unless HIV status is disclosed. The reason I say this is not to be cruel but due to the fact that as Detention said in the one rule for his party-No talk about HIV-does not provide disclosure or informed consent. This means to me that guys are throwing away any sense of responsibility and do not care what this means to the broader society. So many questions arise here and I won't go into them all but I wonder if the AIDS cocktails are creating some mental health issues for some of those taking the meds. I say this because I don't believe a reasonable, responsible, progressive thinking and caring person would be out promoting Barebacking as something positive in life.

And if this Barebacking behaviour is in the bathhouses, as is articulated in this thread, perhaps we need to look to license sex clubs instead of baths so that staff can ensure participants are engaging in acceptable sexual behaviour in public rather than behind locked rooms which are in the baths. In fact, both New York and San Francisco have done this in order to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Finally, in the recent Supreme Court decision on the legality of Swinger Clubs, the ruling was they are acceptable as long as they are private and they are NOT creating Harm to the public.

In my opinion, Barebacking does create harm to the public and Barebackers need to rethink what you are promoting. It creates harm in a number of ways. First, unsuspecting individuals may trust that another person wouldn't unknowingly transfer HIV/AIDS to them and therefore may not use any protection, and consequently acquire HIV. Second, medical costs going up because of the spread of mutated HIV strains. HIV is a preventable disease. Third, the cost of loss of life and for gay men to irrationally engage in risky unprotected sex is jaundiced thinking. Four, it costs the taxpayers large sums of money in health care costs to treat an HIV individual who now with the AIDS cocktails can live up to twenty years.

I hope I haven't offended anyone here because it is not my intention to do so. I merely post these thoughts to combat what I think is reckless behaviour.

Liberty and Freedom are wonderful values but without Personal/Societal Responsibility, they are meaningless..

Jamie Lee Hamilton
tricia_foxx@yahoo.com