Finally, let me clarify what I'm not talking about here. They just call it 'having sex.' Second, I don't want anyone to think I'm here to pass some kind of moral judgment on barebacking because, frankly, I'm in no position to do so. Straight people bareback all the time, of course, but unlike us, they don't make up titillating names for it. First, I know gay men aren't the only ones who bareback. If I'm right about that, then we have to put aside any discomfort the topic may cause and try to understand why guys bareback.Ī few clarifications before we start. Far from disappearing, I'd bet that despite valiant efforts at HIV prevention, barebacking is on the rise. You might think that by now, thirty years into this horrible epidemic, barebacking would be a thing of the past. We all know how risky barebacking is, and we all know it goes on all the time. Or, if you prefer the almost comically clinical language of early safer sex education, sex during which 'bodily fluids' may be 'exchanged.' Can we talk about 'barebacking'? You know, unprotected anal sex between men.
