HIV risk and sense of community

French gay male discourses on barebacking

Bibliographic Data

ID15098366
AuthorsGarance Girard (0000-0001-9756-0458, Institut National de Santé Publique, corresponding author), Gabriel Girard
Year2016
Volume18
Issue1
Pages15-29
Publication date2016-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2015.1063813
PMID26279071
OpenAlexW1905246891
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited34

This paper analyses the use of the concept of 'barebacking' as a risk category in the discourses of French gay men. It discusses how the rise and spread of the term barebacking contributes to reframing gay men's personal experiences of HIV prevention and their sense of belonging (or a lack thereof) to a gay community. The study is based on 30 qualitative interviews with French gay men conducted between 2005 and 2008. An import from the USA, the term barebacking emerged publicly in France in the late-1990s and was first used to describe intentionally unprotected sexual practices. Debates surrounding this risk category were marked by violent controversy over its use and its definition among HIV prevention actors. There remains a general lack of consensus on the definition of the term, despite its use by activists, in porn culture and in the daily discourses of gay men. By focusing on the relational roots of risk perception, I consider how uses of the term barebacking invoke a moral framework around risk taking

Cognitive reframing · Perception · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology