However, by the time Silverstein and Picano published a new edition of the iconic The Joy of Gay Sex in 2003, bareback was defined simply as condomless gay sex. It initially referred to intentional condomless anal intercourse, mainly among HIV-infected gay men ( Gendin 1997). The term ‘bareback’ appeared in the gay press in the mid-1990s. To help focus HIV-prevention efforts, we propose a re-conceptualisation that contextualises risky condomless anal intercourse and distinguishing between behaviours that are intentional and may result in HIV-primary transmission from those that are not. Any identification as barebacker appeared too loose to be of use from a public health prevention perspective. Results showed overall agreement with a basic definition of bareback sex as condomless anal intercourse, but considerable variation on other elements. Using in-depth, face-to-face interviews with an ethnically diverse sample of 120 HIV infected and uninfected men, mainly gay-identifying, and recruited online in New York City, this study explored respondents’ definitions of bareback sex, the role that intentionality and risk played in those definitions, and whether respondents identified as ‘barebackers’.
The terms bareback and bareback identity are increasingly being used in academic discourse on HIV/AIDS without clear operationalisation.
