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Barebacking. Psychosocial and Public Health Approaches, edited by Perry N. Halki-tis, Leo Wilton, and Jack Drescher. Binghamton: Haworth Medical Press, 2007, 175 pp.
Barebacking is a reprint of nine articles that appeared in the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy during 2005 (Volume 9[3-4]). The articles address the implications of barebacking for HIV prevention among gay men. As the articles demonstrate, "barebacking" has several definitions. In this context, it is defined as the mindful rejection of condoms for anal sex in sexual situations that may transmit HIV and other STDs.
The book begins with an introduction by Halkitis et al. that explains the rationale for the collection of articles. The next article, by Richard Wolitski, summarises the literature. The author points out that in the United States there appears to be evidence that the incidence of new HIV infections is increasing, which may be attributable to the practices of barebacking. He argues that while there is much research that documents the occurrence of anal sex without condoms, there is a lack of an explanation for the recent, historic increase in risk-taking behaviour. This lack especially concerns the notion that some gay men appear to "consciously" reject safer sex guidelines. Wolitski provides a map of six factors that appear to be contributing...