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"Bug chasing" and "gift giving" are colloquial terms used by some men who have sex with men (MSM) to describe intentional unprotected anal sex ("barebacking") with the goal of spreading HIV. There is little large-scale descriptive research that has investigated the prevalence of this phenomenon. This study analyzed the Internet profiles of MSM who self-identified as bug chasers or gift givers (n = 1,228) on a single U.S.-based barebacking-centered Web site in the fall of 2004. Most men (79%) were White, and most (70%) lived in the U.S. Six categories of bug chasing and gift giving were identified based on the HIV serostatus of men and the desired serostatus of partners they wanted to meet. Only a small portion of men were genuinely seeking partners of discordant serostatus: 1.1% of HIV-positive men and 21.3% of HIV-negative men. A larger portion were ambivalent about their partners HIV serostatus: 72% of HIV-positive men and 35% of HIV-negative men. Having identified online as a bug chaser or gift giver did not consistently correspond to behavioral intentions, as 24% of HIV-positive men and 36% of HIV-negative men were specifically seeking partners of the same serostatus. These data suggest bug chasing and gift giving do exist; however a sizable portion of both bug chasers and gift givers were not intent on spreading HIV.
Barebacking (intentional anal sex without condoms) among men who have sex with men (MSM) is a phenomenon on the rise (Dawson et al., 2005; Parsons & Bimbi, in press; Shernoff, 2005; Wolitski, 2005). Although barebacking has been the subject of much controversy (Tomso, 2004), an even newer subculture has recently garnered public attention: "gift giving" and "bug chasing" (Dawson, Ross, Henry, & Freeman, 2005; Gauthier & Forsyth, 1999; Grov, 2004; Tewksbury, 2003; Tomso, 2004). Gift giving is the colloquial term for HIV-positive men who seek to pass HIV to seronegative men, thus giving the "gift" of HIV. This phenomenon has also been colloquially referred to as "bug giving." Bug chasing, on the other hand, is the colloquial term for HIV-negative men who seek out partners who will infect them with HIV; thus, chasing the "bug." Overall, there remains very little empirical research of these new cultural phenomena, but that which is available has suggested the Internet...