Barebacking and sexual position

Abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link AbstractBareback sex continues to fuel the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men but despite the fact that much academic attention has been focused on the sexual behaviour of this population few authors have considered the significance of sexual position. In order to explore this relatively under-examined factor, interviews were conducted with 13 HIV-negative and unknown status gay men who had recently engaged in bareback sex. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and through the lens of sexual position, the findings were organised across three super-ordinal themes. There were some areas in which there was little difference between the men's experiences of engaging in bareback as tops or bottoms (for instance, how participants connected with barebacking partners). In other areas, however, there were clear differences in men's experiences according to sexual position, particularly in the interpersonal dynamic between tops and bottoms during bareback sex encounters, which it is argued were acted out in accordance with a barebacking 'sexual script'. There were further differences by position in how individuals overcame 'cognitive dissonance' by invoking strategies to make their engagement in bareback sex safer and in the meanings men ascribed to bareback sex and semen exchange. These findings provide valuable insights for those working with MSM around HIV prevention.

‘Shouldn’t Tom Daley be a bottom?’: Homosexual stereotyping online

“…(R77) 23 There is continuity here; Daley remains both effeminate bottom (‘perky pussy’) and slut (‘so many loads up that ass’). The comments contrast in that the first is celebratory, almost congratulatory of the news, while the second incorporates a connotation of infection, and a distinctly ‘cum whore/dumpster’ treatment of Daley’s bottom narrative (see Hoppe, 2011 for discussion of ‘pleasure/risk dilemmas’ in bottom scripts; also see Grundy-Bowers et al., 2015, who explore top/bottom barebacking ‘sexual scripts’). It is the second of these comments that hints at the complexity now present in Daley’s construction, in particular the implications of a relationship with Black, who is twice Daley’s age and as a ‘sign’ carries an associative discourse of disease himself.…”

Top or Bottom? Varsity youth talk about gay sexuality in a Stepping Stones Workshop: Implications for sexual health

“…Constructs of sexuality in terms of being a 'top' or a 'bottom' have been explored by researchers interested in the sexual identification and practice of gay men, and attest to the complexities of identification that language and labelling practice imply in general (GrundyBowers, Hardy and McKeown 2015;Johns et al 2012;Kippax and Smith 2001;Matebeni and Msibi 2015;McGill and Collins 2014a;McGill and Collins 2014b;.…”