What's in a term? How gay and bisexual men understand barebacking

This study examines conceptual understandings, definitions, and practices of barebacking in a sample of 227 gay and bisexual men recruited from four gay venues in the New York Metropolitan area. Findings demonstrated that 21% of the participants identified as HIV-negative (HIV−) and 61.7% as HIV-positive (HIV+). While 90% of the sample was familiar with the term “barebacking, ” differences were noted in conceptual understandings and practices of bare-backing between HIV+ and HIV− men. In particular, the findings suggest that these men were more likely to socialize and have sex with seroconcordant partners and that these patterns of socialization may shape attitudes and practices about barebacking.