After years of activism, risk awareness, and AIDS prevention, increasing numbers of gay men are not using condoms, and new infections of HIV are on the rise. Using case studies and exhaustive survey research, this timely, groundbreaking book allows men who have unprotected sex, a practice now known as "barebacking," to speak for themselves on their willingness to risk it all. Without Condoms takes a balanced look at the profound needs that are met by this seemingly reckless behavior, while at the same time exposing the role that both the Internet and club drugs like crystal methamphetamine play in facilitating high-risk sexual encounters. The result is a compassionate, sophisticated and nuanced insight into what for many people is one of the most perplexing aspects of today's gay male culture and life style. Michael Shernoff digs deep and forces us to see that the AIDS epidemic is not over. We must now ask the hard questions and listen to the voices that answer. The stakes are too high to ignore.
Author(s): Michael Shernoff
Edition: 1
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 304
Front cover......Page 1
CONTENTS......Page 8
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 10
FOREWORD......Page 14
PREFACE......Page 20
ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 24
ON A MORE PERSONAL NOTE......Page 26
Part One: GAY MEN, SEX, AND CONDOMS: AN OVERVIEW......Page 28
CHAPTER ONE. Introduction and Overview......Page 30
CHAPTER TWO. Gay Men's Sexuality and Psychotherapy: From Cure to Affirmation......Page 58
CHAPTER THREE. Why Do Men Bareback? No Easy Answers......Page 92
CHAPTER FOUR. Trips and Slips......Page 128
CHAPTER FIVE. Cruisin the Internet Highway......Page 168
Part Two. TAKING OFF THE CONDOMS: RAW SEX IN RELATIONSHIPS......Page 204
CHAPTER SIX. Love in the Time of Plague: Male Couples, Sex, and HIV......Page 206
CHAPTER SEVEN. Love, Sex, and Trust......Page 234
Part Three: THE ROLE OF THE PROFESSIONAL AND THE COMMUNITY......Page 272
CHAPTER EIGHT. Can Barebacking Be Curbed? What (If Anything) Works?......Page 274
CHAPTER NINE. Conclusions: Sexual Freedom and Sexual Responsibility......Page 310
APPENDIX ONE: Negotiated Safety Agreement Questionnaire......Page 326
APPENDIX TWO: Safer Barebacking Procedures......Page 330
APPENDIX THREE: Squashing the "Super-Bug": An Open Letter to Gay and Bisexual Men......Page 336
Endnotes......Page 342
References......Page 352
Index......Page 386
Back cover......Page 400
