Bug chasing

[BenF]

What an utterly bizarre thing to do.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4895012.stm

Is it some kind of body dysmorphic syndrome or something?

If there are any bug chasers on here, perhaps they could explain the appeal??

 

[Fastdavy]

What a sick thing to want even only in fantasy.

 

[treanir]

I wish I could receive BBC3 here...

Fastdavy is right, it's a sick thing. The slowest form of suicide.

 

[dorkchain]

Thats just it...these people are not in their right mind. I will spare everyone the details of my story but lets just say it has to do with suicidal tendencies and depression and deflated idea of self-worth.

 

[Pegasus69]

Bug chasing is not anything new. There are actually parties held where people who wish to contract HIV and those who wish to give it get together. I think they are called conversion parties, or some such thing.

 

[Nonimus]

Just because its 'not new' dont make it any less sick. An important point was brought up in that article - young men coming out onto the gay scene for the first time might get led to believe that certain unsafe practices are 'ok' and 'safe' i.e. the 'Withdrawal' method

Its difficult for young gays to good sexual education as it is. What attraction this kind of self-destructive practice holds for people i cant imagine. They obviously suffer from some kind of psychological impairment. They need help, and in my opinion the 'gift-givers' or whatever they call themselves should receive prison scentences.

 

[SouthBeach30]

Pegasus69 is right, bug chasing is nothing new at all. Yes, it is a real thing. I don't think it is as huge as the media makes it out, but I know people who actively pursue HIV+ men for bareback sex simply so they can "get charged". Do a search of Manhunt.net, Gay.com or Craigslist and you'll find that this is a real thing. Funny thing, they are always quick to defend their right to become POZ, but you never get the sense they've considered the cost, medications, possible surgeries, etc. They just want to join some "brotherhood" as they see it.

 

[SpinachBrocoli]

Ok, those who want to contract the virus, it's wrong, and i'm sure they must not be in their right mind or else they woulnd't be doing this. They might be, as earlier mentioned, depressed and that is curable, these people can perhaps get help and then change their frame of mind.

It's the people who willingly want to spread the virus to as many people that they can who scare me. I mean it would be like people wanting to die, and other people willing to kill them, and then having a shooting party where they get together and one person shoots all the people who want to die. Now would that be ethical or even legal? I don't think so, so what makes this any different?

If they are bitter that they got HIV and want to infect others to get revenge, thats really sad, but there are other ways. They could get help, like therapy or a support group.

I just dont know what to say..

 

[Rockercub]

We watched a documentary on the subject. Basically, these guys figure they're gonna end up HIV+ eventually anyways and they don't want to continue worrying about it. Once you become HIV+, there's no longer that anxiety related to sex. A lot of them regret it later though.

I have to say that I do sort of understand where they're coming from. I've spent plenty of time in my life worrying about contracting HIV, and it can certainly make sex nerve-wracking. What I didn't realize at the time is that HIV isn't as easy to transmit as I had thought, so it's hardly an inevitability for a sexually active person if you use protection.

 

[looseliam]

I honestly don't want to know the reasoning behind it. It just frightens me.

How many of these chasers then infect unsuspecting people. If you've no respect for yourself, then who's to expect these people not to go on a killing spree?

 

[FirePhoenix]

This just freaks me out. I didn't even believe it at first.

 

[sparky95]

Wow, I always thought it was some kind of urban myth!

 

[empire_records]

K this annoyed me more then the whole bug chasing thing.


Charities trying to reach these men may have diluted the safe sex message, according to Dyer.

"Prevention campaigns which tell men who engage in unsafe sex that withdrawing before ejaculation may lessen the risk may confuse a young guy coming out on the gay scene today," he says.

Why are gay guys always pointed at as being unsafe in bed, and why the fuck would I go bare back then pull out at the end. I mean seriosly its not like im going to get him pregnant is it. Fucking retards.

 

[cocktales]

Bug Chasing is simply shocking!

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What could cause men to tempt fate so?
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[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There are many apparent reasons. Some men report that the element of danger in sexual encounters of this kind adds to the "rush" of arousal. There are men who, once infected, feel like they finally "belong," they are now part of the Gay community. Some find relief in knowing that now they don't have to worry about getting infected any more, the deed is done. Some believe the myth that HIV is a chronic manageable disease and that the new drugs promise them a long and healthy life. Some couples see infection as the deepest level of intimacy.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I find all the above reasons NOT good enough reason(s) to do it.............if you have witnessed anyone who has contracted HIV, then AIDS and the painful death......NOT something that I would want to do!!
[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/font]

 

[Rockercub]

How many of these chasers then infect unsuspecting people. If you've no respect for yourself, then who's to expect these people not to go on a killing spree?

Come on, looseliam, follow that thought through. If a chaser infects you, it's because you agreed not to use a condom and, therefore, you're the one with no respect for yourself.

Funny thing, they are always quick to defend their right to become POZ, but you never get the sense they've considered the cost, medications, possible surgeries, etc.

This is my big problem with the whole thing. If you want to infect yourself with a disease and you're of sound mind, who am I to stand in your way? But if you fuck up people's insurance rates or hog an operating room...

 

[XLeatherX]

I think that guys who want HIV have serious issues (to say the least) and need therapy or should actually meet HIV+ people or volunteer in an AIDS hospice before they go on about how much they want this horrible life changing disease.

 

[Croynan]

Return of the bug chaser: a controversial documentary on gay men who seek HIV infection gets its U.S. premiere, renewing a national debate about unsafe sex and AIDS

Advocate, The, Feb 17, 2004 by Christopher Lisotta

Find More Results for: "bug chasers films "
The Gift (2003)
The Gift (2003)
Queer as fall:...
Newreleases.

What does it take to get gay men to confront the realities of unsafe sex and AIDS? As HIV infection rates rise and ignorance about the disease grows, blunt anger and sensational media stunts are becoming the responses of choice.

When Louise Hogarth's controversial documentary The Gift first appeared at selected film festivals last year, it was quickly labeled sensational. The movie profiles two young gay "bug chaser"--HIV-negative men who seek out the virus flint causes AIDS--and a group of others who engage in "barebacking" (anal sex without a condom). It sparked a widespread debate about the unsafe sexual practices of gay men.

Now, as part of an evening of documentary programming called "Know HIV/AIDS" on February 2, the Sundance Channel has given the movie its long-awaited U.S. television premiere, and the debate is heating up once again. It's a debate, Hogarth says, that gay people need to have, and not because she believes bug chasing is a growing trend. "I used bug chasers and gift givers as a hook," she explains. "I think it's very peripheral behavior. I want people to think, Gee, I'm not a bug chaser, I'm not a gift giver, but I'm having unsafe sex in a community that may be 50% infected. What am I then? It opens a discussion about a behavior that is denied or at best sheepishly admitted."

Some gay and AIDS activists don't see The Gift that way, however. They have criticized Hogarth's approach, arguing that it is sensationalistic and potentially harmful because it draws attention away from the extensive work being done to reach out to at-risk groups of gay men. In seeking funding for the film, Hogarth was turned down for several grants and shunned by almost every major AIDS organization.

Outstanding film/documentary to view - The Gift

eM.

Brief Commentary - croynan

One wonders what element of homosexuals find they must push the limits on their own homosexuality - assuming that they are not just into misc. drugs etc. With open group sex parties, it is as if they want all boundaries of their existence as a homosexual removed so that they can "be totally free," and or that "anything goes."