PrEP - a new bareback culture?

[Poz50something]

On 11/13/2025 at 6:20 AM, LeatherGayBB said:

. I had discussions with friends, that say someone who is on PrEP couldn't give them any STD/STI as they get tested regularly. 

 

I kinda look at bareback sex this way: when you chase something, it often happens that you will catch up eventually with the thing you chase. Mind you, I seroconverted way before the advent of PreP. Nowadays, there’s the thrill of skin to skin without the fear of the virus transmitting to either participant. There’s also DoxyPrep, which should also be part of the panoply of prevention for barebackers. I also know that I should get around to getting a HPV shot, to prevent the virus from spreading. DoxyPreP isn’t 100% eff, but it reduces a lot of the worry. 
 

For those who play in saunas, it’s a great way of keeping STDs at bay. 

[Poz50something]

On 11/15/2025 at 2:31 PM, Cutedelicategay said:

During the AIDS era we got brainwashed by authorities regarding condoms.

I have lost friends to AIDS …that was the stark reality….it would have been irresponsible of the government not to prevent someone else from dying. The Reagan administration did NOTHING, not even mentioning it, and when it was mentioned, it was jokes about people who had it.…. Safer sex at the time was the way to go. One could still be a slut but still do it ethically. Now most people are medicated, and it’s a good thing. Raw is law only because the science has caught up to the disease. 

[PozBearWI]

19 minutes ago, Poz50something said:

I have lost friends to AIDS …that was the stark reality….it would have been irresponsible of the government not to prevent someone else from dying. The Reagan administration did NOTHING, not even mentioning it, and when it was mentioned, it was jokes about people who had it.…. Safer sex at the time was the way to go. One could still be a slut but still do it ethically. Now most people are medicated, and it’s a good thing. Raw is law only because the science has caught up to the disease. 

Indeed, AIDS was thought of as the solution to the Gay Rights movement going on.  So to the power brokers, doing nothing would solve their problem.

[bbzh]

On 11/19/2025 at 9:39 PM, hntnhole said:

To me, this only reinforces the frailty of "knowledge" re: hiv and the lesser bugs.  My hiv doc told me to take PrEP daily, and Pep for 3 consecutive days after "unprotected" (read raw) sex, and that's what I do.  The medical doctors are the ones that are supposed to know what to do and how to do it.   I will say that I haven't picked up one of the lesser bugs for quite a while - for what that's worth.  

Three, four times a year seems almost laughable, were it not so crucial to our very nature, well-being.  Are we supposed to only fuck guys 3 or 4 times a year ???   

Just wanted to add for context that my HIV doc is : 1) an infectious disease expert and 2) gay and in the scene a lot (travels to Berlin, etc). Definitely not getting his information from google. He is super concerned about drug resistance. I know it's not fun to think that all the raw sex we are having could land us with an illness that we can't treat. And by the way, I also discussed this topic with the STD clinic in town that specializes in treating the LGBT community and those involved in sex work.  They don't love doxy either but also accept that it's here to stay. I'm vaxxed for monkeypox, HPV, recently had the first dose of Bexsero (to reduce the risk of gono) and I use doxy and I test regularly. I don't think I had bad luck. I got it honest. I just think those who have escaped catching anything or rarely catch anything have had luck on their side. 

[hungry_hole]

On 11/15/2025 at 8:58 AM, PozPigCumDump said:

...[PrEP and new gay culture] it's a good thing... I think! 

Yeah, PrEP has brought piece of mind and although it doesn't protect against other infections, guys on PrEP are usually tested frequently. Now at the sauna you have poz guys on Meds and guys on PrEP, so even HIV-neg guys who are not on PrEP have reduced changes of pozing. 

I started taking loads in my early 20's when condoms were never mentioned, when the "bottom identity" did not exist, and when "bareback sex" was just called "sex". Actually, admitting to enjoying getting fucked was not something to be proud of, like it is today "being a bottom". I was lucky to have a very good friend, a few years older, who was very open about his adventures in saunas getting fucked and he would describe to me, in a veiled manner, the experience of "taking a load". He would tell me that he enjoyed going to Puerto Rico and would tell me that these Latinos would start screaming "Papito, Papito.." while they were cumming inside him. That really turned me on, and I also didn't feel bad about wanting to get fucked myself.

Suddenly one day at the YMCA in Toronto a guy walked into my room and pulled a condom. I said, WTF! He mentioned that because of the "gay cancer" he had started wearing condoms. I didn't have sex with him, but not long after that, the panic set and guys stopped having sex. 

Which bring me to:

On 11/15/2025 at 8:58 AM, PozPigCumDump said:

... I think! 

Maybe not, because for me the best sex in terms of quality and quantity about a decade before Meds and later PrEP became widely available. 

Those were my best years as a bottom, because too many guys still afraid of HIV would sometimes fuck bareback but never take anon loads. So it was a lot of fun to be openly a bareback bottom. I would arrive at the sauna and while I was still undressing in my room some guys would stop by to ask me until what time I was staying, and I knew that I would eventually take their load that evening. 

I kind of liked "that culture", when a guy left my room at the sauna an although I had decided to risk it, I would always wonder if his is the load that will poz me.