Bagging

Bugchasing should not include cases when HIV infection occurs through negligence or ignorance, for example, in the event of a condom breaking or lack of knowledge about the partner’s HIV status. In addition, one should not confuse bug-chasing and barebacking , in which a person also engages in unprotected sex, but his goal is not infection, although a person is aware of his possibility ^{[6] [7]} . Beirbackers are aware of the possibility of infection, and bug-keepers are purposefully looking for it. Bagcheisers make up a special sexual fetish subculture ^[6] .

For the first time, widespread attention to the phenomenon of bug-chasing was attracted in February 2003 by the publication of Gregory A. Freeman “In Search of Death” in the Rolling Stone magazine , in which he described a certain subculture among men practicing same-sex sex , for whom such a “hunt for the virus” or “giving Gift ”has become a kind of sexual fetish ^{[5] [8] [9]} . In an article Freeman cited data from a psychiatrist from San Francisco, Robert Sabaj , who claimed that up to 10 thousand new HIV infections occur annually on such “virus hunters” ^[9] .

The article published in Rolling Stone was heavily criticized for using dubious sources in it and representing the phenomenon as very significant in a gay environment ^{[10] [9]} . Dr. Sabai himself, in an interview with Newsweek magazine, claimed that he never cited the data quoted in Rolling Stone ^{[9] [10]} . Dr. Marshall Forstein , who was also referenced by Freeman in his article, claiming that bagcheasing is a widespread sexual fetish in a gay environment, later stated that he was familiar with this phenomenon, but never claimed it was widespread. spread among gays ^[10] . Sabai and Forshtein, however, agreed that the phenomenon of barebacking (unprotected sexual intercourse) has increased in recent years, but only a very few people who practice such unprotected sex can be attributed to bug chasers ^[10] . Freeman, in response to statements by Sabay and Forstein, expressed his surprise, but could not produce any evidence, since he did not keep any notes during the interview with them ^[10] . The American Center for Disease Control and Prevention also admitted that it does not have any statistics on this issue ^[9] .

The Rolling Stone article was sharply criticized by both English author and blogger Andrew Sullivan , who called the opinion of the widespread adoption of bagging among gays “an urban legend ” ^{[10] [11]} . The Alliance of Gays and Lesbians Against Defamation also criticized the article, which accused Freeman of knowingly manipulating information ^[12] .

In 2006, a British television company BBC, as part of a television investigation, conducted a study on the spread of bagging in the country ^[3] . As a result of the investigation, a “gift-giver” questionnaire was created on gay dating sites , which offered sex to those who wish to beetle hunters. As a result, a few days later, with a fake Giftgiver, I already contacted a dozen potential bug-readers . However, later at a personal meeting it turned out that all of them showed only potential interest, but refused real infection ^[3] .

Will Nutland of Terrence Higgins Trust and head of the National AIDS Trust Deborah Jack ( Deborah Jack ) confirmed that they are familiar with only a very small number of cases when people voluntarily seek HIV infection or are obsessed with the desire to transmit HIV ^[3] .

Head of the German HIV / AIDS Prevention Organization Berliner Aidshilfe Kai-Uwe Merkenich ( German: Kai-Uwe Merkenich ) also gives similar data. According to him, in all of Germany there will be no more than a couple of hundred people fantasizing about potential bug-chasing, but among them there will be no more than a dozen who will really ever realize this fantasy ^[4] .

Bugchasing motives

Moskowitz and Roloff, analyzing existing publications on this topic, identify four main groups of reasons why some homosexual men have a craving for voluntary HIV infection ^[13] . One of the reasons is the desire to enter into some kind of special “brotherhood of the initiates”, which is more united than a scattered group of homosexual men ^[14] .

Another reason is unwillingness to protect oneself and the desire to freely have sex, no longer afraid of contracting HIV. This point of view was called the “metaphor of diabetes,” since such people frivolously compare HIV with diabetes , because modern medicine allows people with HIV to live to old age while taking medication ^[14] .

The third group includes people who deny AIDS as such and reject “AIDS hysteria” as a fictitious theory ^[14] .

The fourth group includes Moskowitz and Roloff who are gay, who hold the view that AIDS is an integral part of gay life, and who want to get infected more quickly so as not to experience constant stress due to fear of accidental infection ^[15] .

Among other reasons pushing people to take this step may be a desire to die, a sense of worthlessness of their own life, or even a desire to “share” the fate with their beloved partner ^{[16] [8] [4] [7]} .

Relationship with Sexual Deviation

Moskowitz and Roloff, in their study, link bagging with strong sexual addiction ^[17] . Men who want to get the virus usually have an unintelligible sex life , engaging in frequent unprotected sex with both HIV-positive people and people with unknown HIV status. They also often have anal intercourse in a passive role, since it is passive anal sex that is the most risky for HIV infection ^[18] .

According to Moskowitz and Roloff, it is hypersexuality and satiety with sexual life that pushes some people to bugchasing ^[6] . Virus hunters are usually prone to various kinds of sexual fetishes , BDSM practices or sexual deviations ^[19] . In addition, bug-chasers are often prone to masochistic tendencies and perceive “getting the virus” as the highest point of submission ^[17] .

The topic of bagchasing is raised, for example, in the 10th episode 4 of the cult gay series “ Close Friends ”, when a young guy is trying to have sexual contact with one of the characters with HIV in order to get the virus from him ^[20] .

The 13th episode of the seventh season of the ambulance series also addresses this issue when one of the clinic’s patients gets upset after receiving a negative HIV test after numerous unprotected contacts with his HIV-infected partner with whom he wants to share his fate ^[21] .

Russia

Article 122 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for criminal liability both for knowingly putting another person at risk of HIV infection without actually becoming infected, and for actual infection of another person with HIV infection by a person who knew that he had this disease. At the same time, “a person is exempted from criminal liability if another person who is at risk of infection or who has been infected with HIV has been warned in time about the presence of the first of this disease and voluntarily agreed to take actions that created a risk of infection” ^[22] .

• Death drive
• Self damage
• Risky sexual behavior

• Pankratov V.V. Voluntary consent to HIV infection // Journal of Russian Law. - 2005. - No. 5 (101). - S. 45-51.

• Dean T. Unlimited intimacy: Reflections on the subculture of barebacking. - The University of Chicago Press, 2009 .-- 237 p. - ISBN 978-0-226-13939-5 .

• Moskowitz D., Roloff M. The Ultimate High: Sexual Addiction and the Bug Chasing Phenomenon (Eng.) // Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity. - 2007. - No. 14 . - P. 21-40 . - ISSN 1532-5318 . - DOI : 10.1080 / 10720160601150121 . Archived November 2, 2012.
• Heide Funk, Karl Lenz: Sexualitäten: Diskurse und Handlungsmuster im Wandel , Juventa 2005, Kap. 5.3 “Bug Chasing”, p. 170—171, ISBN 3-7799-1373-9

• Wild Germany: Bugchasing - ZDF Channel Documentary from the Wild Germany Series (German)
• Bagging: “a threat from the West” or the price of unhappy love (unopened) AIDS Center. Date of treatment April 5, 2018.
• Daniel Hill Bug Chasers . Alternatives Magazine (2010). Date of treatment April 5, 2018.