What Is Bareback Sex?
The term “bareback” may also be used to refer to condomless vaginal sex.
This is especially true for men who have sex with men (MSM).
Steve Prezant / Image Source / Getty Images
In 2021, MSM made up 81% of HIV cases in the United States.
Women are also at risk of getting HIV from condomless anal sex.
Many people find bareback sex to be more pleasurable and exciting than protected sex.
They enjoy the skin-to-skin contact and feel that they can bond more closely with their partner.
Barebacking may also provide an incentive to remain monogamous when both partners are committed to the relationship.
Can condoms allow for full sensation?
Finding the right condom may allow you to experience full sensation.
How to Have Safer Bareback Sex
Communication is a key component of safer bareback sex.
This includes getting tested for STIs, communicating openly about STI status, and setting expectations with your partner.
There are different strains of HIV.
While most STI tests are highly accurate, false results can happen.
It’s possible to get a negative test result and still have an STI.
Prevention
There are several ways to lower your risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections.
Condoms:If you want to engage in sex, the safest way is to use a condom.
Whenused correctly, condoms can significantly reduce the risk of getting HIV and other STIs.
If you have HIV, it’s important to get treatment.
Your healthcare provider will probably recommendSTI testingto see if an infection has occurred.
If so, they will provide a treatment plan for the specific throw in of infection.
Summary
Bareback sex can be a pleasurable form of sex.
But with any throw in of condomless sex, the risk of getting HIV and other STIs increases greatly.
Your healthcare provider can explain your treatment options.
Brisson J.Reflections on the history of bareback sex through ethnography: the works of subjectivity and PrEP.Anthropology & Medicine.
2019;26(3):345-359. doi:10.1080/13648470.2017.1365430
Department of Health and Human Services.HIV: U.S. statistics.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Ways HIV can be transmitted.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV and women: HIV incidence.
National Health Service UK.Sex activities and risk.
Planned Parenthood.What are the disadvantages of condoms?.
National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Asymptomatic HIV infection.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Sexually transmitted infections treatment guidelines, 2021.
Screening recommendations and considerations referenced in treatment guidelines and original sources.
World Health Organization.HIV drug resistance.
2015;68(3):337-44. doi:10.1097/QAI.0000000000000461
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.PrEP effectiveness.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
