Editing Bugchasing (section)

{{Short description|Seeking HIV infection through sex}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
[[File:HIV-budding-Color.jpg|thumb|A [[scanning electron microscope]] image of human immunodeficiency virus (green) in and around a cultured [[lymphocyte]]|alt=Small green orbs of HIV around a pink and blue cell]]

'''''Bugchasing''''' (alternatively''''' bug chasing'''''{{sfn|Tomso|2004|p=88}}) is the rare practice of intentionally seeking [[human immunodeficiency virus]] (HIV) infection through [[Human sexual activity|sexual activity]].{{sfnm|1a1=García-Iglesias |1y=2020b |1p=1232|2a1=Holt |2y=2010 |2p=473|3a1=Klein |3y=2014 |3p=54|4a1=Malkowski |4y=2014 |4p=211|5a1=Tewksbury |5y=2003 |5p=468}} 

Bugchasers—those who eroticize HIV—are a subculture of [[barebacking|barebackers]], men who have [[safe sex|unprotected]] sex with other men. It is statistically rare for men to self-identify as bugchasers, and many of those who do never participate in sexual acts that can lead to HIV infection. There are some explanations for the behavior and fantasies of bugchasing, ranging from sexual excitement at the idea of HIV-positive status, to finding a shared sense of community with other HIV-positive people, to [[Suicide|suicidality]].<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20460937 | jstor=20460937 | title=The Existence of a Bug Chasing Subculture | last1=Moskowitz | first1=David A. | last2=Roloff | first2=Michael E. | journal=Culture, Health & Sexuality | year=2007 | volume=9 | issue=4 | pages=347–357 | doi=10.1080/13691050600976296 | pmid=17612955 | s2cid=31893571 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

By 2003, the concept had entered the public consciousness after ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' published "[[Bug Chasers: The men who long to be HIV+]]", an article—since widely disputed for its statistical methods—describing the practice. It may have existed since the [[Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS|AIDS crisis]] began. It has since been mentioned in or the focus of pieces of media and popular culture. {{As of|2021}}, bugchasing behavior still persists as a niche behavior, in spite of the widespread availability of effective [[Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention|PrEP]] and [[HAART]] treatments that protect against HIV transmission.