Editing Bugchasing (section)

== Origins ==
The early development of bugchasing subculture is obscure; the practice may have existed from the start of the [[Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS|AIDS crisis]].{{sfn|García-Iglesias|2020b|p=1232}} As a subculture, bugchasing became notably more visible and cohesive with the adoption of [[computer network]]s in the 1990s.{{sfn|García-Iglesias|2020b|p=1232}} ''Newsweek'' reported on it in 1997{{sfn|Howard|Yamey|2003|p=454}} and ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' in 2003. The ''Rolling Stone'' article, "[[Bug Chasers: The men who long to be HIV+]]", written by Gregory Freeman, was the first to bring widespread concern and attention to the practice.{{sfnm
|1a1=Anderson|1y=2018|1p=32
|2a1=Malkowski|2y=2014|2p=213
}} That article claimed that around 25 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States (10,000 of 45,000) were linked to bugchasing activity.{{sfnm
|1a1=Anderson|1y=2018|1p=32
|2a1=Malkowski|2y=2014|2p=213
}}
Freeman's statistics erroneously counted all men who engaged in barebacking, regardless of motivation or attempts to seek out HIV infection, as bugchasers.{{sfn|Graydon|2007|p=280}} Authorities that Freeman cited have since claimed he fabricated their statements, and his data have been widely criticized.{{sfn|Weiss|2006|p=389}} In the estimation of sexuality studies scholar Octavio R. Gonzalez, Freeman's article was perhaps most responsible for bringing the term ''bugchasing'' to a mainstream audience,{{sfn|Gonzalez|2010|p=88}} and public interest in and understanding of the practice increased following Freeman's article.{{sfnm|1a1=Malkowski|1y=2014|1p=213|2a1=Romero-Palau|2a2=Cuenca-Martínez|2y=2021|2p=46}}