IML's New Barebacking Policy

Whatever you call it, barebacking, ie fucking without a condom, is the highly charged 3rd rail of sex and the opinions are as strong as the stakes are high.

Is barebacking killing a new wave of us all over again?  Or is it just another risk aware behavior that we need to weigh as we negotiate sex and play.

But the most important question seems to be "what do we do about it?"

In this edition of Leatherati Issues we asked well-known members of the BDSM Kink community to address the decision last year by the International Mr Leather Executive Committee to ban bareback porn vendors and all bareback materials from IML.

Big surprise that their opinions vary widely.

Check em out and get involved in the discussion by either commenting on a specific article or by clicking on the Submit Content link to send us your own contribution or comment.

And most importantly, make sure you know the facts for yourself and make your own intelligent decision so that when things heat up you know whether you're going in without your glove or not.

Loren Berthelsen
Editor in Chief

Comments

[XXXrated]

I think the whole issue of barebacking and MSM sex needs a broader message than just the connection with HIV infections. GAY MEN NEED TO WAKE UP AND GET EDUCATED! There are other deadly infections out there as well, one being HPV infections and the rise in anal cancer amongst gay men. How many people can honestly say they even know what HPV is or what it can do? How many gay men have heard of an anal pap-smear or even get one on a regular basis? Where in the leather/fetish community is anyone talking about Hep C and its transmission through bareback anal sex or sharing unsanitized sex toys? Or how about the rise in syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamidia and the damage these infections can potentially do? The message against BB sex, no matter who or where it comes from, needs to be a comprehensive one about teaching gay men to be wiser when it comes to our overall health and the costs of bareback sex, both physical and financial, unless in a monogamous relationship.