Hello - I'm the editor of an online magazine and we had one submission I think forum members might be interested in or have something to say about. It's called Bug Chasing: The Shocking Quest To Become HIV-Positive http://www.orato.com/node/660 “Conversion” is a term invented in the 1990s for the fetish of a small minority of gay men wanting to become infected with HIV. Various gay websites have chat rooms devoted to “Bug Chasers,” looking specifically to have unprotected sex with HIV-positive men. According to Didier, who tells this story, and others, there are "conversion parties" are where these like-minded people gather together to pursue their goal. It is thought that these men wish to become infected with HIV because they feel guilty or left out because many of their friends are HIV-positive." Is this really common enough to even be talking about?? Have you guys ever heard of this or can you help us understand it? Heather
To me, this sounds like some bullshit story. Or some very sick sados that want to have a life-rendering disease because their friends have it? Now what day and age have we gone into now? I'll tell you what, I can help. Get all these 'Guys' that want HIV, line them outside and I'll finish them off with a brick. We don't want to waste any money on bullets do we?
bug chasers and gift givers...i've heard of this. it's a mental illness, like hypochondria, but they're actually trying to get sick. i think survivor's guilt plays into it.
Yip, Ive heard of it before. Also heard about russian roulette type orgies where 1 HIV positive man is invited to 'party' with a group of non-HIV men. Nobody knows who is the positive one is! Some folk just want it, I suppose in some way it relieves them of the constant worry about catching it. You can only catch it once, after all. At the other end of the scale you have guys (and women) who know they are positive and try to infect others in secret...I dont know... Its a fucked up world aint it
i wonder if they've studied the psychology of the bug chasers. i bet it would be pretty intense, you know? you look at your friends who have it or have died from it, living in fear of getting it anyway, kind of wanting to get it just so they don't have to care anymore.
i though there were some VERY interesting points on females controlling hetero sex and experience. th eline that says "hetero men are in a box, we're in a big room." women ARE taught to refrain from a lot of behaviors AND to limit their men's experiences. i never really understood this, except for the risks of pregnancy and such. there's a lot to chew on in that article.
I think one should be careful with what they say. that sounds pretty hitlerish dude. whats going on sounds pretty fucked up but to each their own. i can see how somewhere down the road it could hurt me, so i'm glad it's in the media. hopefully awareness of such a mentally koookooo ...like someone said sadist act will stop it from happening in ever increasing amounts. or hopefully talking about it here will help prevent it, somehow, somewhere.
Maybe it's just me, but I can't understand why anyone would want to get sick and need meds for the rest of whatever.
Yes bug chasers do exist but their underground community is so closed off to outsiders and kept under wraps that trying to find someone that is an open chaser and willing to talk about it is going to be difficult. Its definately not something talked about in the open.
bug chasers think that if they just get it they can deal with it and not have to worry about catching it in the future. The problem with that is there are several different strains of HIV. So, they could still get another strain putting them in to an even worse condition. Having one strain of HIV is not that much of a life destroyer if you have lots of money. Look at Magic Johnson
well, that's addressed in the article as well. the risk of re-infection adds to their titillation, apparently.
As someone who has HIV not through drug use, promiscuous sex or blood transfusions; it just totally blows my mind that anyone would desire to have this illness. I found out I was positive in the 4th month of pregnancy in my 7th year of marriage. Bug chasers are looking for attention. They just don't realize that HIV affects not just the person who has it, but all of those that know and care about that person. It amazes me how many people really have no idea about HIV after all these years
i think, sadly, it's more dynamically sad than attention seeking. i'm very sorry you have to deal with it, though. many of the people who are "bugchasers" don't have ANYONE who cares about them except for HIV positive people. i think for many of them it's a "going down with the ship" mentality. who wants to live free when everyone they love and care for isn't?
there is a term for these people who act the way these "bug chasers" do. the proper term for a so called "bug chaser" is 'quisling.' people act this way all the time. in a number of areas. such people are dangerous as all fuck to have around you. i, advoid them at all cost! i've been dubed by a few of them when i was younger; i learned from my experences and, the experence of the misfortian of others'. it's really true as the saying goes: "you live and learn or, you don't live long."
