Wanting to get HIV.

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I'm not going nuts? I'm fine. I think it's just my writing style.

 

Well, infected people wanting to actively infect others has been reported, not just among homosexuals. As for bug-chasing, I never heard of it before...

 

I'll agree this is the first I've heard of this.

 

So, does that mean that, since no one here personally knows a member of Hamas (I'm hoping), that you don't believe they exist either? How about a South American soccer (football) team?

 

Well it does not come that much of a surprise that such individual cases exist. Did not know that it exist on an organized level. I think the reason why people don't hear of this is that the ones who want to get HIV probably don't go and shout it out loud to all their friends and family but rather use the internet and get their contacts from there.

Yeah I can remember three reports of men in the recent years that have intentionally spreaded HIV to different women with the explicit goal to spread the virus.

 

I can't believe how many people can say "I've never heard of that so it must not be true." But are unwilling to take 5 minutes to google the topic to see if there is any more information out there. You might have noticed that I posted a different link to an article about this topic, near the beginning of this thread. It is an article written by a man in the gay community and it has a lot of insight into the reasons why bug-chasers do what they do. Although I do not agree at all with the act of spreading such a horrible disease, the author makes some valid points about WHY they seek out HIV infection.

If you don't like that source of information I invite you to do your own research. There are lots of articles out there by a variety of sources.

 

I didn't say it didn't exist, I said it smelled like something that has gotten wildly inflated through internet research. Meaning these guys has stumbled on to the topic, maybe even encountered a person or two and then they have googled and found dating sites and forums where people discuss doing it much the same way many people on this forum discuss sneaking into the dragon's lair and lifting it's hoard.

 

I plan to send an e-mail to the author of the article asking her for some of her sources -- I believe that she is a good journalist and wouldn't write without some research.

Please note that neither the article I posted nor the one Dragonfly posted nor indeed anyone on here claimed that the phenomenon was widespread. It is only a small percentage of the gay community doing this, just as it is only a small percentage of the straight community that is into 'open marriages' -- but it is an odd behaviour that I thought was worth looking into and discussing.

 

This is not that much different than those misguided people who want parts of their body amputated. It's a mental illness to want to be sick or deformed -- but there are people who have these illnesses.

The individuals who are positive and intentionally infecting others are no different than terrorists.

 

If I have an affair and get chlamydia, my non-cheating wife will still probably end up with chlamydia. There are only two sure-fire ways two avoid VD ([1] don't have sex at all, or [2] hold your spouse prisoner, blocking all access to the outside world, but still remain faithful to your spouse) and one of them will get you arrested.

An attempted gift-giver (fortunately, his victim wasn't infected) was tried and convicted for attempted murder here in Iowa. I disagree with you that these people are terrorists, since they aren't trying to use fear to push a political agenda. They are, however, criminals...and should be treated as such.

 

So does the term gift-giver refer to HIV positive men who try to actively pass the virus to bug-chasers? Or does the term refer to anyone who is HIV positive who is trying to infect other people through unprotected sex?

 

A gift-giver is anyone with HIV wishing to spread it. The most common people who use the term are bug-chasers, and those who apply it to themselves most are usually people part of that exclusive community.

 

True, although that's a pretty extreme example. I think most people who are in committed relationship with no marital difficulties can be reasonably sure that if neither of them are infected when they get married that neither will become infected down the road.

And there I agree completely as well. These people are sick, but they are more akin to serial killers than terrorists...

 

Ah, but that means you, at least, weren't in a terribly committed relationship, were you? I understand the people that say, 'You can never know 100%', and I even agree in the strictest manner, but you can be pretty darn sure if you just keep an active and meaningful relationship with your spouse.

 

What if...
it's all a lot of posturing and attention-seeking by members of the gay community:
If you've been infected, and are getting sick of being seen as a poor victim, and that your sexuality is to blame, and so forth, then you *might just* claim that you wanted to get infected in the first place.
And if you're constantly being warned of the dangers of unsafe sex, to the point that it gets on your nerves, claiming that you want to get infected will get people off your back. Not to mention make you look like some kind of profound and dedicated political activist.
Claiming you want HIV even though you're not insane, actually getting it by accident, and later sticking to your story of being a proud HIV+ gift-giver, seems like a pretty ironclad story to stick to, if you don't want to be seen as weak, or a victim. Some people just like being in control, or at least appearing to. It's more of a psychological complex, not insanity.
It's impossible for people outside the gay community to determine whether this bug-chasing phenomenon is actually real, or just a bunch of tall tales. Perhaps there are even gift-givers who misunderstand other gays' fake claims of being bug-chasers.

 

Is there a higher percentage of mental illness in the homosexual community as opposed to the heterosexual community? Wouldn't someone who intentionally infects someone be a sociapath? What else are we supposed to think about someone who deliberatly infects themself with a deadly virus other than that they are insane?

 

Coin, I find it far more likely that they actually do intend what they say. It may still be a way of maintaining 'control' as you said, and that's a very plausible explanation, but I still suspect the intent would be real. In that case, considering the damage being done, they should be institutionalized.

 

Never met a flamboyant gay guy, making shocking and disturbing statements before? 'Drama queens' are a bit stereotypical, but they're real. You guys should get out more, and actually meet them, before passing judgement. Once you've met them, you'll find it's not so hard to imagine them making these weighty claims to get your attention, to intentially disgust you, to fool around with you, as a bad joke, etc. I find this a more likely occurence than that all 'claimants' are truthful and dedicated to catching a deadly disease as a political statement. It will probably be a bit of both, of course. But I bet most of it is just a load of hot air.

 

It's a sad fact that infidelity touches most marriages. There is no panacea for this, and religious people are just as likely to stray as godless heathens like me. Even among evangelicals, affairs happen. Since it only takes one spouse to cheat, it can happen to even the most committed, caring, and sensitive husband or wife.