In the 1990s after 10 years during which safer sex became the sexual norm for many gay and bisexual men in North America, a growing number disclosed they were engaging in unprotected anal sex, or 'barebacking.' While some barebackers sought greater intimacy and freedom and the fulfillment of a particular masculine ideal, other gay and bisexual men engaged in unprotected anal sex to facilitate the exchange of HIV. At World Wide Web newsgroups, self-identified Gift-givers and Bug-chasers post messages offering to give or receive HIV; exchanges where HIV is considered a gift. In the available literature on the phenomenon of Gift-giving, there is no consideration of HIV as described by Gift-givers and Bug-chasers, namely as a gift. By making reference to sociological and anthropological theories of gift exchange, I consider how exchanging HIV as a gift impacts self-identity and social roles in order to answer the question: why gift?
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