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MODALITIES OF CONDOM USE
BY GAY MEN IN COUPLES WITH CASUAL PARTNERS
Barry
D Adam1, Winston Husbands2, James Murray2,
John Maxwell2
1University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario; 2AIDS Committee
of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
Objectives:
While the research literature has long documented a tendency among gay men in
couples to drop condom use with each other over time, this research examines
the patterns of gay men in couples, acting individually or together, in employing
condoms with casual partners.
Methods: Qualitative interviews with gay men in couples in
metro Toronto (N=59) with a small Windsor comparative group (N=5).
Results: The primary modalities are: (1) men who use condoms
both inside their primary relationship and outside, (2) men who practise "negotiated
safety" insofar as condom use has been dropped inside the couple in the
context of (but not always after) testing for HIV. A significant number of these
men impose a "cordon sanitaire" around their relationship by continuing
to use condoms with casual partners. (3) men who never use condoms inside their
primary relationship, or who dropped condom use without testing for HIV, and
who may carry over this practice with casual partners. This research reports
on the narrative differences which shape each of these modalities, including
the reasoning processes that lead to and reinforce each practice.
Conclusion: While men in modality (1) have adopted the safe
sex message, men in (2) mix romance and adventure discourses along with health
messages, and men in (3) show an additional set of concerns around communicating
trust, sexual performance, and moral reasoning.