This article is the result of an online ethnography about barebacking (intentional unprotected anal sex) in the Brazilian scene, between the years 2004 and 2007. More specifically, it aims to discuss the practice of barebacking among HIV-positive men who have sex with men, considering the implications, meanings and conflicts lived by them since the moment they discover being HIV-positive after engaging in barebacking. For this article, we use narratives produced in open interviews in MSN messenger after the creation of a webpage in orkut and the participation in communities about barebacking. Stories of three men from different regions of Brazil who practiced barebacking and underwent the process of seroconversion are analyzed. These brief stories highlight some tensions or ambiguities concerning pleasure and prohibitions associated with barebacking, including the feelings of freedom and guilt.
Barebacking; Seroconversion; Pleasure; Risk; Male homosexuality