Love, Lust, and Fear: Safer Sex Decision Making Among Gay Men

In this, the second decade of the AIDS epidemic, most gay men have adequate knowledge of the most efficient transmission routes. Men know the techniques recommended to significantly reduce the likelihood of transmission. Men do not want to be infected. Yet some continue to take chances for sexual transmission of HIV. Why? This paper will explore the reasons given by men in a small city for engaging (or not) in specific sexual practices. Our primary finding is that most men do consider themselves to be taking adequate precautions against infection--even if an outside observer might disagree on "objective" grounds.