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International Journal of Sexual Health

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Trust and Sexual Interaction: The Significance of the

Internet on the Sex life and Sexual Risk Behaviors Of
Gay and Bisexual Men in Spain
a b c a
Percy Fernández-Dávila & Kati Zaragoza Lorca
a
Research Department , Stop Sida , Barcelona, Spain
b
Faculty of Psychology, Physical and Educational Sciences , Blanquerna-Universitat Ramon
Llull , Barcelona, Spain
c
Centre for Sexually Transmitted Infection and AIDS Epidemiological Studies of Catalonia
(CEEISCAT)-ICO , Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol , Barcelona, Spain
Published online: 13 Jun 2011.

To cite this article: Percy Fernández-Dávila & Kati Zaragoza Lorca (2011) Trust and Sexual Interaction: The Significance of the
Internet on the Sex life and Sexual Risk Behaviors Of Gay and Bisexual Men in Spain, International Journal of Sexual Health,
23:2, 120-138

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2011.566307

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 International Journal of Sexual Health, 23:120–138, 2011
Copyright
C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 1931-7611 print / 1931-762X online

DOI: 10.1080/19317611.2011.566307

TRUST AND SEXUAL INTERACTION: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INTERNET ON

THE SEX LIFE AND SEXUAL RISK BEHAVIORS OF GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN IN SPAIN

Percy Fernández-Dávila1,2,3, Kati Zaragoza Lorca1

1
Research Department, Stop Sida, Barcelona, Spain
2
Faculty of Psychology, Physical and Educational Sciences, Blanquerna-Universitat Ramon Llull,
Barcelona, Spain
3
Centre for Sexually Transmitted Infection and AIDS Epidemiological Studies of Catalonia
(CEEISCAT)-ICO, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
Downloaded by [Ondokuz Mayis Universitesine] at 03:55 05 November 2014

ABSTRACT. This study provides an understanding of the significance of the use of the Internet
to find sexual partners, its impact on sexual life, and how it is linked to unprotected sex among
gay and bisexual men. A grounded approach was used to analyze interviews with 31 men (aged
19 to 46 years) from Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao/San Sebastián, Spain. The results reveal
that the Internet is impacting the form and style of life of many men, and particularly their
experience of sexuality. Many men regard their sexual experiences with casual partners met
through the Internet as unsatisfactory or frustrating. The men provided several reasons behind
the search for sexual partners via the Internet: Some interviewees sought to channel needs
other than the sexual (company, affection, stable partner). Trust and assumptions built into
the virtual interaction become a key to understanding why some men have unprotected sex
with partners met on the Internet.

KEYWORDS. Gay/bisexual men, HIV/AIDS, Internet, risk behavior, sexual health

Since the late 1990s, gay Web sites and
chat rooms have become increasingly popular
among gay and bisexual men. Their use has
focused primarily on finding casual partners
(Bolding, Davis, Sherr, Hart, & Elford, 2004;
Brown, Maycock, & Burns, 2005; Garofalo,
Herrick, Mustanski, & Donenberg, 2007;
Léobon & Frigault, 2008; Smith et al., 2006).
For example, the InterSex2006 project, a study
that sought to determine the influence of the
Internet on unsafe sex with sexual partners met
via the Internet, found that 76% of gay and
bisexual men in three regions of Spain who
use the Internet do so to seek sexual partners
(Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza Lorca, 2009).
Men interested in finding sex on the Internet
now have a powerful communication tool that
is comfortable (e.g., it can be used from home),
anonymous, acceptable (the norm in the gay
community, given its acceptance by mostly gay
men), cheap, and very widely available (Grov
et al., 2008).
Internet and gay Web sites/chat rooms
may have facilitated or potentialized certain
phenomena related to sexual practices among
gay and bisexual men, such as barebacking
(the practice of intentional unprotected anal
intercourse; Berg, 2008; Dawson, Ross, Henry,
& Freeman, 2005; Grov & Parsons, 2006; Grov
et al., 2007) and serosorting (the search for sex

Received 31 October 2010; revised 2 February 2011; accepted 22 February 2011.

The authors thank the organizations Colectivo de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales de Madrid-COGAM (Madrid) and
Gehitu (San Sebastián) for their collaboration in carrying out this study, Isidro Garcı́a and Sergio Ibáñez, who conducted the interviews in
Madrid and San Sebastián/Bilbao, respectively, Tony Keirle and Colin Campbell for reviewing and correcting the translation of this article,
and, especially, all those men who participated in this study.
This study was carried out with the support of the Secretarı́a del Plan Nacional sobre el Sida of the Ministry of Health and Consumer
Affairs (Grant SCO/765/2006).
Address correspondence to Percy Fernández-Dávila, Research Department, Stop Sida., C/Muntaner 121, entlo. 1a, 08036,
Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: percy@stopsida.org

120
 P. FERNÁNDEZ-DÁVILA AND K. ZARAGOZA LORCA
partners with the same HIV status to have un-
protected sex), particularly among HIV-positive
men (Berry, Raymond, Kellogg, & McFarland,
2008; Grov et al., 2007).
These peculiarities have led researchers
in social and health sciences to pay atten-
tion to the phenomenon of using the Inter-
net to seek sexual partners among gay and
bisexual men. Several behavioral studies con-
ducted in many industrialized countries con-
clude that using the Internet to seek sexual
partners should be considered a potential risk
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factor for contracting HIV and other sexually
transmitted infections (STIs; Hospers, Kok, Har-
terink, & de Zwart, 2005; Liau, Millett, & Marks,
2006; McKirnan, Houston, & Tolou-Shams,
2007; Mettey, Crosby, DiClemente, & Holt-
grave, 2003; Ogilvie et al., 2008; Taylor et al.,
2004). The InterSex2006 Project arrived at the
same conclusion: Men who were surveyed on
the Internet are exposed to greater risk for infec-
tion of HIV/STIs than those who were surveyed
in gay venues (Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza
Lorca, 2009). This has led many epidemiologists
to show interest in gay Web sites and chat rooms
as a potential source for studying sexual risk
behaviors in gay and bisexual men. However,
other studies have found no differences in the
sexual risk between those seeking partners on-
line and those not (Bolding, Davis, Hart, Sherr,
& Elford, 2005; Horvath, Simon Rosser, & Re-
mafedi, 2008; Jenness et al., 2010; Mustanski,
2007; Mustanski, Lyons, & Garcia, 2011). With
this varying information, we are still uncertain
to what extent the Internet may increase risk
behavior beyond that which occurs when men
meet partners in offline venues.
One concern that arises from all this interest
in online sex seeking is the linking of the Inter-
net to the idea of a “dangerous” space. This has
been fueled by sensationalist media, which can
create bias in public opinion, and thus makes
us ask: Is the Internet an independent source of
risk? Is it simply a tool to seek or take risks by at-
tracting men who engage in higher risk? Or are
both true? More in-depth research on online
versus offline sex-seeking behavior is needed to
resolve these questions. Furthermore, the im-
pact that the Internet has on the lives of gays
and the dynamics of the interaction of users in
121
this space is not being observed. The result has
been that personal, interpersonal, and social as-
pects are often overshadowed by the emphasis
on sexual risk and STI transmission (Sanders,
2008), and the underlying motivations for en-
gaging in high-risk sexual practices with sex-
ual partners met on the Internet remain poorly
understood.
This study offers an explanation for some of
the results of the quantitative study of the Inter-
Sex2006 project (Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza
Lorca, 2009). It aims to describe and analyze
the meanings of using the Internet to seek sex-
ual partners, its impact on the sexual life of
gay/bisexual men, and how it can be linked
to unprotected sex with casual partners met
online.
METHOD
This study used a qualitative methodol-
ogy. The research takes its starting point from
the paradigm of social constructionism. So-
cial constructionism is interested in uncovering
the ways in which individuals and groups cre-
ate/construct the reality they perceive (Guba &
Lincoln, 2005). This paradigm believes that sex-
uality is socially constructed (Burr, 2003). Sex-
ual life is like all social life: an activity dependent
on social and cultural circumstances (Gagnon,
1990).
Participants
This study was part of the InterSex2006
project, the main objectives of which were to
evaluate the characteristics and prevalence of
Internet use to seek sexual partners and have
unprotected sex among men who have sex with
men. It also compared the characteristics of
men who use the Internet to find sexual part-
ners with those who frequent gay venues. The
InterSex2006 project consisted of a quantita-
tive study (a survey in two versions: online and
pen-and-paper) and a qualitative study. The
description and results of the quantitative study
are already published (Fernández-Dávila &
Zaragoza Lorca, 2009).
Participants for the qualitative study were
chosen from men who had completed the
 122 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SEXUAL HEALTH

quantitative survey, either in its online or pen- TABLE 1. Characteristics of the Participants
and-paper version, and who had indicated their Variable f p
clear interest in participating in the interview by
Participant city
leaving an e-mail or telephone contact when
Barcelona 12 38.7%
completing the survey. In total, 446 respon- Madrid 10 32.3%
dents were interested in participating in the in- Bilbao/San Sebastián 9 29.0%
terviews (22% out of 2,044 participants who Place of birth
City of the study 18 58.1%
completed both surveys). Among the 446 inter- Other Spanish city 7 22.6%
ested, we selected a subgroup of participants Other European country 2 6.5%
who answered the question in the survey about Latin America 3 9.7%
Rest of the world 1 3.2%
using the Internet to find sexual partners (n = Age (years)
310). As it was impossible to interview all these 19–24 6 19.4%
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men, we had to start selecting a minimum of 20 25–30 14 45.2%

31–35 7 22.6%
participants. They were chosen randomly from
36–46 4 12.9%
the sample of 310 men. There are no clear data Education
on the rate of rejection, because some e-mail High school 2 6.5%
addresses or phone numbers were poorly writ- Technical School 5 16.1%
Certificate (Advanced)1 4 12.9%
ten and because we believe that many potential University degree 10 32.3%
interviewees failed to read the invitation e-mail Incomplete university studies 10 32.3%
due to antispam filters in the inboxes of e-mail Occupation
Student 7 22.6%
accounts such as Hotmail. We contacted every- Employee 20 64.5%
one on the list at random until we were able to Self-employed 2 6.5%
reach a data saturation.1 Finally, 31 men from Unemployed 2 6.5%
the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and San Sexual orientation
Homosexual/gay 25 80.6%
Sebastián, Spain, participated in the interview. Bisexual 5 16.1%
The choice of geographic areas was based Not defined 1 3.2%
on the fact that these are major Spanish Serologic status
HIV-negative 28 90.3%
cities (Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao/San Se- HIV-positive 3 9.7%
bastián),2 thus making them comparable. Addi- Relationship status
tionally, each of these cities has a greater num- With primary partner 9 29.0%
Without primary partner 22 71.0%
ber of gay and bisexual men using the Inter-
net. The associations Gehitu from San Sebastián 1Higher education below degree level.
and Colectivo de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexu-
ales y Bisexuales de Madrid (COGAM) collab-
orated on the study by providing oversight and of the respondents were born in the same city
resources (e.g., office space for interviews). where the study was carried out (58%). An-
As shown in Table 1, the largest number of other 23% were born in another city than that
respondents was recruited in Barcelona (BCN; of the study, 10% were from Latin America,
n = 12), followed by Madrid (MAD; n = 10) and the other 10% were from the rest of the
and Bilbao/San Sebastián (BSS; n = 9). Most world. The ages ranged from between 19 and
46 years old, with an average age of 29 years.
Most participants had studied to a higher edu-
1Saturation occurs when, after having gathered information
cation level: bachelor’s degree (32%) and cer-
from a number of informants, the researcher has the feeling of not
picking up any new information and that all has been mentioned
tificate/diploma (advanced; 13%). With regard
by the previous informants. to occupation, 65% were employed and 23%
2Bilbao and San Sebastián are considered a single setting of
were university students. Two respondents (7%)
study because both cities have a close connection due to their
were unemployed at the time of the interview.
geographical proximity and the flow of visitors between two cities.
For example, many gay men from San Sebastián visit Bilbao to Eighty-one percent of men self-identified as gay,
contact and meet other men of this city. and 16% self-identified as bisexual. Of the 31
 P. FERNÁNDEZ-DÁVILA AND K. ZARAGOZA LORCA
respondents, 3 were HIV-positive (10%), and
29% reported being in a stable relationship.
The Interview
The study used an in-depth semistructured
interview guide. An aim of the interview guide
was to investigate the ways in which gay and
bisexual men understand their experiences re-
garding the use of the Internet to seek sexual
partners and how this links to unprotected sex.
To obtain this objective, the topics explored
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were:
• the reasons for seeking sexual partners online;
• the considerations for the choosing of, and
meeting with, sexual partners;
• the expectations of the sex date;
• the impact of the Internet on sex life;
• the role played by the Internet in the process
of socializing and meeting partners;
• the grade of satisfaction achieved for this pur-
pose;
• the advantages and disadvantages of using the
Internet to seek sexual partners;
• good and bad experiences of dating sexual
partners met online; and
• the contexts and reasons why gay and bi-
sexual men engage in unprotected sex with
sexual partners met on the Internet and with
those met in other venues.
The interview guide was in Spanish3 and
was validated through a pilot test with three
participants who had the desired characteristics
of the study sample. This provided the oppor-
tunity for the familiarization, review, and cor-
rection of the interview protocol. It also pro-
vided information about the appropriateness of
language and whether the thematic sequences
were developed consistently. We then used this
information to edit and add new questions.
Procedure
This study was approved by the Institutional
Review Board of Stop Sida. When potential par-
3Catalonia and Basque Country are bilingual regions.
123
ticipants had been selected, we proceeded to
call or send an e-mail describing the character-
istics of the study and inviting them to attend a
personal interview. Potential participants were
contacted by each city’s coordinator. Interviews
were also carried out by each city’s coordina-
tors, who had previously received training. Al-
most all interviews were conducted in the head
offices of the collaborating organizations, ex-
cept in the Basque Country—the coordinator in
San Sebastián sometimes had to travel to Bilbao
or other nearby cities to interview the partici-
pants who resided there. When we met with
participants, they gave their informed consent,
and both the interviewee and the interviewer
signed a copy. Respondents were paid 15€ as
economic compensation for time spent and/or
travel expenses.
The interviews lasted an average of 47 min-
utes. The files containing the recordings of the
interviews were assigned an identification code
to maintain the anonymity of respondents. The
interviews were transcribed by the interviewers
who conducted the interviews in each city. The
tapes were erased after transcription.
Analysis
To ensure the reliability of the transcripts,
each was heard and compared to the tran-
scribed material. This allowed for the correc-
tion of inaccuracies and grammatical errors.
The interview transcripts were analyzed us-
ing the grounded theory approach (Glaser &
Strauss, 1967). Grounded theory (the gener-
ation of theory grounded in data) is an an-
alytical, specific, inductive procedure created
to generate concepts and theory from quali-
tative data within a constructionist framework
(Charmaz, 2005). As such, researchers avoid
imposing a theoretical framework a priori and
leave the theory to emerge from the analysis of
data (Ulin, Robinson, Tolley, & McNeill, 2002).
However, we opted to use the modified ap-
proach of grounded theory, proposed by Strauss
and Corbin (1990), both because it emphasizes
meaning, action, and process and because it
incorporates existing theories already found in
 124
the literature of the studied phenomenon into
the “grounded” analysis.
The qualitative analysis software Atlas-ti
version 5.5 was used for data analysis. With
the software, we identified the issues that
we wanted to explore, extracted all relevant
material from each of the interviews, and
categorized it according to codes that sum-
marized the information. The codebook was
constructed from items that appeared in the
reading process for each of the interviews (open
coding). The information that appeared was
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specifically categorized. At the end of the cod-
ing, the codes created were reviewed to ensure
that there was no repetition and to reformulate
low frequency codes. From this analysis, 123
codes emerged. To ensure that coding was reli-
able, we used an intracoder reliability criterion
(Gilhooly & Green, 1996). The intracoder reli-
ability criterion reveals potential differences in
the coding of the same material made by the
coder (the principal investigator) at two differ-
ent times. Thus, if the differences are very small,
the coder is reliable. We randomly selected two
interviews and had them coded once and then
coded again after a month. The calculation of
reliability yielded a rate of .88, indicating that
most of the coding remained intact.4
After all the coding processes, the codes
were compared, contrasted, and ordered into
larger categories until a discernible theme was
identified (axial coding). We proceeded to
group the codes into an array of thematic fam-
ilies. Categories were grouped into families to
produce an analytical account of how the repre-
sented themes intervened and interrelated; this
yielded 11 family codes.5 Only 4 of the 11 fam-
ily codes have been used for the preparation of
this article (the use of the Internet, finding sex-
ual partners, sexual risk practices, and condom
use) because they were the ones focused on In-
ternet use and HIV risk. The process of analysis
4Gilhooly & Green refer to the fact that the coder reliability
should be at least 85% to be considered valid.
5The 11 family codes were: sexual identity, Internet use,
sexual partners, sexual risk practices, drugs use, condom use,
barebacking, awareness of prevention, HIV-positive men, steady
partner, and HIV testing.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SEXUAL HEALTH
itself was conducted by taking family codes that
guided description and discussion as a starting
point. Quotations selected for the preparation
of this article were translated into English by a
native English speaker. They were reverse trans-
lated and examined for accuracy.
RESULTS
Motives for Using Gay Web Sites and
Chat Rooms
There are many reasons that the gay and
bisexual men interviewed chose to use gay Web
sites and chat rooms (a summary of first or main
reasons is described in Table 2). Those motives
help to understand how gay and bisexual men
live their identity and sexual life.
The main reason that the interviewees
stated for using gay Web sites and chat rooms
is the search for an occasional sexual partner.
I think that what people really look for on
those sites, well, let’s say what I personally
look for . . . is sex, is ‘an easy come easy go’
kind of thing. (MAD08; 29 years old)
Among the users of such sites, there is a no-
table number of participants who say that they
have too much free time and that recreational
sex obtained online is a good way to spend it.
I go into the chat to get sex . . . you have a
need, you are bored, don’t know what to do
and the computer is sitting there, you know
the offer is there, you will find something
attractive. (BCN03; 31 years old)
Through the Internet, some of the intervie-
wees have been able to get in touch with other
men who share their same sexual interests (e.g.,
fetishism) or men with a particular profile or cer-
tain physical qualities that would be difficult to
find anywhere else.
Slowly I became interested in some fetish
stuff like leather and such, and then I started
dating other people with the same tastes.
(BSS03; 29 years old)
Other interviewees join gay Web sites aim-
ing to meet people and make new friends. The
 P. FERNÁNDEZ-DÁVILA AND K. ZARAGOZA LORCA 125

TABLE 2. Main Motives to Use Gay Chat Rooms and Web Sites

Motives1 n2 Description

Sexual encounters
Boredom, having free time
Sexual preference (e.g., fetish)
Stable partner
Contact with other men, make friends
Company
Do not go out to the gay scene
Clientele for sex work
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7 Search for casual partners to relieve sexual tension. Bisexual men and gay men with
a steady partner also use it for this purpose.
3 Search for “recreational sex” as a way to spend free time.
2 Contact with others who share their sexual interests or have a specific physical
profile.
5 The sexual encounter can be an excuse to meet a potential steady partner.
5 Fast way to do social networking. In particular, young men and immigrants use it for
this purpose.
2 Search for company and thus to mitigate feelings of loneliness.
2 They feel they do not fit the “sex market,” have no time, and they dislike or feel
jaded by the gay venues.
2 Two respondents, who are sex workers, reported using the Internet to promote

their services and seek clients.

1Generally, many interviewees mentioned more than one motive, but in this table, only the main motive mentioned by a participant

is included. Motives in the text are grouped in supra-categories on this table.

2Three participants do not mention any particular motive.

sexual date can be regarded as an excuse for finding out [I was gay]. (BCN01; 19 years
that purpose. old)

Not that I always have sex in mind. It’s
mainly for meeting people because some-
times you can end up really disappointed.
The profile picture might be 10 years old, or
the actual person might be an asshole. I am
picky. [It’s a way] to meet people, someone
special ( . . . ) that is, you can go to bed with
someone and end up becoming very good
friends. (MAD05; 30 years old)
In the particular instance of immigrant par-
ticipants who were interviewed, the Internet is
regarded as a quicker way to start getting to
know other men and to build up a network
of friends, which would take longer by simply
visiting gay venues.
As an outsider, arriving in a city where you
don’t know anybody ( . . . ), you kind of start
anew making connections rather quickly,
and you know all those people are also do-
ing the same for reasons of their own, what-
ever those might be. (BCN12; 31 years old)
For the younger ones and those who have
yet to “come out of the closet,” the Internet is
a safer way of approaching and getting to know
the gay scene.
I started [to use the Internet] even before
going out to gay venues; it was a way of not
exposing myself to the risk of people I knew
I had still not come out of the closet, I did
not know the world, I did not know the
gay scene, and I began to investigate, and
as there are search engines, it is very easy.
You write ‘gay’ or you write ‘Bilbao gay,’
and then you begin to learn that there are
these webs. (BSS07; 35 years old)
Bisexual men form another group that have
found in the Internet an anonymous and dis-
creet way to contact other men without nec-
essarily being exposed publicly as gay or being
recognized as such in the gay venues if they are
living a secret life.
I have stated [in my profile] personal infor-
mation, that I am married and exactly what
I am looking for. I am looking for a sporadic
relationship without there being any inten-
tion or possibility of it developing further, so
that I won’t be contacted by anyone look-
ing for a boyfriend because I am not avail-
able and that is not my intention. (BCN07;
36 years old)
Some men who are currently in a stable
relationship find a way to meet other men
discreetly without the possibility of getting
caught on the Internet. The following partici-
pant explains how he used the Internet to such
effect when his relationship was going through
some difficulties.
 126
Three years ago, I was in a relationship and
we were living together. I didn’t have the
chance to go out and meet people. We’d
had a terrible year, and our relationship was
suffering so I created a profile. I used to sign
in at work, and it was a way to get a date
anywhere and get down to it without having
to go out to gay bars where someone could
see me. We knew a lot of people and a lot
of people knew us. (MAD05; 30 years old)
Other interviewees perceive they lack the
social skills to approach someone and start a
conversation or pick up men when they go out
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on the scene. They think they do not fit in to
the “sexual meat market” aspect of gay culture.
They also think that it is easier to deal with
rejection online than in a face-to-face situation.
To be honest, I have never felt comfortable
picking up on the gay scene. I have always
felt a little excluded and I had the feeling
that any eventual rejection would be easier
to swallow ( . . . ) The truth is the Internet
affords me the chance to prepare the date
upfront. (MAD07; 33 years old)
There are also those men who admit using
Internet dating due to lack of time, because they
dislike the gay scene, or are bored of going out.
Because of my job, I work on the weekends
so my chances are limited. Add the fact that
I am not the kind of person who likes going
out all night. I am the boring guy among
my friends. And besides, most of my friends
are heterosexual, and saving extraordinary
exceptions, I don’t go to gay venues. The
gay scene is not particularly to my liking.
(BSS08; 20 years old)
Two of the interviewees who are sexual
workers admitted using the Internet to offer
their services and look for clientele. One of
them said that his current occupation was only
temporary and that he promoted himself as a
masseur to avoid identifying himself as a rent
boy.
Some don’t even care about the massage. I
try to focus on the massage to avoid the feel-
ing that I am a sex worker. I always explain
it as such in the chat: ‘therapeutic massage,
erotic-style sensual experience; you ask and
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SEXUAL HEALTH
I provide.’ We start the private chat and I try
to focus on that approach in order for the
encounter to occur under those terms . . .
When I sign in, there must be around 20 or
30 men who are also rent boys. (BCN06;
28 years old)
Some of the interviewees sign onto gay Web
sites searching for companionship and a way to
escape their loneliness.
I just expect to spend some quality time. I
never expect to have the greatest fuck of
my life; I just want to feel intimate, to feel
that I am in someone’s company. (MAD07;
33 years old)
It shows people’s fears and needs. Some de-
scribe themselves very differently, or don’t
say what they are really looking for. I con-
cluded that there is a real need for affection.
In one way or another, we all need to love
and be loved, but for some it goes beyond
that and becomes an excessive need. So the
gay chat is just for sex. Even if the majority
of them post, ‘I am not looking for sex,’ they
are the first to drop their pants. Behind all
that there is a need for, ( . . . ), if you read
between the lines you realize that there is
much loneliness . . . (BCN11; 40 years old)
We can see that looking for sex can rep-
resent an excuse to cover other needs all too
different from sexual ones.
Maybe there are many types of needs . . . I
am not going to place sexual needs first, but
maybe to be with someone, to be accompa-
nied, not having a stable partner. (MAD08;
29 years old)
Other men use gay chat rooms and sites
to indirectly look for a steady relationship and
hope that the occasional encounter will un-
veil some shared interest and eventually lead
to something more permanent and stable.
Deep inside, even if I don’t want to admit it,
I am looking for a partner. [On the Internet,]
you can look for a partner without having
to go out ( . . . ), but then after all, it’s easy
come, easy go most of the time. But I think
it all comes down to looking for a partner.
If you get along with someone, why look
further? (BCN05; 32 years old)
 P. FERNÁNDEZ-DÁVILA AND K. ZARAGOZA LORCA
The latter point is also observed, for in-
stance, when the interviewees are asked to de-
scribe the ideal profile of a sexual partner and
the answer reveals something akin to the de-
scription of a long, stable relationship rather
than sexual preferences or traits.
[I look for] the perfect man, but I can’t find
him . . . An intellectually strong guy, with
a strong ideology. A positive guy, leftist, as
handsome as they come, with an attractive
body, who does what I tell him to do, when
I tell him to do it, and buys me everything
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I want. That would be my wonderful ideal,
and he should be crazy about me and put
up with all of my quirks. That would be per-
fect. I can lower my standards depending
on how I feel on any given day, or what my
needs are. I can actually lower my standards
incredibly . . . (MAD06; 25 years old)
The Significance of the Internet
The Internet has become an important part
of the sexual life of many gay and bisexual men.
It has been given many meanings, and men re-
late to it with the particular significance it rep-
resents to them. One meaning shared by many
of the interviewees is of gay sites as a “market,”
as “castings” of some sort, an “a la carte” menu
that provides what you want exactly how you
want it.
Basically, you go to the chat or search
among the profiles. It’s a bit sad that it is like
a market, but that is the way it is . . . You
say what you want, what you offer, and you
find it or not. (BCN01; 19 years old)
It’s like take-away pizza. You are going to
find whatever you want, whatever you feel
like, and the fact that the other person feels
like what you offer, it’s more and more like
“a la carte” sex. People have a very prede-
termined idea of what they want. (BCN03;
31 years old)
The Internet replicates wider social usages,
in the sense that subcultures or sexual identities
are formed with their own norms and values
that create an obvious discrimination for those
127
gay and bisexual users who do not conform to
those norms and values.
I never scored in the chat. On the Internet
or in nightclubs, what they look for are fit
bodies, and I am a little chubby so I never
expected anything, but since I discovered
bearwww.com, I am successful. Nobody is
looking for movie stars or model physiques
there. As I am handsome and they like them
kind of chubby, I am popular. On the other
sites, I have tried to use that too, but they
are like rightwing gays, only looking for fit
bodies and money, the usual rightwing gay.
Because they are gays with a rightwing men-
tality, aren’t they? It’s all about power, cap-
italism, like Salvation, or Dietrich [two gay
venues in Barcelona], young and handsome
guys, looking for people like them, pretty,
rich, and famous. (BCN02; 26 years old)
Most of the interviewees insist they do not
have any specific type of man in mind when
looking for a sexual partner on the Internet.
However, they list some of the desirable traits
and characteristics when it comes to choos-
ing with reference to attitude (e.g., straight act-
ing), physique (e.g., defined or fit bodies), age
(where most of the time those older than 35
are excluded), sexual role, and penis size. All
of these demands are accompanied by the as-
sociated language that openly excludes those
who do not find themselves within the expected
range of conditions or profile.
There are two kinds I like: those in my age
range and then those between 30 and 35
with gym-toned bodies. As for the rest, they
need to take care of themselves a little,
stay away from drugs, and alcohol . . . they
shouldn’t have a belly. Then there are the
obvious banalities. Everybody likes it big
[the penis], like idiots really . . . the bigger
the better. Then it hurts like you want to
die, but the bigger the better . . . and ev-
erybody likes them handsome and green
eyed . . . (BSS08; 20 years old)
Perhaps one of the negative effects of the
Internet on the life of some men is that it has
an addictive grip on them and becomes a drug
over which the user has lost control.
 128
Some days you’re horny and then you sign
in for a while to see if you get something, but
then you say, ‘What a pile of shit.’ It’s a lit-
tle like an addiction. ( . . . ) During the sum-
mer, because of the heat, I was practically
signed in all day, every day. Heat gets the
hormones going, and as a result I can’t stop;
an addiction is addictive. (BCN04; 25 years
old)
In some extreme cases, the addiction can
be related to psychological impairment and af-
fects normal everyday-life functioning. For ex-
ample, the subject below finally had to look for
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professional help to treat his addiction.
Lately it has been a compulsive thing for
me. I am convinced I am not the only one
in these big cities, I am sure lots of them are
in the same situation ( . . . ), in Barcelona
alone there must be . . . How many? 2,000
people? 1,000? 1,500 people looking for
sex and changing partner everyday, 7 days
a week? That’s rough . . . I can’t control it.
Sometimes I would like not to do it and I still
end up doing it . . . This is something I am
trying to work on with my psychotherapist
right now. My relationship with the Internet
and sex reached the point of having to go
to therapy to try and control it, overcome
it, smooth it out, and stop being a slave to it
all ( . . . ). I notice that each time I go back
to it, in a way, looking for . . . you know, I
am anxious in that moment and I know that
sex is going to make it go away, just like a
drug. (BCN03; 31 years old)
The Sexual Experience
Many interviewees report that their sexual
experience with sexual partners met online is
different from their experience with sexual part-
ners met offline. Therefore sex, already a very
important side of life, is then being reshaped
with new definitions, as in the situation of the
interviewee of the following quote who needs
sex to live, as an artist who lives by his art.
I look for sex on the Internet, and sex is a
vice for me. Like tobacco or alcohol or any-
thing else . . . for me sex is part of my life.
For me sex is like being an artist. (MAD02;
24 years old)
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SEXUAL HEALTH
Many of the interviewees consider sex ob-
tained via the Internet as a selfish experience
about self-gratification, with total disregard for
the other’s enjoyment. Sex has lost its signifi-
cance as a pleasurable act for both parties.
The intention is to get sex immediately.
With the values of today’s gay scene, there
is a lot of superficiality, frivolity, to rush
things, the quickie. There is a lot of self-
ishness . . . (MAD08; 29 years old)
No one is looking to have a pleasurable en-
counter alongside a sexual one, shared ex-
perience, to have a fun time, however short,
even if it’s just sex. That wouldn’t seem so
terrible. I think what most of us there are
looking for is the instant satisfaction of a
moment’s impulse, one-sided sex. (BCN03;
31 years old)
According to the interviewees, this way of
living one’s sexuality can lead to having bad or
unsatisfactory sex.
People do it just for the sake of it ( . . . ).
When I look for sex for the sake of sex, I am
looking for my own pleasure. And people
like me I think fuck around with everybody.
Not that I judge them, because I am worse.
But since they fuck around with everybody,
maybe they just met someone yesterday or
5 hours ago and after that they sign in again,
and cruise me or someone else and fuck for
the sake of it, without any desire. Then I no-
tice it doesn’t satisfy me when he is doing
it on automatic, going through the motions.
It’s sex for the sake of sex. I think every-
body on the Internet is very promiscuous.
They are all looking for sex in the same way.
(MAD02; 24 years old)
Some interviewees report that when sex oc-
curs in that way (“sex for sex”), they have a
feeling of emptiness and disappointment. This
brings to the fore the thought of the misdirec-
tion of some psychological needs through sex
for the perceived lack of a better channel.
You had an amazing experience and you
feel empty . . . like it wasn’t worth it at all.
Now I don’t really think about it, before I
did. At the end you feel emptier, colder.
 P. FERNÁNDEZ-DÁVILA AND K. ZARAGOZA LORCA
You feel worse. You’ve had a fuck and that
was all. (MAD08; 29 years old)
[The feeling of emptiness] is, I suppose, be-
cause you never quite have any emotional
connection with the other person. Besides,
I think it is a very different experience cruis-
ing someone in any live situation than in a
chat. (BCN04; 25 years old)
Other men have an unsatisfactory experi-
ence due to the fact that after a perceived pleas-
ant encounter, the partner loses all interest in
keeping in touch.
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You have a date with someone that raises
your expectations, telling you how you are
his type, that you are ‘cool’; you are nice
and pleasant to be with. After having chased
you all along to get you into bed, when he
gets you there and gets what he wants, it’s
over, no more messages, calls, or anything.
(MAD10; 29 years old)
I don’t know whether it is just the Inter-
net. I don’t think so. People just disappear,
most of them with such ease that it makes
you wonder . . . you see someone and they
see you, and you both know it is not going
to last beyond that very moment, but with
other people everything clicks and they also
vanish. Then you don’t understand a thing
( . . . ). I don’t know if they see the Inter-
net as a quick way to obtain sex immedi-
ately. Maybe it is because of that readiness
that nobody wants to see the same people
and wants to change every day. (BCN05;
32 years old)
It is also common that in the search for sex,
especially when not totally convinced or really
attracted by what they are arranging, the lack
of capacity to say “no” makes the situation em-
barrassing and disagreeable.
The truth is something was telling me I
didn’t like him. But I said to myself: ‘Well,
I’ll meet him.’ And he was very insistent and
well, physically I didn’t like him at all, not a
bit. And we started talking and he touched
me, and I touched him . . . we started kiss-
ing, and I even felt a kind of disgust, I wasn’t
really into it. Yet at the same time I was too
embarrassed to say no, to say: ‘Look, no, I
129
don’t feel like it, let’s leave it for now.’ I felt
bad for having all those thoughts too. And
we got naked and started touching ( . . . ). I
didn’t do anything to him, just touched him
but nothing else. We came and that was it,
it was over. (MAD01; 27 years old)
One of the interviewees admitted that look-
ing for sex for the sake of it has made him lose
his sexual flexibility because of the fact that as-
suming the passive role in the sexual act lets
him bypass the need to live up to or satisfy the
partner’s demands as he would have to do if he
assumed the active role.
When I am in bed, if I am not motivated
to have sex with that person, what I need
is to erase that bad feeling, to ignore that
fact, and I found it easier to do being ver-
satile than being top. I have virtually no re-
sponsibility or obligation to be hard, to hold
longer, to put on the condom, to be careful
if it hurts, wait a little . . . and all that. No,
I turn my back, have the same fun and it’s
done. Not that I like it that way, that is why
I am trying to control all of this stuff . . . I
don’t like it when I realize that in the past
months and because of an uncontrolled and
wild use of the Internet, I have been totally
losing my top side. It was like losing an im-
portant side of my sexuality because I love
to push it in. (BCN03; 31 years old)
The Internet, Trust, and Unprotected Sex
A decisive part in the process of making a
date is the perceived trust transmitted by the
other person. This trust is a result of the “good
feeling” built up during the virtual interaction in
those initial steps.
We should be looking for the same things.
He should be trustworthy, or as trustworthy
as one can be after a few chats on the In-
ternet. He should give me a good feeling.
(BSS03; 29 years old)
I guess I look at the body and for him not
to be an asshole, to feel we can get along
well sexually. If not, what’s a date for? It’s
only words, you don’t even have the tone
of voice, but you can arrive at a conclusion
 130
with other clues. You can imagine. (BCN01;
19 years old)
Some go as far as to read the other’s mind
from the interaction, based on what is being
said and how it is being said alone, and claim
to be able to assess the other’s mental health or
lack thereof.
I evaluate language a lot. The words being
used give me the signs I need to trust or
not. For instance, when there is a cascade of
repetitive messages in an obsessive fashion,
I give it a miss. When I have the feeling the
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other is centered and composed, I go for it.
(MAD07; 33 years old)
You have to be able to read between the
lines. I consider myself to be a very empa-
thetic person; I have been wrong very few
times in my assessments. (BCN01; 19 years
old)
Thus, the trust built up generates the hope
that the sexual encounter that follows will be a
success and that it will be a good experience.
Firstly, if the person makes me feel like I can
trust him, something which is difficult—not
through Internet or messages, but rather
from some kind of vibration—if I can de-
tect the slightest intention beyond sex or
that he’s looking for or is potentially inter-
ested in something else, I normally discount
him. (BCN07; 36 years old)
The same trust that helped the date take
place is that which will decide whether or not
unprotected sex will take place with partners
met through the Internet. This leads apparently
neither to negotiating nor talking about the use
of a condom.
[Unprotected sex depends on] trust and
confidence in the other person, I think . . .
I have to feel comfortable, very relaxed. In
a situation where everything happens nat-
urally . . . nothing was said on those oc-
casions I had unprotected sex. (MAD10;
29 years old)
He told me [after finishing] that he felt I was
trustworthy, but that is nonsense. A per-
son you just met 1 day from the Internet
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SEXUAL HEALTH
can look trustworthy to you, but that means
nothing. (BCN10; 27 years old)
An element that is associated with trustwor-
thiness is the other person having a stable re-
lationship as it presupposes a pattern of sexual
behavior and responsibility.
I knew the guy. You are never sure 100%,
but the guy didn’t really have more than
one or two sexual relationships, all of them
with his partner who had left him. I trusted
him because of that. (BSS02; 26 years old)
I felt at ease to a certain extent. He told
me he only did it with his partner, and
he trusted me, so I thought if he has only
been with one person, nothing can happen.
(BCN10; 27 years old)
Thus, it is common to look for hints or key
elements in the sexual partner (e.g., having few
sexual partners) to reinforce trust.
It depends whether I feel at ease with that
person and whether I can trust him. I know
trust is very abstract in those terms, but
at least I should perceive I can trust him.
[Trust] that this person is not changing part-
ner constantly or is too promiscuous, and
he is clean. Of course there are some things
that are impossible to judge. It’s just a very
subjective issue. I could be wrong . . . I sim-
ply don’t like to use them (the condom).
Then I try to find positive points about that
person in order to trust him, and if I can’t
find them, then I will avoid anal sex on the
first occasion. (BCN07; 36 years old)
Some men assume that sexual partners are
HIV-negative because of a statistical probability.
This is another element that is drawn upon to
build trust and go ahead with unprotected sex.
Trust, people just trust that there are
more healthy HIV-negative guys than HIV-
positive ones. Therefore, they will not be
infected. You go on trusting that most of
them are healthy, and most of them are,
aren’t they? If you look at the statistics, how
many people in Barcelona are HIV-positive?
That is why there are far more healthy ones.
(BCN10; 27 years old)
 P. FERNÁNDEZ-DÁVILA AND K. ZARAGOZA LORCA
The Internet and More Sexual Risk
Here we see some of the reasons why
gay and bisexual men who use the Internet to
search for a sexual partner have more sexual risk
behaviors when compared with other spaces.
The Internet offers the possibility of building up
a profile, an image of the potential partner that
resonates through the online interaction and
creates a positive energy, which ultimately leads
to trust and eventually to a date.
It depends on the feedback you get. Some-
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times you just don’t get this reciprocity and
so you just chat superficially. One thing
about the net is the trust it generates be-
tween people. That can be good or bad.
It can be a double-edged sword. (BSS09;
26 years old)
Sometimes finding a partner on the Inter-
net is a time-consuming task that requires pa-
tience because people have the tendency to
be more demanding and selective to find the
right profile. On the Internet, the potential can-
didate is evaluated thoroughly. There are many
filters, which make the search a more selective
one thus rendering the number of materialized
dates lower than it might seem.
Among all those people that send you
something, you have a look around; you
are always more demanding than in real
life. We all want Ken, Barbie’s boyfriend
( . . . ). And if you have time, you go see
through the pages, like looking around in
the supermarket. If you like someone, you
write to him. (BSS08; 20 years old)
Another element that could explain why gay
and bisexual men engage in more risky sexual
behavior with men they meet via the Internet
is that for comfort, trust, and privacy, they pre-
fer not to have anal penetration in gay venues
where sex is practiced.
I do everything except for penetration. For
me, penetration is something more inti-
mate, and I prefer to do it in a place where
I can have total control. Sometimes there is
penetration, but it’s not where I like to do it,
but there is sucking and being sucked and
those little things I do . . . because many
131
times it (an erection) comes and goes, it goes
up and down; so if it happens, it happens,
but I still prefer the other things. (MAD06;
25 years old)
In gay venues, it is often rather difficult to
engage in a more personal conversation with
other men, and that seems to be the cause of
higher awareness and distrust of the men there.
This mistrust then leads to the inclination to-
ward the use of condom.
In those places, I always use condoms, as
not everybody is healthy. I always choose
guys I really like, but I know they could be
infected. That is why I use condoms. ( . . . )
I know it is the most dangerous place. For
me to go with someone without a condom,
there would need to be a set of conditions.
( . . . ) I am not stupid. Now, if I go to a disco
and cruise a really fit guy, I don’t use one.
I do have a special antenna, like an alert
signal . . . (MAD02; 24 years old)
DISCUSSION
This research provides insight into, and
forges a deeper understanding of the quan-
titative results of the InterSex2006 project
(Fernández-Dávila & Zaragoza Lorca, 2009). It
represents one of a very few studies that offer
an explanation of why many men who seek sex-
ual partners online expose themselves to sexual
risk. The results show that the Internet is shap-
ing the lifestyle of many of those interviewed. It
imposes new forms of relationships and ways of
living their sexuality. We must, therefore, con-
sider gay Web sites/chat rooms as a social en-
vironment that shapes new social and sexual
networks and practices.
The Internet has become a vital element
in the development of identity and sexual self-
expression of many gay and bisexual men. Most
young interviewees started to use the Internet
as an anonymous and secure way of contact-
ing others when they began to explore their
sexuality and still distrust the idea of revealing
themselves in public gay venues. This form of
contact with others provides a quick and ef-
fective option to meet and interact with other
 132
men, without risking not being allowed access
to gay venues while they are still minors. For
this reason, it has been suggested that the In-
ternet plays a key role in the psychological and
sexual adjustment and acculturation in young
gay and bisexual men (Garofalo et al., 2007).
As Hillier and Harrison (2007) and Léobon and
Frigault (2008) point out, the Internet influences
the construction of their identities and pro-
motes self-disclosure, self-discovery, sexual ex-
ploration, consolidation of sexual identity, and
social support, as well as strengthening the com-
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munity bonds. As this group is notoriously diffi-
cult to access and is at a higher risk for contract-
ing STIs, it only reinforces the need to intervene
through the Internet with preventive messages
to reach this group (Rietmeijer, Bull, McFarlane,
Patnaik, & Douglas, 2003).
For some interviewees, looking for sexual
partners online is like a “sexual meat market.”
Understanding the dynamics of that sex mar-
ket can help predict the frequency and dis-
tribution of sexual partners, which occur as
outcomes of that sex market. Such dynamics
have sociological and epidemiological implica-
tions (Morrow & Sivan, 2006). On gay Web
sites, we can find multiple behaviors with re-
spect to the Internet sex market, ranging from
agents trying to date only the most attractive
members of the population to “playing it safe”
and only dating those most similar in attrac-
tiveness to themselves (Morrow & Sivan, 2006).
The sex market demonstrates selective assort-
ment of behaviours. This can create exclusive
interaction dynamics that can be felt as “un-
worthy,” as expressed by some participants.
More research on the symbolic significance of
the Internet to find sexual partners should be
done to obtain a nuanced understanding of this
phenomenon.
The Internet offers a wide range of spe-
cialized gay Web sites, chat rooms, and other
means, each one able to develop its own rules
and norms among specific groups and subcul-
tures (e.g., general Web sites, from muscle men,
bears, and leather men, to sado-masochism or
bareback). The expression of different sexual
subcultures has been facilitated by the creation
of highly specialized sites on the Web (Brown
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SEXUAL HEALTH
et al., 2005; Léobon & Frigault, 2008). Some of
these subcultures may be exclusive; they repli-
cate, optimize, or make explicit (without fear of
social censure) the same values or bias (related
to race, appearance, gender roles, origin, or so-
cial class) given in the real world (Chin, 2002;
Chin & Kaufman, 2003). For example, one in-
terviewee pointed out that feeling left out or
having very little success in general on Web sites
for being fat mirrored what happened in cer-
tain gay venues. Likewise, some virtual spaces
may reflect in a similar manner the sexual risk
environments that exist in the real world (e.g.,
sex bars, saunas) and for that reason should be
treated like any other space (McKirnan et al.,
2007; Simon Rosser et al., 2009). In an inter-
vention online, it should be possible to target
these subcultures with specific selectively tai-
lored messages and to reach some groups that
might not be present in the more traditional
spaces of HIV/STI prevention more effectively.
Given the life situation of many gay men
(single and without the increased responsibility
that a family implies), many of them have free
time and use the Internet as a way of search-
ing for recreational sex. In this situation, experi-
enced by some as “time poorly spent,” it would
be important for organizations and the gay com-
munity to create and promote other alterna-
tive spaces of socialization. These would facil-
itate different opportunities for meeting men
in venues that are not necessarily sexualized
(Fernández-Dávila, 2009) and would encour-
age the construction of other types of relation-
ships among gay/bisexual men (friendship, ro-
mantic relationships, etc.).
One of the disadvantages or negative con-
sequences that may bring about the high use
of the Internet to seek sexual partners is that
this behavior may be at levels of addiction,
as some interviewees mentioned. According
to Bancroft (2008) and Grov et al. (2008),
there are some gay and bisexual men who
are experiencing sexual thoughts/behaviors per-
ceived as “out of control.” Thus, the use of the
Internet to seek sexual partners may be associ-
ated with, in some cases, compulsive behaviors
(Engler, Frigault, Léobon, & Lévy, 2007; Kalich-
man, Cherry, Cain, Pope, & Kalichman, 2005).
 P. FERNÁNDEZ-DÁVILA AND K. ZARAGOZA LORCA
However, it is difficult to estimate the relation-
ship between the use of the Internet to seek sex-
ual partners and sexual compulsivity. It has been
suggested that rates of sexual compulsivity are
higher among gay and bisexual men (Cooper,
Delmonico, & Burg, 2000) and that a link be-
tween sexual compulsivity and sexual risk be-
haviors exists (Smolenski, Ross, Risser, & Simon
Rosser, 2009). Health professionals or interven-
tions on the Internet must identify strategies to
reduce the negative consequences of using the
Internet to seek sexual partners, which can lead
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to addiction (e.g., by suggesting that users limit
the amount of time spent online).
While gay Web sites and chat rooms are
aimed at facilitating contacts between men, and
their main use is the search for sex, we found
that there are other reasons behind this process.
Through the Internet, some interviewees sought
to channel not just sexual needs. For example,
there is a strong need to meet others and reduce
feelings of loneliness. Other men connect to the
Internet to look either for company or romantic
relationships, without sex being the main pur-
pose, even though they later end up in a sexual
relationship. In this respect, Fernández-Dávila
(2009) explains that the search for casual sex
masks emotional needs camouflaged by sex-
ual desire. The men who have participated in
his study went also to sexual encounters look-
ing for other experiences rather than sex, such
as interpersonal connection, social acceptance,
or emotional release. Looking for experiences
other than sex is the struggle with the connec-
tion between sex and relationship and having
sex only for the sake of it (e.g., devoid of a re-
lationship) among many gay and bisexual men
regardless of the place where sexual partners
are met.
We therefore find that in many cases,
looking for sexual partners on the Internet
shows more the momentary pursuit of com-
pany, rather than the search for sex. Sometimes,
some men hope to find a relationship that goes
beyond a simple “one night stand.” If the ex-
perience was good and they had a good time,
many hope to repeat it. Nevertheless, based on
the experience of the men interviewed, in the
133
vast majority of these cases, this does not occur.
This leads to the living of sexuality in an unsat-
isfactory manner, because the sex they have in
many cases is impersonal, mechanical, focused
on the genital, and devoid of any emotion. In
other cases, it appears that the need to find
someone with whom to establish a more sta-
ble relationship is hidden behind the search for
sex with casual partners. However, they do not
confess their true intentions to seek a partner
because they know they will not be “welcome”
and will therefore be neglected when online.
This can create a repetitive circle that makes
many men go to the Internet to find a potential
boyfriend.
One question that arises from the results
of the studies that link the Internet with sex-
ual risk is why men who use the Internet to
find sexual partners are more exposed to sex-
ual risk. Perhaps men prone to engage in sex-
ual risk may be more likely to use the Internet
to meet sexual partners than those who prac-
tice safe sex. Even studies that have found that
meeting sexual partners online is not associated
with higher risk (Al-Tayyib, McFarlane, Kachur,
& Rietmeijer, 2009; Chiasson et al., 2007;
Mustanski, 2007) suggest that men already
prone to high-risk behavior use the Internet as
a tool to find sexual partners. It means that
men at high risk may be more likely to use
the Internet as a main or supplementary means
of finding sexual partners. However, this ex-
planation in itself ignores the dynamic process
of seeking sex online, which may increase the
risk behavior and the transmission of HIV/STIs
more than when looking for sexual partners
in other spaces (Liau et al., 2006). The Inter-
net is an environment that widens the access
to sexual partners and adds to those who are
met in other spaces, thus potentially increas-
ing the prevalence of sexual activity and the
likelihood of unprotected sex. Simon Rosser
et al. (2009) found that the primary way that
the Internet increases the risk for HIV/STIs is
by increasing the efficiency of the initiation of
sexual contact. Thus, the dynamics or ways
in which the contact is established on the
Internet can give us clues about why gay and
 134
bisexual men who seek sexual partners online
practice more unsafe sex as opposed to those
who search in other spaces. Users of gay Web
sites, after “choosing” a potential sexual partner,
establish a dialogue or conversation through the
chat room or the exchange of messages about
tastes, practices, proximity, or other topics of
interest for the purpose of having a date. The
meeting may not be immediate, so many men
maintain communication by the MSN Messen-
ger, while fewer do so by phone. This leads
to more filters that provide more information
Downloaded by [Ondokuz Mayis Universitesine] at 03:55 05 November 2014
about the potential sexual partner, so subjective
elements begin to play a key factor in assess-
ing the type of person who may be the future
sexual partner. This can build trust on the ba-
sis of “a good feeling” and could even lead to
an assumption about the state of health of the
other person. By contrast, in gay venues where
sex is practiced, there is a tacit policy whereby
men avoid talking (the prevailing norm of si-
lence or nonverbal communication). In these
spaces, many men know absolutely nothing
about the sexual partner so that they may feel
suspicious about the health of that person and
therefore practice safe sex. At this point, we
would emphasize that applying the methodol-
ogy of grounded theory to analyze the narratives
of the participants has served to reveal the value
of “trust” and “sexual interaction on the Inter-
net” as key concepts explaining unprotected sex
with sexual partners met online. These findings
add new knowledge or theory to understand
the phenomenon we have studied.
Those interviewees who acknowledged
having had unprotected sex with casual part-
ners said that, in most cases, these events were
not wanted or sought out deliberately. There-
fore, they were not linked to barebacking, a
trend increasingly common in some users who
seek sex on the Internet. Their experiences of
unprotected sex are described as “lapses” or
“slip-ups,” and within this context, many of the
motivations and/or circumstances that led to
unprotected sex were related to subjective eval-
uations (e.g., trust) about the risk and the state
of health of the casual partner. Some qualitative
studies have already set out the importance of
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SEXUAL HEALTH
subjectivity in the decision to have unprotected
sex (Adams & Neville, 2009). These evaluations
are based on beliefs, nonverbal messages, or
personal assumptions that are based on intu-
ition, personal interpretations, trust, and emo-
tional states (Fernández-Dávila, 2007). The re-
lationships that are built and that convey trust
make men feel more comfortable and relaxed.
This can generate a more intense sexual dy-
namic that leads them to take less care of them-
selves sexually. In concordance with this, we
agree with the hypothetical approach of McKir-
nan et al. (2007), who explain that the risk
on the Internet comes from an interaction of
preexisting psychosocial vulnerabilities in the
individual and the properties of the Internet
itself. In this sense, men with psychosocial vul-
nerabilities (e.g., loneliness, depression, social
isolation) may be particularly prone to avoid
thinking about HIV, so in the anonymity of the
virtual world, they can meet sexual partners to
engage in unprotected sex. Men tired of sex-
ual restrictions (e.g., prevention messages about
always using a condom) can approach the In-
ternet as a sexual space, where concerns about
infection or long-term health needs are not cog-
nitively present. Those who are motivated to
switch off cognitively during sex may approach
the Internet as a space where this behavior is
“supported.” To the extent that men do not
want to think about sexual health, the Internet
can be an attractive space to find sexual partners
and a space where HIV does not need to be cog-
nitively present. These processes operate inde-
pendently from the number of sexual partners
that one can have, which indicates that this is
not simply a matter of greater sexual availability.
The Internet is a space where risk factors
(trust, assumptions) and protective factors (se-
lection of partners, ground rules, and safe-sex
negotiation) can operate simultaneously. Like
any other social or sexual space, the environ-
ment can influence but not determine behav-
ior. Greater attention should be paid to the
assumptions, choices, and actions that take
place via the Internet (Brown et al., 2005).
Prevention programs should design messages
that attempt to counteract these subjective
 P. FERNÁNDEZ-DÁVILA AND K. ZARAGOZA LORCA
constructions that lead many men to engage
in unprotected sex.
One limitation of this study is having used
only one data collection technique. It would
have been interesting to triangulate these data
with information obtained from other tech-
niques (e.g., discussion groups) to add more
rigor to our results. Another limitation was that
data analysis was done generally because a dif-
ferential analysis of the sample of each of the
cities was not exhaustive. An analysis of this type
can help us identify geographical and/or cul-
Downloaded by [Ondokuz Mayis Universitesine] at 03:55 05 November 2014
tural differences among gay and bisexual men
in Spain. However, those limitations do not di-
minish the valuable contribution of the findings
to the understanding of the phenomena stud-
ied, because the testimonies of the interviewees
regarding the use of the Internet to seek sexual
partners and its impact on their sexual lives and
unprotected sex are a sign or reflection of mean-
ings constructed and shared in social and sexual
interaction. This appears to happen to many gay
and bisexual men when seeking sexual partners
on the Internet.
Due to its widespread use and dissemina-
tion, the Internet offers limitless opportunities
and challenges for researchers to carry out stud-
ies based on its use. The tendency to use the
Internet to find sexual partners is likely to con-
tinue. Like any technology, online dating and
the ways in which Internet users use technol-
ogy to interact with others will change, which is
to say, technological advances and online dat-
ing will become more common and socially
acceptable (Couch & Liamputtong, 2008).
Therefore, it is important to continue paying
attention to the phenomenon of looking for
and meeting sexual partners online. The po-
tential psycho-socio-sexual benefits of the In-
ternet on the lives of gay and bisexual men
should be further investigated. The importance
of psychosocial factors in preventive interven-
tions in cyberspace and the reasons why men
enter into the Internet to seek sexual partners
must likewise be considered. It is important to
understand the process of seeking sexual part-
ners to determine the best method to reach men
at high risk for infection (some effective online
HIV/STIs health promotion interventions target-
135
ing gay and bisexual men have been developed:
Bull, Pratte, Whitesell, Rietmeijer, & McFarlane,
2009; Carpenter, Stoner, Mikko, Dhanak, &
Parsons, 2010; Klausner, Levine, & Kent, 2004;
McFarlane, Kachur, Klausner, Roland, & Co-
hen, 2005; Moskowitz, Melton, & Owczarzak,
2009; Rhodes et al., 2010; Tian et al., 2007;
Williams, Bowen, & Ei, 2010). However, the
challenge is not in describing new risk behav-
iors but in identifying new methods to measure
how sexual behavior occurs and what role the
online interventions to reduce the risk for trans-
mission of STIs and HIV can play (Brown et al.,
2005). Encouraging men to be more conscious
of their vulnerabilities and their risk behaviors
can help them to resist their powerful attraction
to the risk contained in the sexual environment
of the Internet. Finally, it is necessary to rethink
the concepts of risk in HIV prevention to open
space to a conception of the risk pertaining to
the online society (Davis, Hart, Bolding, Sherr,
& Elford, 2006).
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