‘I did not have sex outside of our bubble’ : changes in sexual practices and risk reduction strategies among sexual minority men in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic

Daroya, Emerich; Gaspar, Mark; Perez-Brumer, Amaya; Barry, Adam; Lachowsky, Nathan J.; Moore, David; Sang, Jordan M.; Lambert, Gilles; Hart, Trevor A.; Cox, Joseph; Jollimore, Jody; Tan, Darrell H. S.; Grace, Daniel; Grey, Cornel; Skakoon-Sparling, Shayna; Lessard, David; Klassen, Ben

‘I did not have sex outside of our bubble’ : changes in sexual practices and risk reduction strategies among sexual minority men in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic

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dc.contributor.author: Daroya, Emerich; Gaspar, Mark; Perez-Brumer, Amaya; Barry, Adam; Lachowsky, Nathan J.; Moore, David; Sang, Jordan M.; Lambert, Gilles; Hart, Trevor A.; Cox, Joseph; Jollimore, Jody; Tan, Darrell H. S.; Grace, Daniel; Grey, Cornel; Skakoon-Sparling, Shayna; Lessard, David; Klassen, Ben
dc.date.accessioned: 2024-07-15T18:39:21Z
dc.date.available: 2024-07-15T18:39:21Z
dc.date.issued: 2022-11-06
dc.description.abstract - en: In efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, jurisdictions across the globe, including Canada, enacted containment measures that affected intimacy and sexual relations. This article examines how public health measures during COVID-19 impacted the sexual practices of sexual minority men— gay, bisexual, queer and other men who have sex with men—and how they adopted and modified guidelines to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We conducted 93 semi-structured interviews with men (n = 93) in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, between November 2020 to February 2021 (n = 42) and June to October 2021 (n = 51). Across jurisdictions, participants reported changes to sexual practices in response to public health measures and shifting pandemic contexts. Many men indicated that they applied their HIV/STI risk mitigation experiences and adapted COVID-19 prevention strategies to continue engaging in casual sexual behaviours and ensure sexual safety. ‘Social bubbles’ were changed to ‘sex bubbles’. Masks were turned into ‘safer’ sex tools. ‘Outdoor gathering’ and ‘physical distancing’ were transformed into ‘outdoor sex’ and ‘voyeuristic masturbation’. These strategies are examined in connection to the notion of ‘reflexive mediation’ to illustrate how sexual minority men are simultaneously self-responsibilising and resistant, self-monitoring and creative.
dc.description.sponsorship: The Engage COVID-19 study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (#VR5-172677) and the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. SSS was supported by a CIHR postdoctoral fellowship. JMS was supported by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) Trainee award and a CTN CIHR Canadian HIV/AIDS Trials Network postdoctoral fellowship award. NJL was supported by a MSFHR Scholar Award (#16863). TAH was supported by a Chair in Gay and Bisexual Men’s Health from the Ontario HIV Treatment Network. DHST is supported by a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in HIV Prevention and STIs. DG is supported by a Canada Research Chair in Sexual and Gender Minority Health.
dc.identifier.doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2022.2139414
dc.identifier.issn: 1464-5351
dc.identifier.pubmedID: 36336339
dc.identifier.uri: https://open-science.canada.ca/handle/123456789/2689
dc.language.iso: en
dc.publisher: Informa UK Limited
dc.rights - en: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
dc.rights - fr: Creative Commons Attribution - Pas d'utilisation commerciale - Pas de modification 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - en: Gold
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - fr: Or
dc.rights.uri - en: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.rights.uri - fr: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.fr
dc.subject - en: Health; Coronavirus diseases; Sexually transmitted diseases; Prevention
dc.subject - fr: Santé; Maladie à coronavirus; Maladie transmise sexuellement; Prévention
dc.subject.en - en: Health; Coronavirus diseases; Sexually transmitted diseases; Prevention
dc.subject.fr - fr: Santé; Maladie à coronavirus; Maladie transmise sexuellement; Prévention
dc.title - en: ‘I did not have sex outside of our bubble’ : changes in sexual practices and risk reduction strategies among sexual minority men in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic
dc.type - en: Article
dc.type - fr: Article
local.article.journalissue: 9
local.article.journaltitle: Culture, Health & Sexuality
local.article.journalvolume: 25
local.pagination: 1147-1163
local.peerreview - en: Yes
local.peerreview - fr: Oui