Gay and bisexual men's experiences of bathhouse culture and sex: ‘looking for love in all the wrong places’

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe gay and bisexual men's experiences of bathhouses and their perceptions of HIV risk associated with sex in this context. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of gay and bisexual men-14 HIV-positive and 9 HIV-negative-who reported ever frequenting a bathhouse. The sample was selected from the Polaris HIV Seroconversion Study, a longitudinal open cohort study of documented recent seroconverters and HIV-negative controls in Ontario, Canada. Interview transcripts were analysed using a narrative approach. Four major themes were identified concerning views of gay bathhouse culture and environments; moral conceptions of self and others at a bathhouse; identity management at a bathhouse; and psychosocial functions of gay bathhouses. HIV transmission is a salient component of bathhouse culture; therefore, bathhouses are critical environments for the promotion of safer sex activities among gay and bisexual men.