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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   2870 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 8, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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Lastly, does it make a difference who the receptive partner is - is Carl more or less likely to contract HIV from Bob if he's the bottom than if he's the top, or does it make a difference?

Yes, tops rarely contract HIV through performing anal sex on bottoms (though it is thought to be marginally more common in uncircumcised men than circumsised ones.) Bottoming is the main cause of contracting HIV among men who have sex with men.

I don't know if there is any research on whether a woman receiving anal sex is more, less or the same riskiness as a man receiving anal sex in terms of HIV transmission rates but I'm curious to know the answer.

Unfortunately, most studies specifically looking at heterosexual anal intercourse are either explicitly or implicitly about Vulnerable Populations, which leaves little reason to trust it can be meaningfully compared with the typical study of gay intercourse. Or they just use gay numbers directly for estimates.

There's mechanical and social reasons that it could be riskier for bottoming men (guys on average like it rougher, the prostate exists) or women (less likely to stretch themselves recreationally, selection effects on partners), but it's probably not a knowable number, and my gut check is that it's probably not an orders of magnitude difference.

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