“There is a supposed phenomenon in the LGBT community called “bug-chasers” where there are people who specifically try to get HIV and sexual “bugs.” It’s a community that you get yourself into, where it is mutually agreed upon and understood. There are apparently parties for it and there are gatherings for it, because many people in the gay community have such high anxiety about getting HIV that they basically want to get it over with because it seems inevitable. Another reason is because they want to feel like they fit in, and the HIV community is very established and secure, so some people go searching to become a ‘member’ so to speak, so that they can feel included. I have been warned about these people several times by other gay guys, because sometimes you do not know who is a ‘bug chaser’ and who isn’t. They are kind of like the gay boogeyman in the gay community, with fear that a ‘giftgiver,’ or someone who gives people HIV would prey on someone else.”

The notion of ‘bugchasers’ and ‘giftgivers’ is somewhat foreign to the heterosexual community, but according to David is very common knowledge in the gay community. He claims that although the terms are used for individuals who give and wish to receive AIDS and HIV, they can also be used to describe someone who wishes to give AIDS or HIV to unsuspecting victims—hence the boogeyman analogy.