Drug, sex and sociality: Factors associated with the recent sharing of injecting equipment among gay and bisexual men in Australia

Patterns of illicit drug use among Australian gay and bisexual men are strongly influenced by gay community cultural norms and practices that underpin the types of drugs men prefer, the contexts in which these drugs are used, their accepted modes of administration and widespread support for harm reduction (Southgate & Hopwood, 2001). Specific patterns of drug use for socialising, partying, weight-training, sexual activity and coming-down are normalised within gay communities and are embedded within gay-cultural practices that aim to enhance sociality and sexual pleasure in both private and commercial spaces (Dowsett et al., 2005, Southgate and Hopwood, 2001). Patterns of drug use such as these that are forged through social-sexual relations rather than individual practice have been evident among Western, urban gay communities for several decades yet remain relatively under-explored (Green and Halkitis, 2006, Reback, 1997).