Gay Men Are More Likely To Have Unprotected Sex With Hot Dudes

There are a lot of advantages to being an exceptionally attractive person, but STI immunity isn’t one of them.

By Rachel Sugar

Gay men are more likely to have unprotected sex if their partner is hot, says a new study from the University of Westminster in London. Of the 160 guys surveyed, a full 94 percent said they’d be less likely to wrap it up “with a good looking guy,” then they would with a normal looking dude. Unfortunately for everyone, though, this doesn’t make a lot of sense. There are a lot of advantages to being an exceptionally attractive person, but STI immunity isn’t one of them: hot dudes are as likely to pass on infections as anyone else. Hooking up with someone extra-pretty is cause for celebration, but, as Queerty puts it, probably not so much celebration that you throw “caution (and condoms) to the wind.” 

But the study, published by Britain’s Pink News, also showed that while guys were more likely to bareback with hotties, there’s plenty of not-super-advisable barebacking going on between average looking folks, too: 70 percent of respondents said they think sex without condoms is “more pleasurable and exciting,” (which, okay) and 80 percent have had unprotected sex with a stranger.

Researchers blame hookup apps like Grindr for encouraging “risky” sexual behavior, and claim that “the increasing availability of bareback pornography” could be part of the problem, too. However hot or not-hot a date is, one probably wants to use a condom, at least until everyone involved have made a conscious and thoughtful and tested choice not to use a condom. 

Channeling our inner high school health teacher, let’s take a minute to remember: you cannot tell if a person is carrying something just by looking at them. And that’s true even if they’re very, very nice to look at.

Image via HBO