ssh-chemsex-study-final-main-report

A large number of men reported a greater likelihood of
engaging in fisting (ano-brachial intercourse) while under
the influence of drugs, particularly crystal meth but also
ketamine. Pre-existing limits of sexual expression were
very person-specific but there was general agreement
that drugs encouraged you to keep pushing boundaries
to try new, and potentially more extreme, activities.
“ Crystal meth, when you inject it, it just feels very dirty.
Just very sleazy. All your inhibitions just lower […] You
do stuff that you wouldn’t normally do, you would
be into different fetishes that you probably wouldn’t
usually be in to. ”
[Aged 24, diagnosed HIV positive]
Participants felt it was much more likely they would try
to enact sexual fantasies while under the influence of
drugs than if they were sober. Many such fantasies had
been influenced by pornography. This was the case with
both casual and regular partners with several of those
in longer-term relationships describing how drugs could
add excitement to a familiar, and perhaps staid, sexual
setting.
Some men mentioned that drugs raised their pain
threshold so that they were able to engage in physically
rougher sex, including receptive intercourse from a large
number of people in quick succession, or sex that was in
other ways potentially painful.
“ The thing about crystal is it desensitises you so that
you can do stuff you wouldn’t normally do. […] Fisting.
Double fisting. How much can I get up their arse? It’s
so desensitised by the drug that […] if you didn’t have
any of those drugs, your body would be feeling stuff
and you wouldn’t be able to do such extreme things
[Aged 48, diagnosed HIV positive]
”
This sense of sexual adventurism while on drugs was
valued and facilitated sexual enjoyment. However,
nearly all men described personal experiences where
boundaries had perhaps been pushed too far or where
drugs were having a detrimental impact on longer-term
sexual satisfaction. Some were concerned that once
people (themselves included) began using drugs to
facilitate more adventurous sex, there was a danger that
this could continue unrestrained. A few men talked of
“chasing the dragon” – always searching for the next high,
the next level of sexual adventure or experimentation,
never content with their immediate surroundings.
“ I think it might be partly because people are high and
their attention span’s not really as good. It’s quite short
and like they think, “I’m bored with that now, let’s try
something else”. Constantly looking for more and
extra stimulation. ”
[Aged 23, last tested HIV negative]
It was also the case that as men took more drugs in quick
succession to enhance their sexual experience, they were
more likely to overdose – leading to a complex situation
for themselves and those around them (see section 7.1).
“ When people are on G it’s like their communication
centre shuts down and it’s very much instinctual […]
But then also, because you’ve done too much it means
you’re impotent – not with your penis, but in that you
can’t actually do what you want to do, which is have
sex. They’re so wasted they scrabble around for five
minutes and then pass out.
[Aged
”
21, last tested HIV negative]
Engaging in more extreme sex also enhanced feelings
of shame, particularly when men became involved
in sex that was very submissive or, conversely, very
dominating. Such shame was often assuaged with drugs
in a complex spiral of chemsex reinforcement. While
many men celebrated the sense of sexual adventure that
drugs facilitated, a few had come to question where their
fantasies were better left as fantasy. Some were very
happy with their sex lives but others started to wonder
whether drugs were enabling them to have the kind of
sex they really wanted.
‘Some were very happy with their sex lives
but others started to wonder whether drugs
were enabling them to have the kind of sex
they really wanted.’
The Chemsex Study | 5. THE IMPACT OF DRUGS ON SEXUAL PLEASURE AND SEXUAL PERFORMANCE 46