Jaime García-Iglesias

My work analyses bug chasing, the group of gay men who fetishize and seek HIV infection, known as bug chasers. I aim to study how bug chasers reconceptualise HIV to create a new viral ontology that permits the establishing of new modes of connectedness, belonging and intimacy across physical and digital spaces. Additionally, I am also interested in the material politics of bug chasing.

My project will take into account the historical and social contexts of HIV infection, as well as gay men’s relation with online spaces and digital media. I am particularly interested in applying an ethnographic perspective heavily grounded in in-depth interviews, observation, and creative methodologies.