The previous blog entry discussed the first article in a special section of the recent issue of the Archives of Sexual Behavior. The journal presents a number of articles devoted to the issues and complexities involved in Black male bisexuality and its connection with risk. As was noted previously, very little scientific research exists regarding the topic.
One article in this series by Darrell Wheeler and his colleagues compared Black men who have sex with both men and women (MSMW) to Black men who have sex only with men (MSM). The authors did not categorize the men in the study in terms of whether they identify as gay or bisexual, but rather only in terms of the types of sexual behaviors in which they engage. This is because of the complexity of the way in which people apply sexual identity labels to themselves; individuals may engage in behavior that is inconsistent with the label they ascribe to themselves without the behavior affecting the way they view themselves. Specifically, in this case, men may engage in sexual behavior with other men, but view themselves as largely or completely heterosexual. Furthermore, the authors were concerned about the occurrence of risky sexual behavior, such as unprotected penile-anal and penile-vaginal intercourse; this of course is sexual behavior in which a condom is not used, which dramatically increases the risk of infection by a sexually transmitted disease. Consequently, they instead identified men in terms of the sex of their partners and also asked them about the frequency of engaging in anal or vaginal sex when not using a condom.
The study involved a very large number of participants, 1154 men from New York City and Philadelphia; 822 of the men actually met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Of these, 226 were men who have sex with women and men, while 596 were men who have sex with men. They were recruited through a procedure called respondent-driven sampling, a strategy to overcome the challenge of locating men who engage in sexual behavior with other men (contrary to stereotypes, it is not possible to accurately identify such men based on easily observable characteristics). In the respondent driven procedure, an initial set of men who engaged in sex with other men was located through community organizations; these men were paid $15 for each eligible individual they recruited for the study, up to a maximum of three individuals. Those who participated were then paid to recruit up to three other men to participate. The process continued until the researchers obtained the targeted number of participants.
The results of the study were that men who have sex with men (MSM) were more likely to be at risk for HIV infection, to be HIV-positive based on tests conducted for this study, but to be unaware that they had been infected compared to men who have sex with both women and men (MSMW). The men who have sex with men were more likely to report that they had engaged in unprotected sex in which their partner inserted his penis in their anus (unprotected receptive anal intercourse). No difference was found between the two groups in inserting one’s penis in a partner’s anus (insertive anal intercourse). The findings for receptive and insertive anal intercourse have been found in other studies that have not focused exclusively on Black men. The authors propose that MSMW and MSM are equally willing to accept the risk associated with insertive anal intercourse because it involves less risk, but that the greater risk associated with receptive anal intercourse causes MSMW to be less willing to be receptive during anal intercourse.
Important differences were found between the two groups in terms of their economic well-being, with MSMW having lower income, less education, and more likely to be unemployed than MSM. MSMW were also more likely to have engaged in recent exchange sex, having anal sex with a casual partner for money, drugs, a place to stay, or to get other resources they needed. They were also more likely to report recent substance use, being arrested two or more times in their lives, and supporting more than one person with their income. This suggests that men who have sex with both women and men may tend to engage in anal intercourse for economic reasons, because they need money to support themselves and others or to obtain drugs or alcohol. In fact, the strongest factor related to engaging in either receptive or insertive anal intercourse common to both MSMW and MSM was engaging in exchange sex.
The next most influential factor related to engaging unprotected anal intercourse for both groups of men was having a gay identity, that is explicitly labeling themselves as being gay or homosexual. Gay identified men were more likely to engage in unprotected receptive anal sex, as the authors state “the riskiest behavior associated with HIV infection” (p. 705). Sexual orientation identity did not relate to the tendency to engage in unprotected insertive anal intercourse, again possibly because it is relatively less risky than receptive sex.
As it turned out, the majority of men reported sexual orientation identities that matched the types of sexual behavior in which they engaged. That is, most men in the group labeled MSMW identified as bisexual and most men in the MSM group identified as gay. Nonetheless, substantial proportions of men in the MSMW group identified as heterosexual (24%) and substantial proportions of MSM identified as bisexual (25%). These results strengthen the generally accepted conclusion among scientists that sexual orientation identity is not extremely accurate in understanding the types of sexual behavior in which individuals may engage.
Wheeler, D. P., Lauby, J. L., Liu, K., Van Sluytman, L. G., & Murrill, C. (2008). A comparative analysis of sexual risk characteristics of Black men who have sex with men or with men and women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 697-707.
Showing posts with label bisexuality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bisexuality. Show all posts
Friday, November 28, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Dangerous Liaisons: How Accurate is the Idea of “the Down Low”?
Oprah Winfrey “stunned America” with the “shocking” exposé of Black men on “the down low” in her April 16, 2004 show, ‘‘A Secret World of Sex: Living on the ‘Down Low’’’ (Sandfort & Dodge, 2008). Or so it would seem, in her program highlighting the now well known, and somewhat controversial, book by J. L. King, On the Down Low: A Journey into the Lives of “Straight” Black Men Who Sleep with Men. (Quotations from this book are presented in my sexuality textbook on page 208.) In what can only be called a quantum leap, Oprah accelerated the popularization of the term, “down low,” in a way that only she could do as such a monumental media personality. The “down low” is the situation of a Black man, in this case, living and identifying as a straight man with a wife and family, while at the same time secretly engaging in sex and having intimate relationships with men.
In fact, King’s book was not the profound revelation that it was promoted to be by the Oprah Winfrey Show. The New York Times Magazine had published an article the previous year documenting an extensive examination of a secretive organized culture comprising primarily Black men who lived ostensibly as straight men. Several novels almost 10 years before this had also described the experience of Black male bisexuality (Sandfort & Dodge, 2008).
In the lead article of a special section of the Archives of Sexual Behavior, Theo Sandfort and Brian Dodge identify a number of conceptual difficulties with the notion of “the down low.” To begin with, a clear, stable definition of the phenomenon has not been advanced. The idea of “the down low” was originated in African-American culture to refer to any type of behavior an individual hides from others. By the 1990s, the term was used in rhythm and blues lyrics to refer to male infidelity. The more recent use of the term is a limited version of the earlier meaning. A change in its meaning also occurred when men began to use “down low” in reference to their identity, an aspect of their life that defines who they are.
Furthermore, the secretive, deceptive meaning associated with “down low” is yet another instance of the historical tendency to demonize not only sexuality in general, but specifically Black male sexuality (Sandfort & Dodge, 2008). Black male sexuality has been conceived in extremely negative terms throughout U.S. history, as animalistic and dangerous, since the days of slavery. Linking it to bisexuality, especially situations involving secretive affairs that put one’s spouse at risk for sexually transmitted disease and death, amplifies its dangerousness tremendously.
Yet, discussions of bisexuality in earlier times and involving other ethnic groups have not been treated with the same sinister reputation. In 1974, Newsweek created a sensation with an article “exposing” the “new bisexual chic.” Bisexuality was cast as the trendy, classy new pop phenomenon indulged in by celebrities and supermodels. Likewise, Latino bisexual men were not initially swept up in the highly negative perspective regarding the “down low;” this is despite research 20 years ago documenting the presence of surreptitious male-male sexual behavior among men who viewed themselves as heterosexual. Even Latino men, however, became linked with the idea of dangerous liaisons after the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic (Sandfort & Dodge, 2008).
Paraphrasing Sandfort and Dodge (2008), the concept of “the down low” became a handy, commonsensical explanation for the surge in HIV infections within African American populations. It is the great villain that made sense as the culprit because of its link to sexuality. Sexuality remains an issue about which much of our culture is still not comfortable, and that conjures feelings of anxiety, sinfulness, and even guilt and remorse. In their own words, “Although Down Low men seem useful scapegoats for the disproportionally high prevalence rates of HIV among Black women, any direct empirical evidence regarding the role of the Down Low phenomenon in the HIV epidemic among African Americans is lacking” (p. 676).
In fact, very little research is available to understand the issues and complexities involved in Black male bisexuality and its connection with risk. The special section of the Archives of Sexual Behavior presents a number of articles devoted exactly to these issues. Look for additional entries in this blog on the results of the studies presented in these articles.
Sandfort, T. G. M., & Dodge, B. (2008). ‘‘...And then there was the Down Low’’: Introduction to Black and Latino male bisexualities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 675-682.
In fact, King’s book was not the profound revelation that it was promoted to be by the Oprah Winfrey Show. The New York Times Magazine had published an article the previous year documenting an extensive examination of a secretive organized culture comprising primarily Black men who lived ostensibly as straight men. Several novels almost 10 years before this had also described the experience of Black male bisexuality (Sandfort & Dodge, 2008).
In the lead article of a special section of the Archives of Sexual Behavior, Theo Sandfort and Brian Dodge identify a number of conceptual difficulties with the notion of “the down low.” To begin with, a clear, stable definition of the phenomenon has not been advanced. The idea of “the down low” was originated in African-American culture to refer to any type of behavior an individual hides from others. By the 1990s, the term was used in rhythm and blues lyrics to refer to male infidelity. The more recent use of the term is a limited version of the earlier meaning. A change in its meaning also occurred when men began to use “down low” in reference to their identity, an aspect of their life that defines who they are.
Furthermore, the secretive, deceptive meaning associated with “down low” is yet another instance of the historical tendency to demonize not only sexuality in general, but specifically Black male sexuality (Sandfort & Dodge, 2008). Black male sexuality has been conceived in extremely negative terms throughout U.S. history, as animalistic and dangerous, since the days of slavery. Linking it to bisexuality, especially situations involving secretive affairs that put one’s spouse at risk for sexually transmitted disease and death, amplifies its dangerousness tremendously.
Yet, discussions of bisexuality in earlier times and involving other ethnic groups have not been treated with the same sinister reputation. In 1974, Newsweek created a sensation with an article “exposing” the “new bisexual chic.” Bisexuality was cast as the trendy, classy new pop phenomenon indulged in by celebrities and supermodels. Likewise, Latino bisexual men were not initially swept up in the highly negative perspective regarding the “down low;” this is despite research 20 years ago documenting the presence of surreptitious male-male sexual behavior among men who viewed themselves as heterosexual. Even Latino men, however, became linked with the idea of dangerous liaisons after the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic (Sandfort & Dodge, 2008).
Paraphrasing Sandfort and Dodge (2008), the concept of “the down low” became a handy, commonsensical explanation for the surge in HIV infections within African American populations. It is the great villain that made sense as the culprit because of its link to sexuality. Sexuality remains an issue about which much of our culture is still not comfortable, and that conjures feelings of anxiety, sinfulness, and even guilt and remorse. In their own words, “Although Down Low men seem useful scapegoats for the disproportionally high prevalence rates of HIV among Black women, any direct empirical evidence regarding the role of the Down Low phenomenon in the HIV epidemic among African Americans is lacking” (p. 676).
In fact, very little research is available to understand the issues and complexities involved in Black male bisexuality and its connection with risk. The special section of the Archives of Sexual Behavior presents a number of articles devoted exactly to these issues. Look for additional entries in this blog on the results of the studies presented in these articles.
Sandfort, T. G. M., & Dodge, B. (2008). ‘‘...And then there was the Down Low’’: Introduction to Black and Latino male bisexualities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 675-682.
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