Redefining Sex and Intimacy: The Sexual Self-Images,Outlooks, and Relationships of Gay Men Living with HIV/AIDS

This paper examines how gay men living with HIV disease come to terms with the profound sexual implications of their illness. Based on interviews with 25 gay men diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, this paper highlights (a) the disruptions that these men experience in their sexual feelings and self-images as a result of their illness; (b) the challenges they encounter in negotiating and sustaining sexual relationships; (c) the declines they experience in their sexual attractiveness, desire, and capacities as their illness advances; and (d) the changed meanings they give to sex and self as they come to terms with the erotic implications of their illness and try to preserve valued, intimate identities. In focusing on these themes, this paper offers an “insider's view” into key dimensions of the moral experience of gay men with HIV/AIDS. It also illustrates how the moral experience of these men shifts over the course of their illness, especially in response to the changes and challenges that arise in their intimate relationships and subcultural networks. On a broader, analytic level, this paper addresses a research question that has been neglected in previous studies of the experience of illness—that is, how does serious illness affect the sexuality of diagnosed individuals, particularly their construction of sexual and intimate identities? Through examining this question, this paper contributes to and extends the growing interactionist literature on the consequences of illness for self.     

Articulations of Same-sex Desire: Lesbian and Gay Male Dating Advertisements

A survey of self and other categorisation in 200 lesbian and gay male dating advertisement texts, taken from current magazines and newspapers, reveals the discursive means by which homosexual advertisers in our corpus commodify and market sexual/self-gendered identities. Detailed analysis of a sub-sample of the advertisements allows us to trace the discourse processes and conventions used in formulating identity in such texts. We interpret these discourse practices in relation to a social critique of gay attitudes, beliefs and lifestyles. The different conventions for self-commodification followed by lesbians and gay men in this survey suggest generalisable differences in sexual stance and cultural identification     

Not All Men,Situations, and Actions Are Equal

SUMMARY

Since 1985, annual surveys conducted in the French gay press show that gay men in France have made considerable changes in their sexual behavior due to the AIDS epidemic. However, risky behavior still occurs. In this article, some ideas which have been assumed concerning residual risk among gay men are tested. The research questions were: (1) Should all unprotected acts of anal intercourse be considered risky? (2) Has a phenomenon of relapse really occurred among gay men in France? and, (3) Are risks only limited to men who are on the margin of the gay community? Before answering these questions, major landmarks in HIV prevention for gay men in France are reviewed. Then, on the basis of the results of the 1995 Gay Press Surrey, subjects' perception of the degree to which they are socially accepted, and the diversity of homosexual lifestyles are presented, finally, we describe how respondents have adjusted to HIV-risk at a time when there has been much talk about the re-emergence of risk behaviors and a resurgence of the AIDS epidemic among homosexual men.     

Negotiating Emotional Support: Sober Gay Latinos and Their Families

This study explores how sober gay Latino men obtain support from their families. Familial ties can be a protective health factor, yet many gay Latinos experience rejection from family members because of their sexuality. There are very few studies that examine the extent and quality of emotional support from kin for this population. Understanding family dynamics within the context of recovery and sexuality can increase our understanding of how to leverage family ties to develop alcohol abuse interventions. The study was conducted via semistructured interviews with 30 sober gay Latinos using a grounded theory approach. Analyses of the qualitative data identified the following themes: family values shaped the participants’ perception of their range of choices and emotional responses; participants reported feeling loved and supported even when sexuality was not discussed with parents; and family support for sobriety is essential. Findings suggest that familial ties shape perceptions of support and importance of disclosing sexual identity. Family support often results from agreements about sexual identity disclosure, and some families can overcome cultural and religious taboos on sexuality. Future studies should investigate families that negotiate acceptance with their gay members, and whether they exhibit heterosexual biases that may influence the psychological stress of gay Latino men who wish to be sober.     

Searching for Love in all the “Write” Places: Exploring Internet Personals Use by Sexual Orientation,Gender, and Age

ABSTRACT

Few researchers of Internet sexual exploration have systematically compared variance of use across sexual orientations, with even fewer surveying bisexual respondents. In 2004, 15,246 individuals responded to an online survey of their use of Internet personals and adult websites. Gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals (GLBs) were more likely than heterosexuals to have exchanged correspondence, met others offline, and had sex with someone they met through personal ads. Whereas gay men and lesbians of all ages were most likely to have established a long-term relationship as a result of personals, heterosexuals over age 40 were more likely to have established a long-term relationship than younger heterosexuals. Further, compared to men, women were approximately two times as likely to have established a serious relationship as a result of personals. Qualitative findings suggest that the Internet functions not only as a means of screening for desired characteristics, but also as a shield against prejudice in real-life encounters. GLBs and heterosexuals alike used online venues as a means of sexual identity development, sexual exploration, and community building.     

The Adolescent Sexual Development of African American Gay Men with AIDS: Implications for Community-Based Practice

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study describes the adolescent sexual development of ten African American gay men living with AIDS. The informants retrospectively describe the challenges of being a gay adolescent in a mostly heterosexist and homophobic environment. They report unsupportive homophobic and heterosexist family members, community members and school officials. They also describe their burgeoning sexual orientation, sexual initiation as well as consensual and non-consensual sexual experiences with their peers. Additionally, several informants describe seeking sexual experiences with adult men. Later they suggest the adult men became their primary sources of emotional and psychological support. Implications for community practice, intervention and research with both African American gay adolescents and adult men living with AIDS are discussed.     

Gay Men and HIV

SUMMARY

This paper reports on the results of qualitative studies examining the personal experiences of sex and sexual negotiation for British gay men who are diagnosed HIV positive and those who know or presume themselves to be uninfected. These are contrasted with the results of a study of representations of HIV and AIDS within an international review of community health promotion literature aimed at gay men. The paper highlights the disparity between specific community responses to the epidemic as engendered in the cultural production of health promotion materials and the individual experience of HIV, suggesting a! paradigm for a community response to the epidemic which reflects the personal experience of gay men both infected and uninfected.     

Race,ethnicity, gender,and generational factors associated with the coming‐out process among gay,lesbian, and bisexual individuals

Age at coming out among gay/lesbian/bisexual (GLB) persons and sexual debut with same‐gendered partners has typically been investigated in samples that do not reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of these communities. Addressing this limitation, data were collected from a diverse sample of men and women attending large‐scale GLB community events in New York and Los Angeles in 2003 (N = 2,733). Compared to older cohorts, younger cohorts (18–24 year olds) of both men and women reported significantly earlier ages for sexual debut with same‐gendered partners, and earlier ages for coming out to themselves and to others. Also, women began the process at later ages than men, as they reported coming out to themselves and sexual debut with a same‐gender partner approximately two years later than men. There were no racial or ethnic differences in age out to self or others; however, people of color were less likely to be out to their parents. Service providers, sexuality educators, and researchers should attend to the diversity in experience of coming out among GLB populations as they relate to the individuals’ gender, age, and racial and ethnic backgrounds.     

Firm friends: exploring the supportive components in gay men's workplace friendships

Research shows that friendships are among the most important sources of support for gay men. Despite insights into how friends can be significant providers of emotional, practical and affirmational support, particularly when gay men 'come out' or experience discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, scholars have rarely considered the role of work friends in supporting gay men in the workplace. This is remarkable given that work organisations remain challenging arenas for sexual minority employees to fashion a meaningful sense of self. Drawing on in-depth interview data with twenty-eight gay men employed in the UK, this article argues that gay men can rely on work friends for different forms of support in helping them to negotiate and sustain a viable sense of self. The findings show how the gender and sexuality of organisation influences which men and women are available as work friends, and the types of support they might give. Also, the affirmational support received from work friends is important not only for validating participants' sexual identities, but also identities of class and parenthood. The study aims to complicate stereotypes of men's workplace friendships as sources of support used largely for advancing careers and personal gain.     

Japanese Gay Magazines and Marriage Advertisements

Among other functions, Japanese gay magazines inform readers about gay meeting places, provide a masturbation aid, let readers know that they are not alone, and give an image of gay men different from the mainstream media, which often confuses homosexuals with transvestites. Unfortunately, gay magazines also present an image that is not entirely positive, i.e., gay men as sex maniacs. Personal advertisement sections play a role in bringing together gay men as friends and lovers. One magazine, Barazoku, contains a section for marriage advertisements. Remaining unmarried in Japan in many cases still implies that one will be a social outcast. For this reason many gay men marry, usually without informing their spouses about their sexual orientation. Barazoku assists gay people in finding a partner who knows about, and accepts one's sexuality. Gay groups interested in politics sometimes criticize homosexuals who get married for having camouflage marriages (giso kekkon), and Ito Bungaku, the publisher of Barazoku, for supporting this. However, the contents of ads indicate that most advertisers want to have something that resembles a usual marriage.     

Will It Be Silence and Violence or Safety and Prevention for the Next Generation of Gay Youth?

Rates of unprotected anal intercourse and HIV infection are alarmingly high among young gay males. This second wave of infection indicates that traditional models for AIDS education are not working. AIDS educators need to rethink HIV-prevention efforts. Studies consistently find a high level of knowledge about HIV transmission and high levels of commitment to safer sex among gay males, but what accounts for the breakdown between safer sex intentions and practices among them? This article employs social constructionist and queer theoretical assertions that sexuality is socially and culturally produced in complicated and pluralist ways. The analysis examines how risky sexual situations shape young gay males' sexualities by exploring two examples selected to represent, alternatively, models of safer sexual and unsafe sexual trajectories. Implications for HIV prevention practices and policies are discussed.     

Ethnic Minority Families and Minority Gays and Lesbians

Attitudes toward sexuality differ within the diverse ethnic and racial communities that exist in the U.S., and the cultural values and beliefs surrounding sexuality play a major role in determining how individuals behave within their sociological context. The family unit is the domain where such values and beliefs are nurtured and developed. An individual's value system is shaped and reinforced within the family context which usually reflects the broader community norms. Disclosure of a gay or lesbian sexual preference and lifestyle by a family member presents challenges to ethnic minority families who tend not to discuss sexuality issues and presume a heterosexual orientation. For ethnic minority gays and lesbians the "coming out" process presents challenges in their identity formation processes and in their loyalties to one community over another. Ethnic gay men and lesbians need to live within three rigidly defined and strongly independent communities: the gay and lesbian community, the ethnic minority community, and the society at large. While each community provides fundamental needs, serious consequences emerge if such communities were to be visibly integrated and merged. It requires a constant effort to maintain oneself in three different worlds, each of which fails to support significant aspects of a person's life. The complications that arise may inhibit one's ability to adapt and to maximize personal potentials. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction and processes between ethnic minority communities and their gay and lesbian family members. A framework for understanding the process of change, that occurs for the gay or lesbian person as they attempt to resolve conflicts of dual minority membership, is presented. Implications for the practitioner is also discussed.     

Reviews and abstracts

This study examines leading explanations for unsafe sex in light of in‐depth interviews with 102 high‐risk gay and bisexual men in Toronto to see how well they engage with the social circumstances and reasoning processes of men in their sexual relationships. We argue that there is an inadequate fit between some of the leading explanations and the discursive accounts provided by high risk men themselves. Their accounts focus on unsafe sex occurring as a resolution to condom and erectile difficulties, through momentary lapses and trade offs, out of personal turmoil and depression, and as a byproduct of strategies of disclosure and intuiting safety. This study examines, in particular, the circumstances and rationales associated with men who identify their practices as “barebacking.” We conclude with recommendations for communicating prevention messages to those most at risk based on the self‐understandings of gay and bisexual men who most frequently practice unprotected sex.     

Health Strategies of HIV-Infected,Homosexually Active Men in Sydney,Australia

Drawing from a sample of gay and bisexual men who participated in large-scale surveys, and exploring issues derived from a smaller-scale study on working-class gay men, this close-focus study explores the relation between sexual identity, attachment to gay community and responses to HIV infection. Ten long-term HIV-infected, homosexually active men were interviewed using the open-ended life history method. A typology of four health strategies desribes these men's relations to medicine and the type and range of responses developed. These strategies are informed by class background, form and degree of attachment to the gay community, and age. Implications are discussed for existing AIDS service organizations, and for the possible future development of health services within gay and lesbian communities.     

Sexual Compulsivity and Sexual Behaviors Among Gay and Bisexual Men and Lesbian and Bisexual Women

Within the existing body of research, the information pertaining to sexual compulsivity (SC) among women, both homo- and heterosexual, remains rather limited in comparison to men. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of SC in a community sample of gay and bisexual men and lesbian and bisexual women and to identify differences in sexual practices based on classification as sexually compulsive within gender. Supporting previous research, the findings indicated that gay and bisexual men were significantly higher in SC when compared to lesbian and bisexual women. Similarly, sexually compulsive gay and bisexual men were more likely to report drug use with sex than their non-sexually compulsive peers, suggesting that “party n' play” may play a larger role for men with SC. In addition, the findings demonstrated empirical support for the proposition that lesbian and bisexual women with symptoms of SC were more likely to engage in specialized sexual behaviors in comparison to their non-sexually compulsive peers. These data suggest that SC manifests differently in gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and women.     

Gay Men

Summary

This report presents the findings from four ethnographic studies of older gay men (Brown, 1997; Brown, Sarosy, Cook & Quarto, 1997; Cook, 1991; Quarto, 1996; Sarosy, 1996). There were 69 total participants who ranged in age from 36 to 79 years; most were from 50 to 65 years of age. The purpose of these studies was to examine how older gay men have adjusted, psychologically and socially, to their sexual orientation and aging process. Participants reported that they spend 50% time or more with gay friends within their own age cohorts. Many reported being involved with the gay community in some capacity, while about 15% had no involvement with the gay community. Most participants were in regular contact with their families. Most stated that their families were aware of their sexual orientation. Most of the participants reported experiencing discrimination due to sexual orientation, and one third had experienced discrimination within the gay community based on age or ethnicity. With regard to sex life, the studies found an overall lowered frequency of sexual activity. Participants felt that HIV/AIDS has had a devastating impact on older gay men, interrupting the normal aging process for those who have contracted it and prematurely aging those who care for them. The studies' findings identified the qualities of healthy adaptation to aging for older gay males: having satisfying relationship, self-acceptance as one ages, good health, an active life with a variety of interests, and financial security.     

Gay marriages and communities of sexual orientation

This article focuses on gay male couples as they exist within friendship networks of other gay men. By comparing homosexual men who are part of a gay community with those who are less integrated into a gay community, we attempt to show that the sexual liaisons of the former are more “marriage-like.” Gays committed to a community of other homosexual men were found to live more often with their lovers, be more sexually faithful to their lovers, and to have more emotionally intimate relationships. Also, they were found more likely to associate with other gay couples. Commitment to a gay community was not found to be associated with length of a liaison, and it seemed that when respondents defined emotional intimacy in terms of sexual exclusiveness there may have been a tendency for disruption of relationships. The gay community validates the sexual liaisons of gay men in the same way that the heterosexual world validates the pairings of heterosexuals and transforms their subinstitutional sexual liaisons into the institution of marriage.     

Bisexual and homosexual behavior and HIV risk among Chinese‐, Filipino‐, and Korean‐American men

Seventy bisexually or homosexually active men primarily of Chinese‐, Filipino‐, and Korean‐American backgrounds participated in extensive interviews focusing on acculturation and sexuality. Impressionistic data showed higher involvement in gay culture than Asian culture, a shift away from the complexity of bisexual lifestyles, and two patterns of exogenous selection of male partners. The findings suggest that Asian‐American men who had sex with men were more likely than comparison groups to comply with safer sex; acculturation to Asian society enhanced this compliance, but identification with Western Protestantism, or traditional Latin homosexual roles, was related to higher risk behavior. The reported behavior of the men who had sex with both men and women did not substantiate fears that bisexuals were a conduit for transmitting the virus from the gay to the heterosexual community. Impressionistic data suggested that a combination of inaccurate information about HIV transmission, unfounded trust of partners, poor assertiveness skills, and guilt may result in sexual risk taking. Suggestions for prevention included providing explicit information in ethnic and mainstream media, emphasizing risks of heterosexual transmission, providing electronic interactive learning situations that allow privacy rather than face‐to‐face interaction, and organizing support groups that affirm the men's dual identity as Asian‐American and gay or bisexual.     

Lesbian Blood Drives as Community-Building Activism in the 1980s

As gay men began voluntarily withdrawing from blood donation in the early 1980s, lesbians in community with gay men in several U.S. cities organized drives to replenish the blood supply. These drives were sometimes the continuation of previously established drives by gay–lesbian organizations or faith communities, sometimes new initiatives in response to HIV/AIDS. However, after the initial publicity, mention of lesbian blood drives in print is both scarce and brief. Focusing on drives organized from 1983 to 1992 by a group known as San Diego Blood Sisters, this article is an initial step in documenting lesbian blood drives to inform and enrich conversations about histories of responses to HIV/AIDS, theoretical discussions of how community connections in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer spectrum are enacted and understood, and emerging research on intersections of gender and sexuality as they are expressed through blood donorship.     

Sexual Behavior Changes as a Result of a Concern About AIDS:

This survey assessed the impact of a concern about acquiring AIDS upon the thinking and sexual behavior of persons of different sexual orientations and gender in 1986. A questionnaire assessing sexual behavior changes over time was administered to both gay and heterosexual bar patrons in Greenwich Village, New York. Among individuals, concern about AIDS had affected the sexual behavior of almost all gay men, a majority of gay women, over half of heterosexual women, but only a quarter of heterosexual men. Across all the groups, the most frequent behavioral response involved the elimination or decrease of casual sex and the ascertaining of sexual histories. Only gay men were using condoms to any appreciable degree. This study occurred before the Surgeon General's report recommending condoms appeared. A follow-up study assessing sexual behavior changes since then is underway.