Undeterred by a Monster; Secrecy and Stigma Keep AIDS Risk High for Gay Black Men
A study of 529 young men who have sex with men in New York City revealed that one-third of the African-American participants were infected with HIV, compared to 16 percent of all the men and 2 percent of the white men. African Americans made up just over 25 percent of the total group. The findings have researchers questioning how -- after years of news, political protests, and educational efforts -- some people do not understand the dangers of high-risk sexual practices. The reasons for this are many, and they include how a man perceives his homosexuality and how that affects where and when he decides to engage in intercourse. Other factors include how funds are directed to fight AIDS, poverty, drug abuse, and youth. Under conditions of homelessness
and poverty, for example, some individuals use sex as a way to make money or find temporary housing. The social distress is so great in some communities that sex is used as a means to gain self-esteem, especially among young participants. Some health care workers assert that larger AIDS organizations have failed to properly address the specific issues of African-American homosexuality, in contrast to the same issue that mobilized white gay men infected during the first years of HIV. However, many have also noted the failure of some African-American AIDS groups to discuss or talk to homosexual men.
