Married Men and Same Sex Activity: A Field Study on HIV Risk Among Men Who Do Not Identify as Gay or Bisexual

Abstract

Interviews that took place at several sites where anonymous sex is practiced suggest that some married men engage in same sex activity without regard for the risk to HIV infection they impose upon themselves and their spouses. Much of the sexual activity is considered to be high risk by Centers for Disease Control standards, and the men who engaged in these behaviors were knowledgeable of those standards. A random sample of 94 individuals were interviewed from a possible population of 198 (47.9%). Of the men interviewed, 15% identified themselves as married or engaged to be married to a woman. Only 2 married men informed their female sex partner (regular partner) of their clandestine activity. By comparison, 29 of the gay or bisexual men had informed their partners of their unprotected and anonymous sex seeking. It is suggested that perhaps the focus on high risk groups instead of on high risk behavior has given a false sense of security to men who do not identify as gay or bisexual.