Drs. Mutchler and Ayala
2
findings from the ‘Sexual Stories’ project build on previous knowledge about sexual risk for HIV among young
gay men by focusing attention on the social contexts within which risk behaviors were reported.
This paper reviews existing literature on the HIV prevalence and incidence among young gay men,
correlates of their sexual risk behaviors for transmitting HIV, and HIV prevention interventions that have been
shown to work with this population in scientific studies. Findings from the ‘Sexual Stories’ project are then
presented to illustrate, in qualitative detail, the primary contexts for unsafe sex identified in the sexual stories
told by the forty young men interviewed. Recommendations are presented for meaningful and relevant HIV
prevention interventions guided by these findings. Authors discuss the usefulness of employing a discourse
conceptualized as ‘gay-boy talk’ as an HIV intervention strategy.
HIV Prevalence and Incidence Among Young Gay Men
The problem of HIV infections among young gay men continues to be widespread and disproportionate.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), estimates that half of all new infections in the U.S. occur
in people younger than 25
1
. Men who have sex with men (MSM) account for the majority of the incidence of
new HIV infection cases reported to the CDC among adolescents and adults between the ages of 13 and 24 years
old
2
. Four to eight percent of gay identified men between 15 and 22 years old were found to be HIV-positive in
recent data from six locations around the U.S.
3
. In Los Angeles County (LAC), data collected by the County HIV
Epidemiology Program through the Young Men’s Survey (YMS) between August 1994 and July 1997 on MSM
between 15 and 22 found that 9% were HIV-positive
4
.
Latino MSM are disproportionately infected and affected by HIV/AIDS
5
. Valleroy and colleagues found
that HIV prevalence is higher among Latino young gay men compared to white young gay men
6
. High rates of
HIV infection have been reported among Latino and African-American gay men for over a decade now
7
. The
YMS study in Los Angeles found that 12.5% of Latinos were HIV-infected, compared to 3.9% of the White
young gay men
8
. The ‘Sexual Stories’ project focused on analyzing white and Latino stories and seeks to expand
Convention