Gay-Boy Talk--Mutchler
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Stories’’ study sought to understand the interpersonal, social, and cultural
contexts in which young gay men have sex. The authors illustrate, in
qualitative detail, the young gay men’s experiences of sex education at school
and the stories they tell about crafting safer sexual lives despite the lack
of gay-relevant education they received. This work introduces stories gay
youth told about their safer sex activities into the discourses about young
gay men and HIV. It discusses the usefulness of employing a discourse which
was conceptualized as ‘gay-boy talk’ as a strategy for addressing factors that
place young gay men at risk for HIV and for building on their protective
behaviors. The text provides recommendations for meaningful and relevant HIV
prevention interventions guided by these findings and for future research on
‘gay-boy talk’.
Gay Youth, Discrimination, and Safer Sex
Adolescence has long been associated with ‘‘problem behaviors’’ such as
juvenile delinquency, sexual experimentation, and gang behavior (Van Gennep,
1960), and adolescents have historically been sexually disempowered (Dusek,
1991). Traditionally, heterosexuality has been the presumed ‘healthy’ outcome
of adolescent sexual development, but homosexuality is increasingly considered
a normal part of the human sexual continuum by institutions such as the
American Psychiatric Association (APA). Given that the rate of HIV prevalence
is high among young gay men (Valleroy, et al., 2000), it stands to reason that
adolescence is a critical stage of development that may pose particularly high
risks for HIV infection among gay youth. While it is tempting to assume that
the problem of HIV transmission lies solely within individuals, social factors
also drive the problem of heightened HIV risk for gay youth.
Convention