HIV Among Gay and Bisexual Men the U.S. | Fact Sheets | Newsroom | NCHHSTP | CDC

Contents:

• WHY ARE GAY MEN MORE AT RISK FOR HIV?
• HIV AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN THE U.S.
• IS BARBIE GAY AND WHY IS THE NEW MOVIE RATED PG-13?
• DISCRIMATN AND HOMOPHOBIA FUEL THE HIV EPIMIC GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• HIV/AIDS AND EDUTN: LSONS OM THE 1980S AND THE GAY MALE COMMUNY THE UNED STAT

WHY ARE GAY MEN MORE AT RISK FOR HIV?

Sce the HIV epimic started the 1980s gay men have been at a greater risk and reprented more of the new HIV s that we’ve known this untry and actually ternatnally as well. It’s bee we live a high HIV prevalent society among gay men and then also bee some of the behavrs that we engage may put more at risk for HIV.

HIV AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN THE U.S.

Acrdg to the Texas judicial missn’s 2019 warng, Hensley referred gay upl who wanted her to pri over their marriage ceremony to other people who would officiate. New HIV fectns cled among gay and bisexual men the last , but HIV ntu to disproportnately affect gay and bisexual men relative to other muni the U. Progrs rcg new HIV fectns among gay and bisexual men has also not been equal, wh differenc by race, ethnicy, and age.

Factors that fluence health out—cludg HIV-related stigma, homophobia, racism, discrimatn, poverty, limed accs to high-qualy health re, and other longstandg barriers—have ntributed to the unequal reach of HIV preventn and treatment; higher levels of HIV some muni; and ntued equi. Addnally, 2020, 49% fewer HIV tts were admistered among gay and bisexual men non-healthre settgs than 2019.

Wh effective preventn and treatment tools at our disposal, the natn has a s--the-makg opportuny to end the domtic HIV epimic and elimate dispari HIV preventn and re among gay and bisexual men and other populatns disproportnately affected by HIV. ”The terviewer mented that he thks the film has a really big gay followg, askg Margot why she thks that is.

IS BARBIE GAY AND WHY IS THE NEW MOVIE RATED PG-13?

Over the last 30 years, efforts to prevent new HIV fectns among gay and bisexual men have been guid by paradigms that hold dividuals rponsible for their health behavrs. In fact, gay, bisexual, and other MSM acquire HIV at rat 44 tim greater than other men and 40 tim greater than women (CDC, 2011a). More recently, wh the game-changg breakthroughs the bmedil arena, attentn has shifted to the bmedil preventn strategi, which clu preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for gay, bisexual, and other MSM (Grant et al., 2010) and vagal microbicis for women (Abdool et al., 2010).

In rponse to the alarmg health dispari among gay and bisexual men, there has been a ll to broan the preventn lens to exame the fluence of multiple social and ntextual factors fluencg health behavrs (Halkis & Cahill, 2011). Dpe clear evince for the social termants of HIV transmissn and the beneficial effects of stctural terventns (Adimora & Auerbach, 2010), there have been limed efforts targetg the social equali, which place gay and bisexual men at greater risk for the acquisn of HIV disease. Of particular relevance to HIV preventn among gay and bisexual men are the social ndns that place at heightened risk for acquirg HIV as pared to our heterosexual unterparts.

In this article, nsiratn is given to the manner through which discrimatn and homophobia, which may have been heightened bee of the AIDS epimic (Halkis, 1999), perpetuate HIV vulnerabili for gay and bisexual men. Such health vulnerabili driven by homophobia are often exacerbated for gay and bisexual men of lor, who are often further burned by the social circumstanc of racism and poverty. Sce discrimatn based on sexual inty is cril to the ias beg put forth, and sce the HIV preventn needs of gay and bisexual men differ wily om those of non-gay or bisexual MSM (Halkis, 2010b), the foc of this issue of the newsletter is on gay and bisexual men, and not MSM general.

DISCRIMATN AND HOMOPHOBIA FUEL THE HIV EPIMIC GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

In the now historic document, which recently reached s 30th anniversary, the CDC (1981) reported five s of Pnmocystis rii pnmonia young gay men who otherwise should have been healthy.

Wh bewilrment and fear, I read Robert Altman’s (1981) acunt of “doctors New York and California [who] have diagnosed among homosexual men 41 s of a rare and often rapidly fatal form of ncer. ” In the followg years, I wnsed the eptn of the disease, which s early years was given the name GRID (gayrelated immunoficiency disease) bee of s omniprence the gay populatn (Shilts, 2007; Weeks & Almo, 2010). However, spe the fact that the disease no longer remas nfed solely to gay and bisexual men, the realy is that this segment of the populatn is the one most affected by this epimic.

HIV/AIDS AND EDUTN: LSONS OM THE 1980S AND THE GAY MALE COMMUNY THE UNED STAT

In the semal 1998 Amerin Psychologist article, Walter Batchelor warned that “AIDS still attacks homosexual and bisexual men great numbers” (p. It is tly alarmg that 30 years later, HIV/AIDS ntu to be predomantly a gay and bisexual disease this untry (Halkis, 2010b). Male populatn 18–44 years of age (Chandra, Mosher, Copen, & Snean, 2011), MSM, primarily gay and bisexual men, acunt for more than 50 percent of all AIDS s and all HIV fectns and 57 percent all new HIV fectns (CDC, 2011b).

Dpe creased visibily, acceptance and recent socpolil advanc, gay and bisexual men ntue to live a society that privileg heterosexualy while nigratg nonheterosexual relatnships, behavrs and inti (Herek, Gillis, & Cogan, 2009). Opprsive social stctur and equali affectg gay and bisexual men have been implited perpetuatg not only the HIV epimic but also rat of anal ncer, Hepatis B, human papillomavis (HPV) and lymphogranuloma vernrm (LGV) fectns, syphilis, gonorrhea and Hepatis C (Wolski & Fenton, 2011).

The stctural ndns, which take the form of discrimatn and homophobia (Wolistki & Fenton, 2011; Wolski, Stall, & Validiserri, 2008), are further pound by racism and enomic dispari for gay and bisexual men of lor. Exposure to and experienc of homophobia have been implited substance abe, risky sexual behavrs, negative body image, suici attempts, creased strs and limed social support among gay and bisexual men (Halkis, Fischgnd, & Parsons, 2005; Mayer, Bradford, Makadon, Stall, & Goldhammer, 2008; Wolski, Stall, Valdiserri, 2008). Moreover, experienc wh homophobia have been shown to terfere wh the abily of gay and bisexual men to tablish and mata longterm same-sex relatnships, which protect agast HIV acquisn (Diaz, Ayala, Be, Henne, & Mar, 2001).

The experienc of homophobia may exert their effects on sexual risk takg directly by exacerbatg mental health burn (Halkis, 2010b; Johnson, Carri, Chney, & Mor, 2008).