Mixed Race Gay Men and HIV: A Community History

Description

This study will advance theoretical understanding of the lived experiences of mixed-race gay men in San Francisco Bay Area and their behavioral risks for HIV infection. Current research documents that young mixed race men between the ages of 15-22 have a 13% seroprevalence rate and a 5% incidence rate for HIV infection. While we know that this is devastating a new segment of the population, we do not why. This study will address the current gaps in the research literature by focusing on, disparities in racial and ethnic healthcare; exploring the sexual knowledge and risk factors faced by mixed-race gay men compared with gay men of color; and by assessing the current services and programs available to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among this unique, yet invisible population of mixed-race gay men. These issues will be explored in four methodological phases:

• Phase I: Distribution of Demographic Survey Instrument to Self-identified mixed-race gay men and men with parents or grandparents of different ethnic/racial backgrounds at ethnic specific and mainstream HIV health organizations in the Bay Area

• Phase II: Conduct structured individual interviews with self-identified mixed-race gay men and men with parents or grandparents of different ethnic/racial backgrounds who are obtaining services at ethnic specific and mainstream HIV health organizations in the Bay Area

• Phase III: Conduct structured focus group interviews with self-identified mixed-race gay men and men with parents or grandparents of different ethnic/racial backgrounds who are obtaining services at ethnic specific and mainstream HIV health organizations in the Bay Area

• Phase IV: Administer an exit survey to collect data about sexual risk behaviors, sexual history, racial discrimination, economic hardships, and access to health services for the men in the study

Research Question(s)

Does the experience of being mixed-race and gay impact social and behavioral risk for HIV infection among men who are sexually active between the ages of 20-40 in the San Francisco Bay Area? Where do mixed-race gay men go for HIV testing and services? What are the socialization processes for mixed-race gay men? How does identification with multiple communities (mixed, of color and queer) impact mixed-race gay men and their sense of community belonging? What are mixed-race gay men's experiences with racial and class discrimination? Are there service disparities for mixed-race men at ethnic specific or mainstream HIV organizations?  In what situations might mixed-race men put themselves at risk based on their experiences of exclusion? How do age, self-identification, and choice of service agency vary among mixed-race gay men?

Hypotheses

The socialization process for mixed-race gay men 20-40 in the San Francisco Bay Area is a unique experience that differs from the experiences of white gay men and gay men of color causing a triple threat (as gay, racial minority, and mixed-race other) for exclusion and discrimination which will result in increased behavioral risks for HIV infection. The experiences of mixed-race gay men and MSM will differ in terms of age, racial mixture identification, class, skin color, and experiences with marginalization.

Research Aims

1. To document the unique experiences of mixed race gay men and explore how these experiences may provide new frameworks for understanding the ways in which race and sexuality intersect and converge in the context of social and behavioral risk.

2. To provide primary ethnographic data that is sorely needed to identify the possible causes for the disproportionate rate of mixed race gay men becoming infected with HIV.

3. To offer policy suggestions and recommendations to deal with the spread of HIV/AIDS among mixed race gay men.

Sketch of Background of the Research

As the AIDS epidemic in the United States and abroad continues to ravage communities of color, academic and community based research continues to focus on the social, psychological, and behavioral risk factors that contribute to increased risk in communities of color. Over the last ten years we have seen the most alarming increases in the United States among African American and Latino gay men, among African American and Latina women, and among youth of color. Another group where HIV/AIDS is on the rise is among mixed race gay men. While there has been little data on this, one seven city study, by Dr. Linda A. Valleroy and her co-authors, "HIV Prevalence and Associated Risks in Young Men Who Have Sex with Men" (2000) has indicated that mixed race gay men have the second highest prevalence rate.

Study Purpose

The following research proposes to take up the question of mixed race gay men and the concept of community to understand how and why mixed race gay men (and mixed race men who have sex with men) are at greater risk for HIV infection. In order to fully understand HIV disparities for mixed race gay men, it is important to first explore and define the unique experiences of men who identify as being racially mixed. While there is a great deal of research that examines social, legal, and psychological issues within mixed race populations, there have been few studies that have attempted to address the issue of health disparities for these communities in part because of the difficulty in defining a mixed race community. Only recently did the U.S. census begin to officially record people of two or more races. By combining the mixed race studies literature, with queer theory, sexuality studies, and HIV research, I plan to conduct a community history research project that will uncover the unique experiences of mixed race gay men and possible risk factors that are specific to this population demographic in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The tentative title of my research project is, "Mixed Race Gay Men and HIV: A Community History".
 

"Mixed Race Gay Men and HIV: A Community History" will document the contemporary experiences of mixed race gay men in the San Francisco Bay Area through extensive individual and focus group interviews. To date, a tremendous amount of research examines the socio-cultural and psychological factors that contribute to the experiences of gay men of color and gay white men, especially as these experiences relate to HIV/AIDS. However, the literature on the experiences of mixed race gay men is pretty much non-existent. I am conducting this research to address the gap in the academic literature on mixed race gay men and HIV/AIDS health disparities.

Contributions

This study's contribution is threefold: first, it intends to document the unique experiences of mixed race gay men and explore how these experiences may provide new frameworks for understanding the ways in which race and sexuality intersect and converge in the context of social and behavioral risk. Second, the work will provide primary data that is sorely needed to identify the possible causes for the disproportionate rate of young mixed race gay men becoming infected with HIV, and finally the research will offer policy suggestions and recommendations to deal with the spread of HIV/AIDS among mixed race gay men.

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