All were from rural areas of Missouri, Illinois, Oregon, Washington, or Idaho, places known for their “social conservatism and predominant white populations.” The sample skewed a bit on the older side, with 14 of the 19 men in their 50s or older, and most identified exclusively as exclusively or mostly straight, with a few responses along the lines of “Straight but bi, but more straight.” Silva sought to find out more about these men, so he recruited 19 from men-for-men casual-encounters boards on Craigslist and interviewed them, for about an hour and a half each, about their sexual habits, lives, and senses of identity.
One relatively neglected such group, argues the University of Oregon sociology doctoral student Tony Silva in a new paper in Gender & Society, is rural, white, straight men (well, neglected if you set aside Brokeback Mountain).
But not all straight MSM have gotten the same level of research attention. In it, Ward explored various subcultures in which what could be called “straight homosexual sex” abounds - not just in the ones you’d expect, like the military and fraternities, but also biker gangs and conservative suburban neighborhoods - to better understand how the participants in these encounters experienced and explained their attractions, identities, and rendezvous. Last year, NYU Press published the fascinating book Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men by the University of California, Riverside, gender and sexuality professor Jane Ward.
In comparison, an earlier study of predominantly heterosexual participants found that rate to be just over half.
This emphasis has resulted in a body of literature about gay and bisexual men that is risk-focused, with limited understanding of the diversity and complexity of these men's sexual lives," said co-author Michael Reece, director of IU's Center for Sexual Health Promotion.Īccording to a University of Indiana press release, researchers also found the following: "Due to the disproportionate impact of HIV among MSM, the majority of research on gay and bisexual men's sexual behavior is situated within the context of disease. In terms of public health messages, researchers recommend that "a broader, less disease-focused perspective might be warranted by public health and medical practitioners in addressing the sexual health of gay and bisexual men." The most common sexual activity was oral sex - 75 percent performed it while 73.4 percent received it. Anal sex among MSM is not as popular as one might think - only 35.5 percent and 33.8 percent of participants engaged in receptive or insertive anal intercourse, respectively, as their last sexual act.