How Stigma Toward Anal Sexuality Promotes Concealment and Impedes Health-Seeking Behavior in the U.S. Among Cisgender Men Who Have Sex with Men.

ABSTRACT: Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) experience alarming HIV disparities alongside sub-optimal engagement in HIV interventions. Among MSM, stigma toward anal sexuality could interfere with engagement in HIV prevention, yet few studies have examined MSM perspectives on anal sex stigma or its health-related sequelae. Guided by theory, we aimed to characterize anal sex stigma, related sexual concerns, and barriers to health seeking, like concealment. We elicited community input by purposively interviewing 10 experts in MSM health and then 25 racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse cisgender MSM. Participants reported experienced, internalized, and anticipated forms of anal sex stigma that inhibited health seeking. Experienced stigma, including direct and observed

SUBMITTER: Kutner BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7398831 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature