The Internet has emerged as a widely accessed environment in which men interact with other men for sexual purposes. A recently conducted meta-analysis of 15 studies examining use of the Internet among men who have sex with men (MSM) found that roughly 40% reported using the Internet to find sex partners (Liau, Millett, & Marks, 2006). Certain groups of MSM may be more likely to use the Internet to meet male sex partners. For example, men who deliberately seek to have condomless sex with other men (a practice also referred to as “bareback” sex) can use the Internet to facilitate such encounters (Carballo-Diéguez & Bauermeister, 2004; Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2006; Halkitis & Parsons, 2003; Halkitis, Parsons, & Wilton, 2003). Likewise, racial minority (i.e., Asian & Pacific Islander, Black, and Latino) men may constitute a large number of Internet-using MSM. Research suggests that racial minority MSM are more likely to be non-gay identified than White MSM (Kennamer, Honnold, Bradford, & Hendricks, 2000; Stokes, Vanable, & McKirnan, 1996) and report experiencing stigma and discomfort in traditional gay social venues (Beeker, Kraft, Peterson, & Stokes, 1998; Stokes & Peterson, 1998). Given these findings, the Internet may be a prime setting for racial minority MSM to meet sexual partners. There is evidence of the presence of racial minority MSM on the Internet, as race-specific chat rooms have been identified on Web sites that cater to men looking to “hook up” with other men (Carballo-Diéguez et al., 2006).
The Internet facilitates the process in which men meet other men who possess their preferred characteristics. This is largely because the Internet allows for selectivity in responding to advances from potential sex partners, and permits men to market themselves in a variety of ways to attract sex partners with their preferred characteristics. For many, race is a key factor that determines preferences for sexual partners (Ellingson & Schroeder, 2004). Race represents a socially constructed concept (Root, 2000), and using race to categorize individuals or predict behavior may be imprudent in some situations. However, as a social construction, race permeates social interactions between individuals and is a lens through which social actors view the world (Omi & Winant, 1986). As such, the expectations MSM have about sex partners of different racial groups and the role these expectations have on sexual partnering practices are important to consider, particularly in the context of the Internet. Nonetheless, perceptions that MSM have of potential sex partners within and outside of their own racial group, and the way these perceptions structure sexual partnering practices, have largely remained unexamined in social and behavioral research.
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Sexual partnering is broadly defined as the process through which MSM initiate their sexual relationships, whether their expectation is for a long-term relationship or brief sexual encounter. Sexual partnering is considered a “local” process that is structured by the local organization of social life, the local population mix, and shared norms (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994). For example, the sexual partnering practices of men who use the Internet to meet sex partners in New York City will be impacted by the local norms of the gay community of that region.
The sexual partnering choices that MSM make may be related to the higher prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as HIV, in different subgroups of this population—namely, racial minority MSM (Bingham, Marks, & Crepaz, 2003; Catania et al., 2001). Estimates of HIV risk behavior that have been obtained from diverse samples of MSM show no significant difference between racial minority and non-minority MSM (Mansergh et al., 2002; Millett, Peterson, Wolitski, & Stall, 2006; Peterson, Bakeman, & Stokes, 2001). Instead, potentially high-risk sexual networks that are structured by race have been posited as a better explanation for differences in HIV prevalence among minority and non-minority MSM (Berry, Raymond, & McFarland, 2007; Millett, Flores, Peterson, & Bakeman, 2007; Millett et al., 2006). This suggests that an exploration of the beliefs and sexual stereotypes that MSM hold about men of the same or different races may be important to consider in understanding the role that partnering behaviors have in structuring high-risk sexual networks.
Although researchers have documented race-based sexual stereotyping behavior among gay men (e.g., DeMarco, 1983; Díaz, 1998; Wilson & Yoshikawa, 2004), there has been little work aimed at defining sexual stereotypes. We draw on the work of Ashmore and Del Boca (1979, 1981) in conceptualizing and defining race-based sexual stereotypes. In this study, race-based sexual stereotypes are understood as inferred beliefs and expectations about the attributes a sexual experience will take on based on the race of the partner involved in the experience. These inferred beliefs and expectations are derived from common notions about characteristics of people from the same and different socially constructed racial group, as well as from personal experiences with persons within and outside the racial group in question (Ashmore, 1981; Ashmore & Del Boca, 1979). Race-based sexual stereotyping may emerge out of individual-level racism and prejudice; however, research has suggested that stereotypes and prejudice function relatively independently (Devine, 1989). Ashmore and Del Boca (1979) noted that it is important to distinguish sexual stereotypes from sexual stereotyping. The former refer to socio-cognitive structures that shape social behavior, and the latter refer to processes in which sexual stereotypes are used to ascribe sexually based attributes to a person based on their race. Thus, in the process of sexually stereotyping other MSM, men use and act on race-based sexual stereotypes they hold about men from the same and different racial groups.
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Sexual scripting theory (Gagnon & Simon, 1973) provides a useful framework for examining race-based sexual stereotypes and understanding how sexual stereotyping shapes partnering practices. The theory posits that sexuality, like race, is socially constructed and that individuals develop and understand their sexuality in conjunction with powerful historical and cultural forces that shape social life (Gagnon & Simon, 1973; Parker & Gagnon, 1995). Similar to partnering behaviors, sexual scripts are locally derived and take on different forms and meanings according to the cultures and subcultures in which they are embedded (Laumann & Gagnon, 1995). According to the theory, sexual behavior is best understood as a function of cultural scripts (i.e., instructions for sexual conduct that are part of the cultural narratives and symbols that guide social behavior), interpersonal scripts (i.e., structured patterns of interaction influenced by shared norms within subcultures and groups), and intrapsychic scripts (i.e., plans and fantasies through which individuals think about their past, current, and future sexual behaviors). These scripts, individually and in tandem, inform and guide peoples’ sexual behaviors, preferences, and identities, and provide meaning to what may be considered appropriate sexual desires and activities (Gagnon & Simon, 1973; Laumann et al., 2004).
Sexual scripts may also underlie and perpetuate race-based sexual stereotypes. Like sexual partnering, sexual stereotypes are structured by race. These stereotypes exist as a function of intrapsychic, interpersonal, and cultural scripts. Sexual stereotypes are learned through processes of cultural socialization and translated, revised, or reinforced through patterns of interpersonal social and sexual activity and personal ideologies (Knapp-Whittier & Melendez, 2004; Simon, 1999). Thus, race-based sexual stereotyping reflects the personally, socially, and culturally based expectations MSM have about men within and outside of their racial group.
Within-racial group and between-racial group sexual stereotyping and sexual partnering practices remain largely unexamined among MSM, although the available research suggests that this represents an important area of inquiry with regard to HIV transmission among MSM—notably, those who engage in high HIV transmission risk behaviors. This qualitative study aimed to document the sexual stereotyping and sexual partnering practices of MSM who report engaging in bareback sex with partners met online. The specific questions that guided the study are as follows:
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