Department of Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
Cult Health Sex. 2012;14(8):879-93. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2012.703328. Epub 2012 Jul 18.
African American women are disproportionately affected by HIV. Some research has explored if non-disclosing men who have sex with men and women contribute to women's HIV risk. Popular media discourse tends to refer to these men as 'down low' or 'DL'. Six focus groups were conducted with 36 African American women in Washington, DC, to examine their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours regarding DL men. Three of the focus groups were composed of HIV-positive women and three groups were composed of HIV-negative women. Data analysis reveals six central subcategories related to women's perspectives on the DL: awareness, suspicion, coping with partner infidelity (male versus female), sexual health communication, empathy and religion. No major differences were identified between the HIV-positive and HIV-negative focus groups. Findings from this study provide insight into African American women's perceptions of African American male sexuality and how these perceptions serve to influence interpersonal relationship factors and women's exposure to HIV risk.
非裔美国女性受到艾滋病毒的影响不成比例。一些研究探讨了与男性和女性发生性关系的不公开的男同性恋者是否会增加女性感染艾滋病毒的风险。大众媒体的言论往往将这些男性称为“地下”或“DL”。本研究在华盛顿特区进行了 6 个焦点小组，共有 36 名非裔美国女性参加，以探讨她们对 DL 男性的知识、态度、信仰和行为。其中 3 个焦点小组由 HIV 阳性女性组成，3 个小组由 HIV 阴性女性组成。数据分析揭示了与女性对 DL 男性观点相关的六个核心亚类：意识、怀疑、应对伴侣不忠（男性与女性）、性健康沟通、同理心和宗教。HIV 阳性和 HIV 阴性焦点小组之间没有发现重大差异。这项研究的结果深入了解了非裔美国女性对非裔美国男性性行为的看法，以及这些看法如何影响人际关系因素和女性接触艾滋病毒风险。
