School of Nursing Department of Health Behavior and Biological Sciences and the Center for Sexuality and Health Disparities University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI United States.
Rollins School of Public Health Hubert Department of Global Health Emory University Atlanta, GA United States.
JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2016 Feb 5;2(1):e4. doi: 10.2196/publichealth.4742. eCollection 2016 Jan-Jun.
Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) regularly experience homophobic discrimination and stigma. While previous research has examined homophobic and HIV-related intergroup stigma originating from non-MSM directed at MSM, less is known about intragroup stigma originating from within MSM communities. While some research has examined intragroup stigma, this research has focused mostly on HIV-related stigma. Intragroup stigma may have a unique influence on sexual risk-taking behaviors as it occurs between sexual partners. Online sexual networking venues provide a unique opportunity to examine this type of stigma.
The purpose of this study is to examine the presence and patterns of various types of intragroup stigma represented in Men Seeking Men Craigslist sex ads.
Data were collected from ads on Craigslist sites from 11 of the 12 US metropolitan statistical areas with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence. Two categories of data were collected: self-reported characteristics of the authors and reported biases in the ads. Chi-square tests were used to examine patterns of biases across cities and author characteristics.
Biases were rarely reported in the ads. The most commonly reported biases were against men who were not "disease and drug free (DDF)," representing stigma against men living with HIV or a sexually transmitted infection. Patterns in bias reporting occurred across cities and author characteristics. There were no variations based on race, but ageism (mostly against older men) varied based on the ad author's age and self-reported DDF status; bias against feminine gender expression varied based on self-reported sexual orientation; bias against "fat" men varied by self-reported DDF status; bias against "ugly" men varied by a self-report of being good-looking; and bias against people who do not have a DDF status varied based on self-reported HIV status and self-reported DDF status.
Despite an overall low reporting of biases in ads, these findings suggest that there is a need to address intragroup stigma within MSM communities. The representation of biases and intragroup stigma on Craigslist may result from internalized stigma among MSM while also perpetuating further internalization of stigma for men who read the sex ads. Understanding patterns in the perpetuation of intragroup stigma can help to better target messages aimed at making cultural and behavioral shifts in the perpetration of intragroup stigma within MSM communities.
男同性恋、双性恋和其他与男性发生性关系的男性（MSM）经常经历恐同歧视和耻辱。虽然以前的研究已经考察了非 MSM 对 MSM 的源于恐同和与 HIV 相关的群体间耻辱，但对于源于 MSM 社区内部的群体内耻辱知之甚少。虽然一些研究考察了群体内耻辱，但这些研究主要集中在与 HIV 相关的耻辱上。群体内耻辱可能会对性行为产生独特的影响，因为它发生在性伴侣之间。在线性网络场所为研究这种类型的耻辱提供了一个独特的机会。
本研究旨在考察在 Men Seeking Men Craigslist 性广告中所代表的各种类型的群体内耻辱的存在和模式。
数据来自 Craigslist 网站上 11 个美国 HIV/AIDS 流行率最高的大都市统计区的广告。收集了两类数据：作者的自我报告特征和广告中报告的偏见。使用卡方检验来检查城市和作者特征之间的偏见模式。
广告中很少报告偏见。最常报告的偏见是针对那些“没有‘无病无灾（DDF）’”的男性，这代表了对感染 HIV 或性传播感染的男性的耻辱。报告偏见的模式在城市和作者特征之间发生。种族没有差异，但年龄歧视（主要针对老年人）因广告作者的年龄和自我报告的 DDF 状态而异；对女性化性别表达的偏见因自我报告的性取向而异；对“胖”男人的偏见因自我报告的 DDF 状态而异；对“丑”男人的偏见因自我报告的好看而异；对没有 DDF 状态的人的偏见因自我报告的 HIV 状态和自我报告的 DDF 状态而异。
尽管广告中总体上对偏见的报告率较低，但这些发现表明，需要解决 MSM 社区内的群体内耻辱问题。在 Craigslist 上出现的偏见和群体内耻辱的表现可能源于 MSM 内部的耻辱，同时也进一步加剧了阅读性广告的男性对耻辱的内化。了解群体内耻辱持续存在的模式有助于更好地针对 MSM 社区内群体内耻辱的实施，制定文化和行为转变的信息。
