Department of Psychology, George Washington University, 2125 G Street NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA.
Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Arch Sex Behav. 2018 Jan;47(1):143-156. doi: 10.1007/s10508-016-0911-3. Epub 2017 Feb 21.
Sexual stereotypes may adversely affect the health of Black men who have sex with men (MSM). Greater understanding of the nature and nuances of these stereotypes is needed. This online, survey-based study used an inductive, intersectional approach to characterize the sexual stereotypes ascribed to Black MSM by the U.S. general public, their distinctiveness from those ascribed to Black men and MSM in general, and their relative prototypicality as compared to dominant subgroups. Members of the public, recruited in 2014-2015, were randomly assigned to survey conditions that varied systematically by race (Black, White, or unspecified) and sexual orientation (gay, heterosexual, or unspecified) of a designated social group. Participants (n = 285) reported stereotypes of their assigned group that they perceived to exist in U.S. culture in an open-response format. Cross-condition comparisons revealed that, overall, Black gay male stereotypes were non-prototypical of Black men or gay men. Rather, stereotypes of Black men were more similar to Black heterosexual men and stereotypes of gay men were more similar to White gay men. Nonetheless, 11 of the 15 most frequently reported Black gay male stereotypes overlapped with stereotypes of Black men (e.g., large penis), gay men (e.g., deviant), or both (e.g., promiscuous). Four stereotypes were unique relative to both Black men and gay men: down low, diseased, loud, and dirty. Findings suggest that Black MSM face multiple derogatory sexual stereotypes, several of which are group-specific. These stereotypes are consistent with cultural (mis)representations of Black MSM and suggest a need for more accurate portrayals of existing sexual diversity within this group.
性刻板印象可能会对与男性发生性关系的黑人男性（MSM）的健康产生不利影响。需要更深入地了解这些刻板印象的性质和细微差别。这项在线调查研究采用了一种归纳的、交叉的方法，描述了美国公众对黑人 MSM 的性刻板印象，这些刻板印象与对黑人男性和一般 MSM 的刻板印象的区别，以及与占主导地位的亚群体相比的相对典型性。2014 年至 2015 年，通过随机分配的方式招募了公众参与者，他们被分配到不同的调查条件中，这些条件系统地由指定社会群体的种族（黑人、白人或未指定）和性取向（同性恋、异性恋或未指定）决定。参与者（n=285）以开放式回答格式报告了他们对指定群体的刻板印象，这些刻板印象他们认为在美国文化中存在。跨条件比较显示，总体而言，黑人男同性恋者的刻板印象与黑人男性或男同性恋者的刻板印象不典型。相反，黑人男性的刻板印象与黑人异性恋男性更为相似，而男同性恋者的刻板印象与白人男同性恋者更为相似。尽管如此，15 个最常报告的黑人男同性恋者的刻板印象中有 11 个与黑人男性（如大阴茎）、男同性恋者（如异常）或两者（如滥交）的刻板印象重叠。有 4 个刻板印象是相对于黑人男性和男同性恋者而言是独特的：性倾向不明者、患病者、大声喧哗者和肮脏者。研究结果表明，黑人 MSM 面临着多种贬低性的刻板印象，其中一些是特定群体特有的。这些刻板印象与对黑人 MSM 的文化（错误）描述一致，表明需要更准确地描绘这个群体中现有的性多样性。
