A
recent study of more than 4,000 New York City men
found that nearly 10% of participants who identified
as straight admitted to having gay sex in the
past year.
The study,
conducted by the New York City Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene, was titled "Discordance Between Sexual
Behavior and Self-reported Sexual Identity: A
Population-based Survey of New York City Men." The
study's findings were released Monday and revealed
that straight men who had gay sex were more likely
than other participants to belong to
a racial or ethnic minority, be foreign-born,
have a lower educational level, and live outside Manhattan.
This group, 70% of whom were married, were less
likely to have been tested for HIV infection or to
have used a condom during their last sexual encounter
with a man. There are serious ramifications for these
findings, Preeti Pathela, lead author of the study, said in
a statement.
"Doctors need to
ask patients about specific sexual practices instead
of relying on self-reported sexual orientation to assess
risk for unsafe sexual practices and risk for sexually
transmitted diseases," Pathela said. "Public health
prevention messages should target risky sexual
activities, such as unprotected receptive anal sex, and
should not be framed to appeal solely to
gay-identified men." (The Advocate)