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)
