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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Homo Hot and Safe

Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 10:24 AM

Better looking gay guys... take better care of themselves—and I'm not talking about diet and exercise. This study from the University of Toronto has some depressing news for anyone working to slow the spread of HIV among gay men. (Via JoeMyGod.)

Gay men who are not considered sexually desirable are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour, according to new research out of the University of Toronto. They may also develop psychological problems as a consequence of feeling undesirable.

Professor Adam Isaiah Green of sociology interviewed dozens of gay men in Toronto to determine what qualities made some men more sexually desirable than others and what the consequences of being undesirable might be on mental and physical health.

"I found that young, white, middle-class men are considered much more sexually desirable than men who are racial minorities, over 40 and poor," Green said. "I also learned that for gay men, being considered sexually undesirable can have serious health consequences ranging from psychological issues to risky sexual behaviour."

The study—among the first to examine the link between sex and mental health—found that undesirable gay men face stigmatization, avoidance and outright rejection, which can lead to depression, anxiety and alcohol abuse. It also highlighted cases whereby undesirable gay men will forego safe-sex discussion and, in some cases, condom use, in the context of sex with a more attractive partner.

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What's new about this? According to my straight brother the fat/less than pretty girls are always the ones that will blow you in the bathroom.

Posted by Jason on December 3, 2008 at 10:38 AM

They probably don't get hired or promoted as easily as pretty boys, either. The ugly tax is universal, and it doesn't just apply to gay men.

Posted by kitschnsync on December 3, 2008 at 10:41 AM

Yep. This is not news, regardless of the lifestyle.

Posted by Matthew on December 3, 2008 at 10:43 AM

What would be more interesting is to know WHY they're engaging in risky behavior? Is it because of a lower self-esteem or because of desperation/fearing rejection? Or something else?

Posted by Urgutha Forka on December 3, 2008 at 10:49 AM

"Professor Adam Isaiah Green of sociology interviewed dozens of gay men". that's a pretty low amount of people to determine something so nebulous and controversial...and isn't obvious that self esteem has a role in most compulsive behavior?

Posted by redic on December 3, 2008 at 10:50 AM

I'd comment here, but I'm 47 and only a little better than average-looking, so I don't exist. I think, therefore I'm not?

Posted by Chris down in The Couv on December 3, 2008 at 10:51 AM

Finally, validation for all that time you spend at the gym!!!

Posted by nice on December 3, 2008 at 10:51 AM

@6

Pics.

Posted by Mr. Poe on December 3, 2008 at 10:53 AM

Dozens of men is a low sample number. I think it was irresponsible for the study to draw generalized conclusions from that. I think this is an important issue to look into, and I'm sure the results wouldn't be radically different with a higher sample number, but the study would probably have more credibility if it included more men

Posted by TeaHag on December 3, 2008 at 10:55 AM

@4 - I think it's more the desperation thing than the low self-esteem thing. As a gay man, you can feel great about yourself, but you still run into the whole, "Unless I blow him/let him do me w/o a condom, I ain't gettin any" deal.

Fortunately, there are enough cute younger guys who like older guys to keep the whole situation from becoming too tragic & Morissey-like.

Posted by Chris down in The Couv on December 3, 2008 at 11:00 AM

@8 - Li'l ol' me? Aww, geez Mr. P, you made my day!

Of course, if I don't exist, then I'd just be posting a picture of nothing, right? ;-)

Posted by Chris down in The Couv on December 3, 2008 at 11:05 AM

and does basic sex drive and low or high libidio have anything to do with it?

some gay men are not much interested in marathon sex, I wonder if they are guilt tripped a lot

others of us can enjoy hundreds of encounters over 30-40 years and never blink - and even remember names and dick configs

it is just a little pat the gay men are always depicted in some morass state, how trite, and of course we must die at the end of the romance film or book

bad fathes, too good mommies, there is a long list of suppositions that do not die easily

by the way the bath house full of mostly naked guys - some in towls - repudiates this survey - PURE democracy in motion

ask Charles, he will do a treatise about the seul class environment of the gay steam houses

Posted by Rex on December 3, 2008 at 11:06 AM

@11

Pics.

Posted by Mr. Poe on December 3, 2008 at 11:09 AM

Breaking News--Unsafe Sex Linked to Low Self-Esteem!

(Jeebus, how many times do we have to rediscover this?)

Posted by Andy Niable on December 3, 2008 at 11:09 AM

@13 - My, you are persistent, aren't you?

Posted by Chris down in The Couv on December 3, 2008 at 11:16 AM

Awesome that a major university funds such a study. Oh, in Canada. You don't say?

Let's not neglect the professor's hilarious coinage of the term "erotic capital" as the measurement of a person's desirability.

I'd like to see if the desirability is determined using a set of objective (and objectively applied) criteria, or if there's some subjectivity in the mix, i.e. cute guy doesn't think he's cute, and so is at risk. The current issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior isn't online with Seattle Public Library databases yet - curses.

Posted by tomasyalba on December 3, 2008 at 11:25 AM

Pretty trumphs everything. Duh.

Posted by J.R. Labrador on December 3, 2008 at 11:29 AM

My tuition went to this? Fuck! Where's my student centre?

Posted by Gloria on December 3, 2008 at 11:41 AM

"Ugly and Desperate" would be a more apt title for this post than "Hot and Safe".

People who can't get any will get it anywhere they can. Duh.

Posted by Mahtli69 on December 3, 2008 at 11:52 AM

Ugly people unite!?!

Posted by Vince on December 3, 2008 at 1:20 PM

Maybe ugly people should just be happy with other ugly people. Then they wouldn't be so desperate to hook a hottie.

Posted by another Andy on December 3, 2008 at 1:39 PM

@ 1
Before anyone told me I was attractive (and I'm not anymore), I did anything and everything, and was pretty risky. I punished myself for eating, too. Maybe it's just a side effect of dating men.

Posted by none on December 3, 2008 at 1:58 PM

@22. No, it's a side effect of dating "guys." Dating men is a whole 'nother thing.

Posted by jade on December 3, 2008 at 7:53 PM

I learned the truth at 17/That love was made for beauty queens...

Posted by Rick S. on December 3, 2008 at 9:08 PM

Before trashing the article, its method, its conclusion, it would probably help if you would read it first. As someone who HAS read the study, its much more sophisticated and qualified then the media blurb, and certainly the discussion on this forum.

Posted by Jorma on December 4, 2008 at 5:39 PM