Term "On the Down Low" Could Harm HIV Prevention for Black Men, From POZ.com Options

[K_Green]

The use of the term “on the down low” in HIV prevention strategies may weaken efforts to understand the nature of HIV risk among African-American men, aidsmap.com reports. In the United States, HIV infection rates are seven times higher among African-American men than they are for white men.

The description is used to describe black men who identify as heterosexual and secretly have sex with other men. Researchers believe the phrase can cast a negative light on the behavior as an issue unique to black men.

In a study published in the January 2009 issue of Social Science and Medicine, researchers say they believe that one of the problems with outsiders—such as public health professionals—using the terminology is the term is used as a simple label, without understanding the social, cultural and historical factors that drive behavior.

According to the article, the authors of the study emphasize the importance of poverty, racism and social inequality to the HIV epidemic, and they note that few HIV prevention interventions address these topics. Moreover, researchers write that tailoring interventions to fit men on the down low “conforms to a narrow, individual-level approach to HIV prevention.”




i've been saying this for years!

[EarthMother]

The use of the term “on the down low” in HIV prevention strategies may weaken efforts to understand the nature of HIV risk among African-American men, aidsmap.com reports. In the United States, HIV infection rates are seven times higher among African-American men than they are for white men.

The description is used to describe black men who identify as heterosexual and secretly have sex with other men. Researchers believe the phrase can cast a negative light on the behavior as an issue unique to black men.

In a study published in the January 2009 issue of Social Science and Medicine, researchers say they believe that one of the problems with outsiders—such as public health professionals—using the terminology is the term is used as a simple label, without understanding the social, cultural and historical factors that drive behavior.

According to the article, the authors of the study emphasize the importance of poverty, racism and social inequality to the HIV epidemic, and they note that few HIV prevention interventions address these topics. Moreover, researchers write that tailoring interventions to fit men on the down low “conforms to a narrow, individual-level approach to HIV prevention.”




i've been saying this for years!

Well, you are a man before your time, EM! But given that this is true, what is the solution? Should it be addressed from the angle of somehow encouraging these guys to be in their truth about their sexuality (and the same could be said of all other men who may not be black but are in the same denial)? From the angle of prevention above all? Should some sort of compilation of these, and maybe other, approaches be formed? I'd be interested in where the term "on the down low" came from in the first place! I was under the impression that it came from the guys themselves, as a sort of "code" for self- and like-kind-identification, the same way gay guys will call themselves and each other queens or queer, etc. If that's not true, then perhaps that's an angle of approach - being honest with yourself and others because you don't want that label applied to you? And is "tailoring interventions to an individual-level approach" such a bad thing? "Narrow," yes, is limiting, but understanding that different approaches will either work or not for different people and then discerning which ones work for who seems like a wise way to find the most effective methods. I guess I come back again to the question of what's the solution? I am so frustrated with the idea of "the importance of poverty, racism and social inequality to the HIV epidemic, and they note that few HIV prevention interventions address these topics." Can ANY amount of understanding of the importance of these things change that importance? Can any amount of just understanding these elements of the human (not just black or brown or red or white) experience change them? I believe that understanding is just the first step - but then some sort of action must take place, something that galvanizes people to release them, reverse them, be free of them. But then, I guess if I knew what that action was, I WOULD be Queen of the World!

[Joyce_Fitzgerald]

As I go about my work, I hear people use the term "down low" now and then. Usually, it is being used as an insult.

Is there a better term to describe MSM/Ws who are not open about it? Something non-judgmental?

[K_Green]

As I go about my work, I hear people use the term "down low" now and then. Usually, it is being used as an insult.

Is there a better term to describe MSM/Ws (men who have sex with men and women) who are not open about it? Something non-judgmental?

How about MSM/Ws?!?! It is non-judgmental and, as Earth Mother suggests, it opens the door for such men to accept the truth of their sexuality. Actually, this term is being used more frequently, but with caution as well, because we don't want to define people solely on the basis of who they engage with sexually. I guess it would suitable if we were only addressing sexual behavior, but clearly that doesn't exist in a vaccuum. But until we come up with something better, it will have to suffice!