AEGiS-14IAC: Sexual orientation, sexual partnership and sexual identity of MSM in India.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Sexual orientation, sexual partnership and sexual identity of MSM in India.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. TuOrE1240)

Joseph S
Visva Bharati University, Sriniketan, Kolkata, India

Different forms of same-sex sexualities among males coexists in India. Some of them are the continuation of the traditional forms of transgenderal, transgenerational or class-structured homosexuality and the others are expressions of modern egalitarian form of same-sex sexualities. The objective of this study is to acess the sexual orientation, sexual partnership and sexual identities of MSM involved in formal networks.

METHOD: 52 MSM, selected from 2 formal networks in Kolkata responded to an anonymous questionnaire. Sexual orientation was measured using the variables of sexal attraction, sexual behaviour, sexual fantasies and self-identification. The sexual identity, that compose of a personal sexual identity and a public sexual identity, was measured using a 3-point scale.

RESULTS: The subjects belong to an average age of 27, educated, less religious and belong to middle class families. The variables sexual attraction, sexual behaviour, sexual orientation and self-identification are valid indicators for measuring sexual orientation of MSM. 63.5 % have a predominantly homosexual, 32.7 % have a predominant bisexual orientation and 3.8% have a predominant heterosexual orientation. The partnership of different forms of commercial (vocation & non-vocation) and non-commercial (anonymous, non-anonymous & intimate) was found to exist among the MSM. 69.2, 26.9, 3.9 percent of the subjects have a personal sexual identity of homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual respectively, while the percentages are 13.5, 26.9 and 59.6 respectively for public sexual identity.

CONCLUSION: MSM is a diverse population on sexual orientation, sexual partnerships and sexual identities. Majority of the subjects have a homosexual orientation and they self-identify as homosexual at the personal level, while maintaining a heterosexual public identity. Any HIV/AIDS intervention programme should recognise these aspects and different strategies adopted to control male-to-male transmission.

Keywords: AEGIS, Sex Behavior, Gender Identity, Homosexuality, Bisexuality, Heterosexuality, Sexuality, Identification (Psychology), HIV Infections, Fantasy, Ego, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Coitus, India, Human, Male

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TuOrE1240