‘I don't care if you think I'm gay … that won't make me either promiscuous or HIV positive’: HIV, stigma, and the paradox of the gay men's sexual health clinic - An exploratory study

It Cannot Happen, Never: A Qualitative Study Exploring Youth Views on Disclosure of HIV Diagnosis to Their Sexual Partners in Southern Malawi

“…Other researchers have found that people living with HIV are denied equal opportunities because of the misconception that casual contact has the potential to transmit HIV (Wong & Nur Syuhada, 2011). In addition, living with HIV is translated into being promiscuous/womanizer, which is a culturally unacceptable behavior that deserves “punishment” in some religious communities and results in community isolation (Adia et al, 2018; Watts & O'Byrne, 2019; Wong & Nur Syuhada, 2011). This study relied on data from youth living with HIV only, and it is essential to examine the perceptions of other people in the community on how to best support this population.…”

Understanding stigma and suicidality among gay men living with HIV: A photovoice project

“…Researchers have indicated that the level of stigma connected with HIV has decreased considerably since the beginning of the HIV epidemic (Adrien, Beaulieu, Leaune, Perron, & Dassa, 2013;Pitasi et al, 2018); yet stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors towards GMHIV continue, including from HIV negative gay men (Burnham et al, 2016;Ferlatte et al, 2017;Rendina et al, 2017;Skinta, Fekete, & Williams, 2019). GMHIV might be particularly affected by HIV stigma because they are often seen as personally responsible for acquiring HIV due to engaging in what is constructed as risky sexual behaviors that many members of society consider socially unacceptable (Herek & Capitanio, 1999;Watts & O'Byrne, 2019). HIV stigma is associated with an array of negative health outcomes and mental health challenges (Chambers et al, 2015;Logie & Gadalla, 2009;Mak, Poon, Pun, & Cheung, 2007;Rueda et al, 2016) and has also been linked with suicidal ideation and attempts in several epidemiological studies (Capron, Gonzalez, Parent, Zvolensky, & Schmidt, 2012;Carrico, 2010;Ferlatte et al, 2017;Zeng et al, 2018).…”

Gay = STIs? Exploring gay and lesbian sexual health stereotypes and their implications for prejudice and discrimination

“…The extant literature suggests that stereotypes of gay men and lesbian women more broadly often reflect a gender inversion assumption (Kite & Deaux, 1987), which is that gay men tend to be more feminine in their hobbies, personality traits, and preferences while lesbian women tend to be more masculine (Blashill & Powlishta, 2009). In the context of health, however, gender inversion does not seem to be the underlying mechanism for stereotype content, as there are unique stereotypes that associate gay people (primarily gay men) with promiscuity (Calabrese et al, 2018;Golub et al, 2017;Ross, 2002;Watts & O'Byrne, 2019), risky sexual behaviors (e.g., having sexual intercourse without condoms), and carrying various STIs.…”