Abstract
Previous studies point to high levels of sexual risk-taking among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Jamaica, despite a high degree of knowledge about safe sex practices on their part. This chapter explores the psychosocial factors that impact sexual risk-taking within the MSM community in Jamaica. The study is a phenomenology and explores the lived experiences of participants. In-depth focus group discussions were conducted with 48 MSM. The salient themes emerging from the data include: (1) transactional sex, (2) sexual identity, (3) sex roles, (4) substance use, (5) homophobia, (6) family acceptance and (7) multiple partners. The essence of these inter-subjective experiences is that the society's interactions with MSM, as individuals and as a group, shape their interpersonal behaviours.
The condom is marketed based on fear, if you don’t use a condom you’ll get pregnant or get AIDS or gonorrhea or some other STD. But trust erodes fear . I trust this person and this person would not knowingly expose me to this.(A Jamaican MSM)
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McKenzie, M.L. (2017). Trust Erodes Fear: A Psychosocial Perspective on Sexual Risk-Taking Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Jamaica. In: Carpenter, K. (eds) Interweaving Tapestries of Culture and Sexuality in the Caribbean. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58816-2_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58816-2_5
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