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Bisexually Active Black Men in the United States and HIV: Acknowledging More Than the “Down Low”

  • Original Paper: Black And Latino Male Bisexualities Special Section
  • Published:
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Abstract

HIV is disproportionately impacting Black men who have sex with men and heterosexual women in the United States. Current speculation posits a “bisexual bridge” of HIV transmission connecting these two subpopulations of the Black community. Specifically, bisexually active Black men who identify as heterosexual but do not disclose their same-sex behavior, or “down low” (DL) men, have received the most attention and blame as the primary group fueling this epidemic. This essay explores the current knowledge and limitations of public health research on bisexually active Black men. Implications for future research initiatives are discussed.

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Notes

  1. The word “Black” is used to describe the collective group of people of African descent who identify as Black and include African Americans and individuals born in Africa, the Caribbean, and other geographic locations of the African diaspora.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Brian Dodge and Theo Sandfort for their invaluable suggestions and review of this article.

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  1. Division of General Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, 49 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, Suite 413, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA

    David J. Malebranche

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Correspondence to David J. Malebranche.

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Malebranche, D.J. Bisexually Active Black Men in the United States and HIV: Acknowledging More Than the “Down Low”. Arch Sex Behav 37, 810–816 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9364-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9364-7

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