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Sexual Stereotypes Ascribed to Black Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Intersectional Analysis

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Abstract

Sexual stereotypes may adversely affect the health of Black men who have sex with men (MSM). Greater understanding of the nature and nuances of these stereotypes is needed. This online, survey-based study used an inductive, intersectional approach to characterize the sexual stereotypes ascribed to Black MSM by the U.S. general public, their distinctiveness from those ascribed to Black men and MSM in general, and their relative prototypicality as compared to dominant subgroups. Members of the public, recruited in 2014–2015, were randomly assigned to survey conditions that varied systematically by race (Black, White, or unspecified) and sexual orientation (gay, heterosexual, or unspecified) of a designated social group. Participants (n = 285) reported stereotypes of their assigned group that they perceived to exist in U.S. culture in an open-response format. Cross-condition comparisons revealed that, overall, Black gay male stereotypes were non-prototypical of Black men or gay men. Rather, stereotypes of Black men were more similar to Black heterosexual men and stereotypes of gay men were more similar to White gay men. Nonetheless, 11 of the 15 most frequently reported Black gay male stereotypes overlapped with stereotypes of Black men (e.g., large penis), gay men (e.g., deviant), or both (e.g., promiscuous). Four stereotypes were unique relative to both Black men and gay men: down low, diseased, loud, and dirty. Findings suggest that Black MSM face multiple derogatory sexual stereotypes, several of which are group-specific. These stereotypes are consistent with cultural (mis)representations of Black MSM and suggest a need for more accurate portrayals of existing sexual diversity within this group.

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Funding

This research was supported by Award Numbers K01-MH103080 (PI: SKC) and P30-MH062294 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). KU and DSK were supported by NIMH Award Numbers K01-MH093273 and K23-MH098795, respectively. VAE was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Award Number K12-HS022986. Additional mentorship was received from the Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Network (SBSRN) of the National Institutes of Health Centers for AIDS Research (2013 SBSRN National Scientific Meeting Mentoring Day), the Harvard University Center for AIDS Research (P30-AI060354), and the District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (P30-AI117970). The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIMH, the SBSRN, the National Institutes of Health, or the AHRQ.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, George Washington University, 2125 G Street NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    Sarah K. Calabrese

  2. Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Sarah K. Calabrese, Trace S. Kershaw & John F. Dovidio

  3. Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Sarah K. Calabrese, Valerie A. Earnshaw, Nathan B. Hansen, Kristen Underhill, Trace S. Kershaw & John F. Dovidio

  4. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA

    Valerie A. Earnshaw

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Manya Magnus

  6. Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Nathan B. Hansen

  7. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Douglas S. Krakower & Kenneth H. Mayer

  8. The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Douglas S. Krakower & Kenneth H. Mayer

  9. Columbia Law School, New York, NY, USA

    Kristen Underhill

  10. Disparities Solutions Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Joseph R. Betancourt

  11. Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    John F. Dovidio

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  1. Sarah K. Calabrese
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  2. Valerie A. Earnshaw
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  3. Manya Magnus
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  4. Nathan B. Hansen
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  5. Douglas S. Krakower
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  6. Kristen Underhill
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  7. Kenneth H. Mayer
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  8. Trace S. Kershaw
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  9. Joseph R. Betancourt
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  10. John F. Dovidio
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Correspondence to Sarah K. Calabrese.

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All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The institutional review board of Yale University reviewed and approved all study procedures prior to their inception (HSC #1308012487).

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Calabrese, S.K., Earnshaw, V.A., Magnus, M. et al. Sexual Stereotypes Ascribed to Black Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Intersectional Analysis. Arch Sex Behav 47, 143–156 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0911-3

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