Sexual identity and its contribution to MSM risk behavior in Bangaluru (Bangalore) , India: the results of a two-stage cluster sampling survey
Phillips, A.E.; Boily, M.C.; Lowndes, C.M.; Garnett, G.P.; Gurav, K.; Ramesh, B.M.; Anthony, J.; Watts, R.; Moses, S.; Alary, M.
Journal of Lgbt Health Research 4(2-3): 111-126
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 1557-4091 PMID: 19856744 DOI: 10.1080/15574090902922975Document Number: 208114
In India, there are categories of MSM (hijras, kothis, double-deckers, panthis and bisexuals), which are generally associated with different HIV-risk behaviors. Our objective was to quantify differences across MSM identities (n = 357) and assess the extent they conform to typecasts that prevail in policy-orientated discourse. More feminine kothis (26%) and hijras (13%) mostly reported receptive sex, and masculine panthis (15%) and bisexuals (23%) insertive anal sex. However, behavior did not always conform to expectation, with 25% and 16% of the sample reporting both insertive and receptive anal intercourse with known and unknown noncommercial partners, respectively (p < 0.000). Although behavior often complied with stereotyped role and identity, male-with-male sexual practices were fluid. Reification of these categories in an intervention context may hinder our understanding of the differential HIV risk among MSM.