Men who have sex with men

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Men who have sex with men (MSM) is a term used to identify men who have sex with men, but may or may not self-identify as gay or homosexual. The term includes transsexuals who self-identify as men.

MSM groups include:

  • sexually active men who self-identify as "gay" or "homosexual"
  • sexually active men who self-identify as bisexual men
  • men who identify as heterosexual but who nonetheless at times have sex with other men
  • men who engage in sexual behavior with any transsexual, while perceiving them as males, regardless of how the transsexual may identify themselves
  • men who have sex with men, and whose cultural paradigm may not lead to defining oneself as heterosexual or homosexual as most modern/Western cultures tend to

Contents

[edit] MSM as behavioural category

Young and Meyer (2005) note that the term has been in use within the public health discourse since 1990 or earlier, but that the coining of the acronym by Glick et. al. (1994) "signaled the crystallization of a new concept." They trace the emergence of this behavioural concept to two very distinct academic perspectives. First, it was pursued by epidemiologists seeking behavioural categories that would offer better analytical concepts for the study of disease risk than identity-based categories (such as "gay" etc., since a man who identifies as gay is not necessarily sexually active). Second, its usage could in part be explained by the criticism of sexual identity terms prevalent in the 'social construction' literature, which typically rejected the use of identity-based concepts across different cultural and historical contexts.

[edit] MSM as a construct

MSM are not limited to small self-identified and visible sub-populations, such as gay-identified men and male sex workers .

‘MSM’ and ‘homosexual’ refer to a different social identity. ‘MSM’ refers to the sexual relationships between men whether they identify or not with same-sex sexual desire. ‘Homosexuality’, however, refers to more than the sexual relationship and may extend to broader relationships with the same sex, lifestyle, sexuality, etc.

There is no homogeneity in the MSM population other than them being males.

It is important to emphasise that the concept of MSM as a behavioural category masks the diversity and complexity of male-to-male sex. In their assessment of the knowledge about the sexual networks and behaviours of men who have sex with men in Asia Dowsett, Grierson and McNally observed that using MSM as a category does not always work. From the material they have reviewed there is not a clearly identifiable group of men who can be labelled MSM in any of the countries investigated.

"The literature reveals that there are no socially or self-defined groups of men that fit into an overarching category of MSM. What the review shows is that there are just men!! Fishermen, students, factory workers, military recruits, truck drivers, and men who sell sex, and so on: all these categories of men are to be found in the studies and programmes reviewed." (Dowsett, Grierson and McNally)

[edit] Non-exhaustive list of MSM

  • Gay males, mostly in the western world
  • Homosexual males
  • FTM transsexuals, who engage in sex with men
  • Males who engage in sex with MTF transsexuals under the belief that they are males
  • Bakla in Philippines
  • Meti in Nepal
  • Kothis in South Asia
  • Parik in Calcutta (India), a kothi label for the “husband” of a kothi.
  • Panthi is a kothi label for any “manly male.” A panthi is by definition a man who penetrates
  • Pedal, ciota, cwel in Poland
  • Waria in Indonesia
  • Tongzhi (comrades) in China
  • down-low, especially among African Americans
  • Sex workers (commercial or not)

[edit] Non-exhaustive list of people who are not MSM

  • Any woman, including MTF transsexuals, regardless of any other factors
  • Men, including FTM transsexuals, who engage in sex exclusively with women, regardless of any other factors
  • A man who is raped without his consent by another man
  • A man who unknowingly may participate in sex with someone who has a male self-identity

[edit] References

    • UNESCO Guidelines on Language and Content in HIV and AIDS-Related Materials. [1]
    • Assessment of sexual health needs of males who have sex with males in Laos and Thailand. Naz Foundation International [2]
    • Sexual Identity Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Shanghai. Sun Zhongxin, James Farrer, Kyung-hee Choi. China Perspectives n°64, March - April 2006, page n°2 [3]
    • Playing Back the Nation: Waria, Indonesian Transvestites [4]
    • A review of knowledge about the sexual networks and behaviours of men who have sex with men in Asia. Dowsett, Grierson and McNally. [5]
    • Young, R M & Meyer, I H (2005) The Trouble with "MSM" and "WSW": Erasure of the Sexual-Minority Person in Public Health Discourse American Journal of Public Health July 2005 Vol. 95 No. 7
    • Glick, M Muzyka, B C Salkin, L M Lurie, D (1994) Necrotizing ulcerative periodonitis: a marker for immune deterioration and a predictor for the diagnosis of AIDS Journal of Periodontology 1994 65 p. 393-397

    [edit] See also

    [edit] External links

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