Almost one in 10 straight men on the `down-low,' study finds

[barb162]

Posted on Mon, Sep. 18, 2006email thisprint this
Almost one in 10 straight men on the `down-low,' study finds
By Dawn Fallik

The Philadelphia Inquirer

(MCT)

PHILADELPHIA - Almost 10 percent of men who say they're straight also happen to be having sex with men, according to a new study, one of the largest ever to specifically address "down-low" behavior.

The study, based out of New York City, found that most of the down-low men did not use condoms and that 70 percent were married. Researchers said they hoped their report would change the way doctors asked patients about their sexual behavior.

"Everyone talks about it, but it's the first time I've seen data on this issue," said Thomas J. Coates, a psychologist who specializes in sexual behavior at the University of California at Los Angeles. Even so, he said the numbers were probably low estimates.

"It's probably above this, because it's hard to get people to admit to this kind of behavior."

snip
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/15550798.htm

[acmavm]

1. Is this for real?

[barb162]

3. that's what I was thinking but the article seems legit.

[Triana]

32. It's for real....

...though I have a hard time grasping why any man would put their wife (whom they supposedly love) at such heavy risk for HIV and other STDs just to get a few moments of sexual thrill. It's beyond me. Just goes to show that no matter how careful you are, you never know what dishonest people who care more about getting their rocks off (than you or your life or health) don't tell you.

Scum -- if ya ask me. They're friggin scum. NOT for having sex - but for doing it UNSAFELY and DISHONESTLY. And unfortunately, this is all too real.

[LynneSin]

2. So that means the 50 male republican senators in DC

Five of them are getting something-something on the side with a guy

:scared:

The question is - which 5

:scared:

[mom cat]

4. Does this behavior affect other species such as chimps?

[aquart]

7. Lots of other species.

We're only just beginning to notice. God's plan has variety.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

11. Bisexuality is the norm for chimps and bonobos

Bisexuality and homosexuality does occur in nature.

[DireStrike]

5. No, you're mistaken

the GOP senators are all from that 10% segment of the population.

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

6. Don't ask, don't tell?

Besides, str8 guys think as long as they don't kiss, it's not 'gay'! <wink>

[Jed Dilligan]

19. The rate among hypocritical, gay-bashing Repukes

is more like 10 in 10, I'm afraid.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

33. If Santorum isn't one of "the 5," I'm Ru Paul. -nt

[Warpy]

8. Not surprised, a friend used to cruise rest areas

on the way out to the burbs during the evening rush hour for workadaddies interested in low down quickies on the way home. He only stopped when the AIDS crisis hit town.

I often wondered how many of those nice family men infected their wives with HIV.

[moc]

9. I'm not surprised. This is consistent with what my friends who do HIV

research tell me. That's why they refer to 'MSMs' (i.e., men who have sex with men) rather than gay men - because not all men who engage in homosexual sex self-identify as gay. Also, it's another reason why condom use among non-self-identifying MSMs is lower - if you take/use a condom it means you planned it, it didn't "just happen" and you really are gay.

[sarge43]

10. Uh. The 1948 Kinsey Report pointed out that few people are

exclusive to one gender during their life times. Why is this news?

[Anarcho-Socialist]

12. I think due to societal and cultural pressures

most people are not able to identify their position on the Kinsey Scale and may repress feelings for one sex or the other.

[barb162]

17. It's news to every generation I think. Who reads Kinsey now?

Other than sociologists

[sarge43]

30. Well, it's just not the Kinsey Report

That human sexuality is a spectrum of behavior, not a binary, has been confirmed by several studies. I'm surprised that the psychologist was surprised; that's all.

[bigluckyfeet]

31. I just Saw the Kinsey movie on DVD

It was pretty good.Kinsey tried some gay and 3 way sex with his wife.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Well, probably because...

the Bluehairs have been successfully censoring Kinsey for the last 58 years.

[sarge43]

26. They may have tried, but cue Kinsey Report on

Amazon or B&N and you'll get a pricey first edition, reprints, critiques and critiques of critiques. I bet if you check your local library it's there, gathering dust.

When they came out, both reports were on the NYT best seller list for months. I was only six or seven years old at the time and I remember the uproar.

[AngryAmish]

27. Kinsey Report had some methodological problems

Yet an important work.

[Bridget Burke]

34. The seahags at Concerned Women For America still hate Kinsey....

They set up a special "education" page when the film came out.

www.cwfa.org/kinsey.asp

[maxsolomon]

13. i doubt the 10% number. too high.

more like 9.75%.

[RedStateShame]

14. No Jeff Gannon posts yet? People, get on the ball.

[Jed Dilligan]

20. I took mom cat's post above

as an oblique Gannon reference... ifyaknowhuddimean...

[Horse with no Name]

15. One only has to visit Craig's list

to find that many men are doing this--and many are affirmed married with children...just "curious".
Forbidden fruit and all that, you know.

[savemefromdumbya]

16. these are some of the guys who appear homophobic?

I wonder how many of the 10% appear to the public as 'gay haters'

[Horse with no Name]

18. Probably the majority of them

They loathe the lust in themselves, so they punish others for it. Typical way that these types handle any type of sexuality.
Typical modus operandi.

[Nye Bevan]

22. I think there is some truth in that

Like that guy on "American Beauty".

[savemefromdumbya]

24. yes

[cally]

23. Well, I'm surprised

I've always assumed that 10 percent of the population is gay, but with these numbers it would be much higher. I guess it's a matter of definition.

So, I'm curious how married men, heterosexual, justify this. Do they really believe they are not cheating when they have sex with men? Most probably are not thinking of themselves as gay, but just exploring alternatives. How do they think this is OK?

[AspenRose]

25. It's even higher in the black community

I need to look up the stats.

[varun]

28. If I remember Kinsey studies correctly

about 4% were EXCLUSIVELY homosexual

about 30% had same sex contact sometime over the last 10 years or so (of the sample).

So this report does not surprise me at all.

[aikoaiko]

29. Read the Research article -- interesting info -- but remember its NYC men

http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/145/6/416


Male Survey Participants

Among men, 91.3% reported straight or heterosexual identity, 3.7% reported gay identity, 1.2% reported bisexual identity, 1.7% responded "not sure or don't know," and 2.1% declined to answer the question. Of men who answered the questions regarding the number and sex of their sex partners, 70.6% reported having sex with only women, 9.3% reported having sex with only men, 0.8% reported having sex with men and women, and 19.3% reported no sexual activity during the past year. The final sample for which identity–behavior groups were constructed consisted of men reporting sexual partners in the previous year who also reported a straight, gay, or bisexual sexual identity; this included approximately 69% of 4193 surveyed men. Demographic characteristics of the 2898 men who were included and the 1295 men who were excluded were largely similar; however, the men who were not included were more likely to be older (>65 years of age) and to report a divorced, separated, or widowed marital status. Table 1 details the number of men in the sexual identity–behavior groups.



The remaining analysis focused on straight-identified men who have sex with women (concordant identity–behavior), straight-identified men who have sex with men (discordant identity–behavior), and gay-identified men who have sex with men (concordant identity–behavior). Of the men in these 3 weighted groups, 96.6% identified as straight and 3.4% identified as gay. Of the straight-identified men, 9.4% reported having sexual intercourse with at least 1 man (and no women) in the year before the survey. Thus, 87.5% of men in the 3 groups exhibited exclusively heterosexual behavior and 12.5% demonstrated exclusively homosexual behavior. Among men who have sex with men, 72.8% identified as straight.