THE MYTH OF HETEROSEXUAL AIDS:

'Closeted' Men May Play Key Role in STD Spread: CDC (Reuters, February 6, 2003)

Young black men who have sex with other men are more likely than their peers to be closeted, meaning they have not disclosed their sexual orientation to others, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

And while such closeted men don't have a higher risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) than "out" gay and bisexual men, "nondisclosers" are less likely to know that they carry the virus that causes AIDS and are more likely to have recently had sex with a woman, the CDC survey suggests.

The findings make it clear, the report's authors say, that more effort should be made to test closeted men and their sex partners--male and female--for HIV and STDs.

Men who have sex with other men but don't disclose their sexual orientation "are thought to be at particularly high risk for HIV infection because of low self-esteem, depression or lack of peer support and prevention services that are available" to men who are more open about their homosexuality, D. A. Shehan of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and colleagues write.

The survey finding that more than one in three closeted men reported having had sex with women recently suggests that such "nondisclosers" may play a major role in spreading HIV and STDs to women, according to the CDC.

This might be particularly true for closeted black men, the CDC adds, as about one in five were positive for hepatitis B and about one in seven were HIV positive.

And given that men who are deeply enough closeted won't even reveal to any but the most persistent interviewers, this may understate the problem. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 6, 2003 10:44 PM