Role Flexing: How Community, Religion, and Family Shape the Experiences of Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men

Abstract

While the disproportionate impact of HIV on young black men who have sex with men (MSM) is well documented, the reasons for this disparity remain less clear. Through in-depth interviews, we explored the role of familial, religious, and community influence on the experiences of young black MSM and identified strategies that these young men use to negotiate and manage their sexual minority status. Between February and April 2008, 16 interviews were conducted among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected young (19-to 24-year-old) black MSM in the Jackson, Mississippi, area. Results suggest that overall, homosexuality remains highly stigmatized by the men's families, religious community, and the African American community. To manage this stigma, many of the participants engaged in a process of "role flexing," in which individuals modified their behavior in order to adapt to a particular situation. The data also provided evidence of internalized homophobia among a number of the participants. The impact of stigma on risk behavior should be more fully explored, and future intervention efforts need to explicitly address and challenge stigma, both among young men themselves and the communities in which they reside. Attention should also be paid to the role masculinity may play as a driver of the HIV epidemic among young black MSM and how this knowledge can be used to inform prevention efforts.

Standing in the intersection : using Photovoice to understand the lived experience of black gay college students attending predominantly white postsecondary institutions.

“…Church-sanctioned heterosexism may have resulted from the Black community's efforts to live as full human beings in the face of racial oppression (Boykin, 1996(Boykin, , 2005Hooks, 2001). One could argue that heterosexism in the Black community is the consequence of a White supremacist past and internalized racism, a perspective taking shape and gaining ground in the current discourse around Black heterosexism (Barnes, 2013;Manago, 2012 (Balaji et al, 2012;Barnes, 2013;Chaney & Patrick, 2011;McQueeney, 2009). In addition to the negative experiences shared by research participants in these studies, the researchers also documented a heteronormative ideology present in everything from church doctrine to weekly sermons.…”

“…LGBTQ youth live under the constant very real threat of rejection by family, loss of close friendships, and community support (Balaji et al, 2012;Gastic, 2012;Rasmussen, 2004). Sadly, parental rejection too often leads to LGBTQ youth becoming part of the homeless youth population, where there are disproportionate numbers of…”

“…Relentless and pervasive antigay rhetoric imprints on the LGBTQ psyche contributing to the development of a negative self-image and internalized homophobia (Balaji et al, 2012;Dudley, 2013).…”

“…While religion uplifts, it also demeans BLG community members (Ashley et al, 2013;Chaney & Patrick, 2011). To maintain deeply desired connections to places of worship, BLG community members may alter their behavior, engage in homophobic speech, and downplay homophobic church doctrine to deflect suspicion of their sexuality (Balaji et al, 2012). The following quote exemplifies the confusion and fear BLG young people experience as a byproduct of ideas and actions carried out in the name of religious beliefs.…”

“…Distancing itself from certain actions and "lifestyles it considers to be immoral," the Black church has been called out for this hypocritical stance (Barnes, 2013(Barnes, , p. 1418. Black LGBTQ community members believe the church chooses to focus on the expulsion of certain sins, while turning its head on others, and fails to question biblical scripture relating to homosexuality, as it had when biblical scripture was used as the justification for slavery (Balaji et al, 2012;Barnes, 2013). The Black church has a great deal of influence on the beliefs and attitudes of individuals within the Black community; as such, the church's denunciation of homosexuality is deeply rooted in Black culture (Balaji et al, 2012;Barnes, 2013;Chaney & Patrick, 2011;McQueeney, 2009).…”