Stigma and fear of discrimination: This prevalent fear prevents open discussion about reckless activities that can result in infection, and the action that could be taken to prevent it. It also leaves people afraid to be tested, meaning many may not seek until they are very sick when it is often too late to save the life. Also, and just as dangerous, these individuals will not take sufficient precautions to prevent onward transmission.
Homosexuality is heavily stigmatized in many communities, most particularly in black churches, which views homosexuality as an abomination. No one wants to face that, so black men may prefer to keep their sexuality a secret. Instead, some black men who have sex with men, identify themselves as “on the down low.” In the vast majority of cases, the woman in the relationship will be unaware of her partner’s activities. According to the San Francisco Chronicle in 2005, a man told reporters that the terms ‘”homosexual” or “gay” are rarely used by black men on the down low:
“Gays to me were white men. The brothers that I hung out with, we never called ourselves gay. We just liked men. One brother asked me where my girlfriend was. I told him I didn’t have a girlfriend because I’m gay. Yet he was still like, ‘so why don’t you have a girlfriend?’ He thought I should have a girlfriend as a front,” said a man named Blue Buddha.
