Brothers on the Down Low Raise Rate of HIV
Traditionally, the stigma attached to homosexuality in the black community has kept African American gays in the closet and in denial. But the uproar which followed author J.L. King’s expos`e of brothers on the down low has served several important purposes. (For those of you who do not know what “down-low brother” means, it is a term used to describe African American men who live a heterosexual life to the outside world but are underground homosexuals.)
1. Repressing one’s sexual identity is an inroad to other forms of self-repression which may ultimately surface in more violent and perverse forms of expression.
2. The danger of keeping secrets in a relationship about one’s sexuality — such as being on the “down low” — can lead to danger for the other person in the relationship. Elizabeth Boskey, Ph.D. points out, “Whenever a person is in a relationship where one partner believes the relationship is monogamous, and the other partner is having sex outside the relationship, the faithful partner is at increased risk.” Boskey adds, “Although they may have a lower frequency of high-risk behaviors with other men, the high-risk behavior men on the down low engage in has a larger potential circle of consequence — particularly since many of them have multiple female, as well as male partners.”
3. Cloaking the fact that one is engaged in alternative sexual lifestyles can lead to premature deaths from disease and negligence. Boskey advises, “The only way to eliminate the problem of people having sex behind their partners’ backs is to change society so that open and honest communication about sex is the norm … be more tolerant. Allow people to be who they are, whether they are gay, straight, or bisexual. … Allow them the chance to tell the truth to the people they love. Making homosexuality acceptable would probably eliminate most people’s need or desire to be on the down low.” (The Lowdown on the Down Low: It’s Not Just a ‘Black Thing’ by Elizabeth Boskey, Ph.D., updated November 26, 2007).
An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the CDC’s estimates that in the United States AIDS is fifty times more prevalent among men who have sex with men (‘MSM’) than the rest of the population. Dr. Amy Lansky revealed this statistic during a plenary session at the 2009 HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta. –forrest green
