Crack and lesbianism

So, it puts you in a whole different perspective of how you want to, I guess, be who you are. HIV-negative group. Being gay or bisexual is not accepted and is even condemned in many contexts that are central to African American communities. So, many men may struggle with who they are and finding places where they can be more comfortable with their sexuality. We identified 18 subthemes directly related to drug use and sex in the population and grouped them under four overarching domains.

They include drug and alcohol use and transactions as motivators, allowers, rationalizers , and facilitators for having sex with other men. Further, we discuss how these four roles help to decrease cognitive dissonance regarding issues of masculinity and participation in same-sex sexuality but also how they complicate a fifth domain, recovery from drug addiction , for some African American MSM. Drugs as motivators of same-sex activity refer to instances in which men report having sex with other men solely or primarily because of their own drug use or dependence.

Three subthemes were identified, which described how drugs motivated or influenced same-sex activity including: 1 exchange of sex for drugs or money to buy drugs, 2 formative early childhood sexual experiences with men that involved drugs, and 3 drug use contributing to feelings of hypersexuality or sexual compulsion that were most easily satisfied by male partners.

A small number of participants seemed to indicate that, for them, sex with men was limited to periods of active druguse and generally occurred within the context of exchange sex. Exchange sex or sex for drugs, money, or shelter was referenced by multiple participants and in all but one of the focus group discussions.

In some instances, exchange sex was described as a means to meet multiple needs, including obtaining drugs or money and fulfilling desires for sex with men. In others, the drugs or the means to buy them were discussed as a sole motivator for sex with men.

For example:. P1: I only messed around [with men] because I am such a stone-cold crack head that I had to have it When it came to crack cocaine, you know and then I discovered crystal meth. P2: I think, uh, that drug use and alcohol abuse is the major reason why HIV is out of control today.

Because even straight men know that they can go and make money with having a guy suck their dick so they can get that next hit, you know. You know, you going. Some participants questioned, however, whether any man would engage in sex with another man without having some same-sex attractions. For one participant, exchange sex was part of his early, formative sexual experiences with other men and led to years of prostitution as a means to access drugs. P: Like I said, I was just a straight prostitute out there because I had to get the next hit Uh, I think I turned my first little trick for a six-pack of beer when I was like In other instances, participants indicated that sex with men was a response to the sexual compulsion and desire that was brought on by stimulant use.

For example, this participant seems to indicate that one is more susceptible to same-sex attractions when high and that an easily aroused man who is also high makes the ideal potential sexual partner in these circumstances:. The participant below indicates that crack cocaine use causes him to want to play the receptive rather than the insertive role in sexual intercourse when asked to identify the factors that affect his sexual behavior.

P: Cocaine Rock cocaine, Rock cocaine I mean, it flips the script on me just like that. Instead of me poking, I want to get poked, I mean, just like that. Drugs as allowers of same-sex behavior refer to instances where drug intoxication allows a man to act out his desire for sex with another man despite a personal intention to avoid the behavior. You know, at the time when I used to do cocaine You know?

P: Yeah Or, what I was thinking. Below, this participant refers to being involved with sex with men while drunk and later regretting the action when sober. P: I think it almost kind of reinforces the You kind of try to separate yourself even further from that lifestyle.

I think that it becomes-you can almost demonize it a little bit, you know. Like, I think I hate to be drunk. Closely related to the role of drugs as allowers was when they were used as rationalizers of same-sex behavior.

Subthemes included concern about 1 fulfilling masculine gender role expectations and 2 homophobia among peers. Often, both roles came into play.

This excuse was one they could give to others and to themselves in order to avoid admitting to or thinking about the implications of their sexual desires and actions. P: I think that drugs, alcohol, and sex and the MSM have been a major factor because what it has done for men that were on the down low that really had the feelings or had it inside of them.

Once we got loaded, once we hit the pipe, once we were using speed, or once we had the alcohol, then, when I fucked around with you, I can say I was fucked up last night laughter. So, what it does, or what it has done, or what it did; it opened up the door to bring the down low, to expose it more. Because now we found something that lets us do what we want to do, be who we want to be. And, we have an excuse to do it. It enhanced our feelings, it gives an excuse for our feelings, and enabled us to do what we enjoy doing anyway.

And in most cases, even if we became sober, we still do it. P: Well, a lot of them have inferiority complexes about their manhood being compromised, and this, that, and the other. And, they like on And then if someone says something off the record, they be ready to fight and this, that, and the other because somebody might, you know, say something derogatory, call them a punk, or whatever the case may be, and then they feel as if they have to defend their manhood, you know what I mean?

And, you know, they have issues. They use drugs as an excuse. Ok, cause you know how the crack epidemic is And, I think that guys mess with gay people for two reasons. They like what you can do for them, for the most part. So, if any number of reasons that a person comes up with, worried about what their homeboys got to say I cannot see myself being that, but I can see myself having sex with a man all the time.

For example, a few men discussed public and social settings that served both as pick-up spots for MSM and as venues where drugs or alcohol were sold and used, thus contributing to a tendency for MSM to have sex under the influence.

These settings included bars, clubs, and private parties. Much illicit drug use, however, as with sex between men, occurs in secret with people who either accept drug use or use drugs themselves. Therefore, the two activities can very easily coexist. For example, the participant above described men who, under the guise of using drugs, would go off secretly with known drug-using MSM in order to have sex with them. Other subthemes that emerged related to drugs as facilitators of same-sex activity and included 4 increased comfort with approaching potential partners, 5 a method of coping with secretly engaging in sex with men, and 6 gender differences in sexual arousal between males and females.

This participant felt less inhibited in approaching someone he was attracted to when under the influence. That influence or something, it gives me more courage to say what I want to say. Another described how drugs may be used to deal with the feelings and stress associated with secretly engaging in sex with men. Some participants indicated that when they were high and very sexually aroused, they preferred male to female sexual partners.

Participants indicated that male partners were easily aroused and required less emotional commitment and initiated fewer conflicts than did women. One participant, however, described how his female drug-using partners were more aroused and ready to have sex when under the influence of stimulants.

Hence, these drugs seem to have the benefit of also making some females primarily interested in sex. Below, this participant indicated that his drug-using female partners also tended to accept his bisexual behavior, a statement that was supported by other group participants.

P1: Okay, and then on the flip side, with the women See in addiction community, women are more accepting of men who mess with men, then just straight women.

P1: And I never, ever, I never hid it in the addiction community. One participant explained that he was currently in drug treatment for the ninth time and that his only chance for success is if he does not hide his same-sex activity and deals with his sexuality.

Another participant later concurred and indicated that the focus group dialogue helped him to feel more comfortable with the idea of discussing his sexuality with his sponsor.

P: You know what? Cuz, in the Because, because but, for the ah, ah, the seriousness of my disease, my life is at stake here, I have to get this off of me, I have to be able to divulge this to another human being. Other substance use, sex-related subthemes, not discussed here, were raised by participants. These included decreased motivation for using protection or thinking about HIV risk, increased HIV susceptibility, increased sexual performance and enhanced sexual experiences, risk of sexual dysfunction and relationship difficulties with prolonged use, and the ability to separate from negative feelings related to being HIV infected.

Along with enhancing sexual encounters, men described alcohol use and illicit drug transactions, use, and abuse as motivating sex with other men, allowing and rationalizing same-sex activity, and facilitating access to male sex partners. Those in recovery for substance abuse indicated that an unwillingness to admit their same-sex activity or to come to terms with their homosexuality or bisexuality contributed to drug relapses.

Participants described men in these circumstances as disengaged from cognitive processes, including thoughts about the longer-term health and potential implications of their actions. Hence, the use of drugs as allowers or rationalizers of same-sex activity may also be associated with risky sexual intercourse among these men. The allower and rationalizer roles are consistent with the Escape Model proposed by McKirnan, Ostrow, and Hope to explain high rates of continued unsafe sex and inconsistent data on associations between drug use and unsafe sex in gay-identifying MSM.

McKirnan et al. For example, their model suggests that MSM sometimes combine drugs and sex in order to escape awareness of HIV-related concerns and justify participation in risky sex. The escape model posits that men with high performance standards, negative affect, high cognitive restraint, and positive expectancies around the benefits of sex under the influence are more vulnerable to cognitive disengagement.

Increased negative affect may result from feelings of social isolation and racial marginalization Harawa et al. Cognitive restraint may include intentions to avoid sex with other men completely or avoid any emotional involvement with male sex partners Kraft et al.

Department of Labor, , and low socioeconomic status; however, many participants discussed sex in return for drugs rather than for basic survival needs. Although most of study participants who discussed selling sex to men reported having also had sex with men for other reasons, our findings support the idea that exchanging sex for drugs or the means to buy drugs leads some African American men to have sex with other men.

Studies in other populations indicate histories of exchange sex by a significant minority of Black men. Nine percent of street-recruited Black men from Harlem, ages , reporting selling sex, a practice which was associated with psychological distress, HIV infection, and crack cocaine dependence El-Bassel et al.

Men who perceive drugs to be their sole motivators for MSM sex may experience psychological discomfort if they continue to be attracted to other men while sober or experience gender role conflict based on their past same-sex activities. Gender role conflict is defined as a psychological state in which socialized gender roles have negative consequences on the person or others. It occurs when rigid, sexist, or restrictive ideas about gender lead to personal restrictions and devaluation of oneself or others Good et al.

Men who strongly associate heterosexuality with the masculine gender role may be especially likely to experience this conflict. Drugs may have also been the primary coping strategy by which they dealt with their same-sex attractions. In addition, complete suppression of their same-sex desires may lead some men to have relationships with females that are artificial or deceitful and to experience psychological distress as their primary sexual desires are toward other men.

Men who use drugs or drug transactions to facilitate access to male partners will need to identify other strategies and skills to fulfill their sexual desires and may feel isolated if they are not aware of or comfortable in non-drug using settings in which to meet other MSM. AP: Where do I begin?

In the truck, they use the CB to advertise their services and arrange to meet with other truckers on the lot. There can be several safe trucks on a large lot.

AP: We heard a lot of stories, but the only one we met was Jesse. AP: We met some pimps. This begs the question: Why did none of them feature prominently in the film? Unfortunately, the pimps prohibited it.

One of the concerns we had with our lead characters is that selecting them downplays the prevalence of pimps and trafficking in the industry. AP: It varied. Like I said, some truck stops were clean as a whistle. Others were out of control. When police rolled through, truckers would announce their arrival and precise location. If you closed your eyes and listened you could see the police cars driving around the lot.

The sex workers hid out in safe trucks until the lot cleared. In many truck stops, security was comically ineffective. Some of them enjoyed ogling the sex workers as much as the truck drivers did. It seemed there was a bias towards targeting the sex workers as opposed to Johns. MJ: The film depicts both prostitutes and truckers as victims in this larger drama of human appetites and loneliness.

Do you see both parties as victims? How would you describe the power dynamic? Power dynamics varied from one person to the next. In some cases, it seemed like truck drivers were taking advantage of sex workers, in others like sex workers were taking advantage of truck drivers, and, in a rare few, it seemed there was mutual respect.

How did that come about? It seemed like she needed a sense of closure and empowerment. Ultimately, I think she bit off more than she could chew.

I think he [the trucker] was in love with Jennifer and that he was genuinely remorseful for what had happened. Jennifer approached the interview with a confrontational outlook, but she has a heart of gold and as the interview progressed it became clear that she was deeply moved by his repentance.

Monica and Betty both have intense but turbulent bonds with their boyfriends—how would you describe their relationships? MJ: Both couples were bound by two desires: the real need for love and the compulsive need for drugs. These two drives vied with one another and the ebb and flow of each was the driving force behind the turbulence.

Bobby really loved Monica, but he was much more honest with himself about the self-destructiveness of their lifestyle. He wanted out. MJ: Tell me about the logistics of making this film. How did you evade the police, for example? We had to make a presence known, so we introduced ourselves to truckers, shared a beer they really dug Bud Light for some reason , hung out at barbecues, you name it, until word got around and the people who met us could vouch for us.

After a day or two, truckers were happy to be interviewed. The hardest thing about being a truck driver is the isolation and a lot of them were enthusiastic about sharing their stories. While large majorities of almost all demographic and partisan groups say they know someone who is gay or lesbian, there are differences in both the number of gay and lesbian acquaintances people have and in whether people say they have close family members or friends who are gay.

Millennials and Xers are also somewhat more likely than Boomers — and particularly Silents — to say they have close family members or friends who are gay. There are differences by religious affiliation in the number of gays and lesbians people know. Protestants report having a lot of gay and lesbian acquaintances.

There are also similar — if somewhat more modest — differences across religious groups in those who report having close friends and family members who are gay. There is far less support for same-sex marriage among those with few or no gay or lesbian acquaintances, as well as among those who do not have close friends or family members who are gay or lesbian.

Attendance at religious services is also associated with feelings of conflict between religious beliefs and homosexuality. Over the past two years, the share saying people are born gay or lesbian has edged up six points. As with other attitudes on homosexuality, there are substantial racial, partisan and religious differences on why people are gay or lesbian.

But the generational differences in these opinions are relatively modest. There are striking differences between blacks and whites over why people are gay or lesbian.