The dark cloud of HIV continues to hover over the African-American community. African-Americans make up a mere 12.3% of the US population, but account for 50% of the new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States (2000 Census). African-American men primarily contract HIV through contact with other men, while the primary mode of transmissions for African-American women is through heterosexual contact.
Unfortunately, messages of prevention and a real viable solution to these alarming numbers are muffled by the blame game over who's at fault. Are so-called men on the down low the problem? Are all gay men at fault under the perception that the entire community is the root of the virus, even though it's been proven otherwise? Can we ignore the women who refuse to protect themselves by repeatedly putting their health in the hands of other people—gay or straight?
According to HIV/AIDS Guide Mark Cichocki, "For years, experts have attributed the high rate of HIV among African American women to a behavior that has been called "being on the down low". The basic contention is that African American men have sex with other men then come home to their wives or girlfriends and infect them with HIV, never having told them that they have unprotected sex with other men."
As our collective fingers collide over who's at fault—mainly pointing in the direction of African-American men on the down low—misconceptions manifest throughout the general population and the research community. There is also an innate assumption that men who secretly having sex with other men is a problem exclusive to the African-American community. Mark Cichocki points to an article written by Anne Harding on how the "down low myth" incorrectly plays the race card and how by doing so it distorts HIV research and prevention.
In her article "Down low” myth distorts HIV research, prevention, Harding cites Dr. Chandra L. Ford of Columbia University in New York City. Ford wrote in a Annals of Epidemiology article:
"Part of what has happened as a result of that initial burst of stories reporting the 'down low' is that those stories often tied the down low to high rates of HIV infection among African-American women, which was not supported by epidemiological data," Ford added. "There were a lot of assumptions, there were a lot of leaps of faith that led to that."Anne Harding continues Dr. Ford's point,
"The practice of straight men secretly having sex with men is seen across all ethnic groups. While black men and women have higher rates of HIV infection than other ethnic groups, they also report fewer risk behaviors, suggesting researchers should look elsewhere to understand the disparity. For example, having a bacterial sexually transmitted infection can increase the risk of both transmitting and contracting HIV, and it is possible such infections may be more common among blacks than whites due to poorer access to health care. The view of black sexuality as deviant and diseased has deep roots, Ford noted, pointing to the way the public and the medical community viewed syphilis in the early 20th century as a disease of the black community."Read more of "Down low” myth distorts HIV research, prevention.
Then, get the facts: Image © David Schauer.
i think any unprotected sex is not good, but when you’re a cheat..you take away the other person’s choice..white, black..doesn’t matter..cheats are cheats and unprotected sex and cheating= is a definite culprit.
I realize that the term Down Low came from the African American community, but I have always seen it as the same closeted behavior we see from married men having sex with men.
The phrase may have originated there but the practice crosses all races and economic levels in society.
Until enough of us become visible to change the greater community’s attitudes about sexual orientation this will be an ongoing problem.
Come OUT come OUT, wherever you are!
When the downlow is talked about it is always about men. What about women on the DL
Wouldn’t they spread hiv also in unprotected sex?