TY - JOUR
T1 - Sexual Positioning Among Men Who Have Sex With Men
T2 - A Narrative Review
AU - Dangerfield, Derek T.
AU - Smith, Laramie R.
AU - Williams, Jeffery
AU - Unger, Jennifer
AU - Bluthenthal, Ricky
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this research was provided in part by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
PY - 2017/5/1
Y1 - 2017/5/1
N2 - Sexual positioning practices among men who have sex with men (MSM) have not received a thorough discussion in the MSM and HIV literature, given that risks for acquiring or transmitting HIV and STIs via condomless anal sex vary according to sexual positioning. MSM bear a disproportionate burden of HIV compared to the general population in the United States; surveillance efforts suggest that HIV and STIs are increasing among domestic and international populations of MSM. We conducted a narrative review, using a targeted literature search strategy, as an initial effort to explore processes through which sexual positioning practices may contribute to HIV/STI transmission. Peer-reviewed articles were eligible for inclusion if they contained a measure of sexual positioning identity and/or behavior (i.e., “top”, “bottom,” etc.) or sexual positioning behavior (receptive anal intercourse or insertive anal intercourse), or assessed the relationship between sexual positioning identity with HIV risk, anal sex practice, masculinity, power, partner type, or HIV status. A total of 23 articles met our inclusion criteria. This review highlights dynamic psychosocial processes likely underlying sexual decision making related to sexual positioning identity and practices among MSM and MSM who have sex with women (MSMW), and ways these contexts may influence HIV/STI risk. Despite limited focus in the extant literature, this review notes the important role the contextual factors (masculinity stereotypes, power, partner type, and HIV status) likely to play in influencing sexual positioning identity and practices. Through this review we offer an initial synthesis of the literature describing sexual positioning identities and practices and conceptual model to provide insight into important areas of study through future research.
AB - Sexual positioning practices among men who have sex with men (MSM) have not received a thorough discussion in the MSM and HIV literature, given that risks for acquiring or transmitting HIV and STIs via condomless anal sex vary according to sexual positioning. MSM bear a disproportionate burden of HIV compared to the general population in the United States; surveillance efforts suggest that HIV and STIs are increasing among domestic and international populations of MSM. We conducted a narrative review, using a targeted literature search strategy, as an initial effort to explore processes through which sexual positioning practices may contribute to HIV/STI transmission. Peer-reviewed articles were eligible for inclusion if they contained a measure of sexual positioning identity and/or behavior (i.e., “top”, “bottom,” etc.) or sexual positioning behavior (receptive anal intercourse or insertive anal intercourse), or assessed the relationship between sexual positioning identity with HIV risk, anal sex practice, masculinity, power, partner type, or HIV status. A total of 23 articles met our inclusion criteria. This review highlights dynamic psychosocial processes likely underlying sexual decision making related to sexual positioning identity and practices among MSM and MSM who have sex with women (MSMW), and ways these contexts may influence HIV/STI risk. Despite limited focus in the extant literature, this review notes the important role the contextual factors (masculinity stereotypes, power, partner type, and HIV status) likely to play in influencing sexual positioning identity and practices. Through this review we offer an initial synthesis of the literature describing sexual positioning identities and practices and conceptual model to provide insight into important areas of study through future research.
KW - HIV
KW - Insertive anal sex
KW - Men who have sex with men
KW - Receptive anal sex
KW - Sexual orientation
KW - Sexual positioning
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U2 - 10.1007/s10508-016-0738-y
DO - 10.1007/s10508-016-0738-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 27178171
AN - SCOPUS:84968583450
SN - 0004-0002
VL - 46
SP - 869
EP - 884
JO - Archives of Sexual Behavior
JF - Archives of Sexual Behavior
IS - 4
ER -