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I have expected researchers who study and write about gay and bisexual male adolescent / youth problems to have "a minimum knowledge" about this sector of the population. Personally, I grew up in an environment that was very different with respect to homosexuality than what is generally reported: that adolescent and adult male homosexuality is a rarity, and that homosexually oriented males only make up 2 to 3 percent of the male population. This issue is addressed in The Social Construction of Male Homosexuality, Related Suicide Problems and Research Proposals for the Twenty First Century. The paper was presented at The 11th Annual Sociological Symposium: "Deconstructing Youth Suicide" (San Diego State University - March 17, 2000) within the context of reporting that I had gown up in a world were adolescent male homosexually was the rule as opposed to being "the exception" (Published Bio) that has become the modern view of male homosexuality in the western world. The "San Diego" paper is available online at  http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/gay-youth-suicide-san-diego.htm .

By "knowledgeable about males who self-identify as gay or bisexual," and especially about the youngest ones who identify as such, I mean knowing at least what I recognized long ago to be common in gay and bisexual male reports of their childhood and adolescence. This knowledge was, in fact, being acquired soon after I ventured into 'gay communities' in the late 1970s and began talking with these males, some of them still in adolescence, and down to the age of 14 years for males who had either contacted a gay youth organization and / or had somehow managed to venture into gay clubs even if they were not of legal age to do this. As illustrated in Queer as Folk (The British version), the 15-year-old hero, Nathan, had little trouble getting into gay clubs once the twice-his-age older male (with whom he had sexually related, including penis / tongue anal penetration by the older male, Stuart, followed by anal penetration by the latter) made this club access possible via methods that I have seen replicated in Calgary and elsewhere. (Some information related to Queer as Folk is at http://onthebox.netfirms.com/Articles/BritQAF/BritQAF.html . For 'political reasons' related to not wanting the American people to think about the possibility that many gay-identified males would relate sexually with boys in mid adolescence, or even younger, the American version of Queer as Folk upped the age of the young hero to 17 years who would also have few problems locating older males who would relate sexually with him. Concerning such censorship, Diesel Ballaam wrote the following in the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Review: "This is the series which has allegedly caused outrage over scenes depicting rimming, under age sex, toilet sex, insemination babies, drug taking, and all the other things we all know go on, but which we patronisingly assume the hetties have to be protected from.")

The fact that many boys who identify as gay or bisexual at an early age do have sex with men, and that there is a significant number of gay / bisexual identified males who will have sex with boys is not a fact of life that 'politically correct' gay / lesbian community leaders have wanted to be known and some of them (maybe many) have worked to make sure such knowledge remains generally unknown (often by denials), or that it is not talked about (via censorship). Some of their tactics to maintain this silence has also been quite vicious, even toward researchers who have dared to speak on this subject as it was witnessed in Calgary's highly tribal gay and lesbian 'community' in 1996. Aids Calgary also did not want to have this issue addressed - spoken about - in spite of the fact that such a concern is simply an issue related to epidemiological mathematics. Given the fact that young gay / bisexual identified males do not always practice "safer sex" when relating sexually with other males, including much older gay / bisexual identified males, and if "the obvious" was to be considered when it comes to HIV "at risk" gay / bisexual male adolescents, it would be concluded that the adolescents most "at risk" for contracting HIV at the earliest age are those relating sexually with the sector of the gay / bisexual men known to be most likely infected with HIV: males aged 25 to 45 year. (Unfortunately, even with lesser taboo realities, North American GLB communities have had a history of generally being silent about related problems as reported in Note B)

It is therefore with great amazement - and with the suspicion that great unethical conduct has been the rule on the part of almost all (often gay or bisexual) researcher involved with research of HIV risk in gay / bisexual youth - that "a general silence" has continued to be maintained about boys who have sex with men. At this site, however, where integrity rules, such a silence has always been broken, and to the point that some concerned gay individuals did tell me that speaking about this fact of life was not good "politically" for the so-called 'gay community' where, as reported in the "San Diego" conference paper, lying has been endemic, even between males who are apparently relating sexually - intimately - with each other; this was a major finding of an ethnomethodological study of gay and bisexual identified males carried out in France (de Luze, 1990). Yet, anyone with average intelligence and a minimum of knowledge about 'gay communities' would not have been able to avoid "seeing" that boys who were sexually relating with men were not only "at risk" with respect to contracting HIV, but that they may also be "at risk" with respect to experiencing suicide problems. This fact was 'hinted' at in the McDaniel, J.S., Purcell, D.W., & D'Augelli, A.R. (2001) paper in the following way:

"In one study of gay and bisexual male youths who attempted suicide, gender nonconformity and precocious psychosexual development were predictors of self-harm (Remafedi et al.,1991). The association of early self-identification as GLB and same-sex sexual behavior with suicide attempts has been confirmed in other studies (Hershberger, Pilkington, & D’Augelli, 1997). Similarly, youths who self-labeled or self-disclosed, or who disclosed to others their homosexual orientation at an early age or those who were presumed to be gay because of gender nonconformity were more vulnerable to victimization (D’Augelli, Hershberger, & Pilkington, 1998; Pilkington & D’Augelli, 1995)" (p. 98).

Quoting begins... (If the original script is read, links to all references are available.)

The Remafedi et al. (1991) study of 137 gay and bisexual male (14- to 21-years-old) reports data indicating that 39 percent of studied youth had been runaways, 39 percent sexually abused, 35 percent arrested, and 20 percent had engaged in prostitution. The associated attempted suicide incidences for males having these often overlapping attributes are 37 (20/54), 47 (25/53), 44 (21/48), and 43 (12/28) percent respectively, the average for the sample being 30 percent. With respect to gender attributes, 23 percent of the males were classified "feminine," 26 percent were "undifferentiated," 31 percent were "androgynous," and 20 percent were rated as "masculine," and their respective suicide attempt incidences are 48 (15/31), 34 (12/35), 26 (11/42), and 11 (3/28) percent. There is therefore a general "suicide attempt" risk decrease from males being feminine, to males being masculine, the former having a 4.4 times greater likelihood for having attempted suicide than their "masculine" counterparts (48% vs 11%).

Many gay and bisexual identified adolescent males with a history of being runaways or throwaways, and especially the ones venturing into prostitution, form a sector of the more visible "gay communities" given that they are relating sexually with homosexually oriented men; Bell and Weinberg (1978) reported that 27 percent of predominantly homosexual males studied had paid for sex, and 25 percent had been paid for sex (p. 311). Not all gay and bisexual male adolescents making contact with gay communities, however, are in these categories, and little had been studied or written about their experiences and problems, including their ongoing risks for suicide problems and suicide. Real life story segment are nonetheless occasionally encountered within the context of researchers reporting on significant problems for which gay and bisexual male adolescents are at risk:

...[Y]outh who received the intervention [a lengthy safer sex education program] said that they would engage in unsafe sex when they felt particularly distressed because they thought it was hopeless for them to protect themselves from becoming HIV positive. In addition, youths who were overwhelmed by emotional distress would bring to the group problems regarding their latest crisis, for example, being involved with a partner who was suicidal or who was being threatened by a previous partner; for these youth these problems took precedence over making behavior changes toward less unprotected sex (Rotheram-Borus, 1995, p. 593).

The "sugar daddy" usually present himself to the youth in a loving caretaker manner. For street youth who have a past history of rejection and/or abuse, the promise to be loved and cared for is a compelling one. [These youth usually have many of these relationships and] each of these is a cycle of falling in love, believing that life will now be wonderful forever and that this older adult truly loves the young person, discovering that in fact it is just sex that the adult wants, feeling the impact of one more betrayal, and ending up on the streets again. This whole cycle lasts an average of 1-2 months, and the youth often becomes extremely suicidal at the end of each cycle (Kruks, 1991, p. 518).[See Note A for major implications of this field observation on interpreting "sexual abuse" research results.]

But when I came out, the closeness I was looking for wasn't what I found. Instead, I fell into the gay community's 'if you're gay, young and cute, you have to be one of those guys who sleeps around' stigma... And I learned from all the wonderful people I met that sex was just sex and that the whole closeness thing was merely a pipe dream - certainly unattainable [if not via sex]... My problem arises when people just coming out see our community as only sexual. That affects me. They learn, like young people in every culture, from their peers and elders. What they see, hear and experience is what they are going to assume the gay community is. With this type of base, they are going to have a very difficult time making their love lives flourish... There are some people who want more than sex and don't feel "sex is just sex" (Weldon, 1997, p. 53).

[By the age of 19, he had] had two "official" relationships... lasting no more than a couple of months, [and he has not been impressed with what he learned.] Maybe this pattern simply indicates bad choices on my part. I guess I can see why older men think 19-year-olds have nothing more than sex to offer. But it surprises me that the older crowd want shallow, detached physical contacts while their younger counterparts are searching so very,  very hard for something more substantial (Foster, 1997, p. 21).

Adolescent males who identify as gay or bisexual at the youngest age are at the greatest risk for suicide attempts (Remafedi et al., 1991; Schneider et al., 1989; D'Augelli et al., 1993; Hershberger et al, 1997; Nicholas and Howard, 1998), and they are most likely to be the youngest individuals becoming associated with some aspect of gay communities such as youth groups from which many study samples are obtained (Schneider et al., 1989; D'Augelli et al., 1993; Hershberger et al, 1997; Proctor and Groze, 1994). For many homosexually oriented male adolescents, however, their first contacts is with a well known part of gay communities known as the "public sex" or "anonymous sex" arena which has been participated in by about 50 percent of gay and bisexual males (Tewsbury, 1996). Uribe and Harbeck (1992) report on the related experiences of adolescent males:

Of the 37 males [in high school ranging in age from 16- to 18-years-old], 35 were already sexually active with other males. The average for the first sexual experience was 14 years, and in the majority of the cases this was with an unknown male... None of the males in this sample had his first sexual experience in a 'safe' manner, and none was still with his first sexual partner. [Furthermore], half of the study participants acknowledged engaging in suicide attempts in the year prior to the interview... Fifteen of these boys were living with friends, two admitted to living with 'sugar daddies,' and three were in residential or foster homes for gay adolescents (p. 21-22).

Remafedi et al. (1991) reported high rates of sexual abuse for gay and bisexual male youth (39%), but also noted that sexual abuse generally postdated sexual identification as gay or bisexual. The unspoken implication is that the sexual abuse likely occurred after they made themselves available for sexual experiences often occurring via making contact with some gay community attribute such as the "public sex" arena, as most of the first sexual experiences occurred for the teenage gay males studied by Uribe and Harbeck (1992). Sexual assault and rape after adolescent males have made contact with gay communities, however, remain hidden in all studies reporting such experiences, often assumed to be "child sexual abuse" having occurred before the individual made contact with gay communities. This assumption may be incorrect.

About 20 to 39 percent of homosexually oriented males have experienced unwanted sexual acts (sexual abuse, sexual assault) by the age of 17 (Doll et al., 1992; Caballo-Dieguez and Dolezal, 1995; Holmes, 1997, Lenderking, 1997, Remafedi et al., 1991), and such experiences have been linked to a lifetime higher incidence of suicidal behaviors, including suicide attempts, in adolescent and young adult males (Bagley et al., 1994; Bagley et al., 1995), and in young adult gay males (Nicholas and Howard, 1998). The international incidences for boys being sexually abused ranges from 2 to 11 percent, with up to 16 percent results in Alberta, Canada (MacMillan et al., 1997). Homosexually oriented males may also be at greater risk for sexual abuse at younger ages given that one study reported that boys sexually abused before the age of 13 were 4 times more likely to be homosexual than boys not sexually abused (Finkelhor, 1979).

Substance abuse is also associated with suicide attempts of gay and bisexual male youth (Remafedi et al., 1991), as is alcohol abuse (D'Augelli and Hersberger, 1993), and both these problems are well recognized risk factors for both suicide attempts and suicides in mainstream youth populations (Brent, 1995; Mazza, 1997). Youth Risk Behavior Survey studies have reported that homosexually oriented adolescents (self-identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual and/ or being homosexually active) are many times more at risk for multiple drug and/or alcohol use and abuse than their heterosexual counterparts (Garofalo et al. 1998; Faulkner et al., 1998; Note 10). Psychiatric symptoms such as depression have also been linked to suicide attempts for homosexually oriented youth (Nicholas and Howard, 1998; Hershberger et al, 1997; D'Augelli et al., 1993), and depression has been linked to suicide attempts and suicide in mainstream adolescent and youth population (Brent, 1995; Mazza, 1997). For homosexually oriented adolescents, however, psychiatric symptoms are likely related to, or exacerbated by, many of their most unfavorable life outcomes, and these symptoms should not be deemed "biological" in origin.

The Seal at al. (2000) qualitative study of seventy-two 16- to 25-year old young men who have sex with men (YMSM) from two midwest American cities reports on the multifaceted socially imposed problems of these youth. "Low self-esteem and self-worth, a lack of self-care and self-love, hopelessness and depression and teen suicide factors were believed to underlie unsafe sexual behavior:

There are time when I wished to God I would have just been dead. I couldn't go through the pain of who I was or the pain of trying to live my life. There was so much hurt. It wouldn't have mattered if I had gotten HIV. To be that would have been the simplest solution. I wouldn't have had to do a thing. I just would have had to lay there. I wouldn't have had to slit my wrists or commit suicide any other way. It's a more painful way, but if you're on a suicide mission it doesn't matter.

When it comes down to it, the guys I talk to just don't care about life. They say life has nothing to offer them. A lot of times their mothers and fathers have disowned them and their family won't deal with them anymore because they are gay. They have no life, no family no future (p. 10).

An association between a history of suicide attempts and practicing unsafe sex by gay males was reported by Lewis (1988), but individual cases of gay males contracting HIV as a way to commit suicide had been reported as early as 1985 (Frances et al., 1985; Flavin et al., 1986). By the late 1990s, the phenomenon was reported in association with gay youth (Tompkins-Rosenblatt, 1997:  "Intentional HIV contraction: implications for direct child and youth care"), and from an analysis of Vancouver's Vanguard Project cohort of young men who have sex with men ranging in age from 18 to 30 years. A history of attempting suicide was the second most statistically significant association differentiating males who were "risk takers" compared to males who were not risk takers with respect to placing themselves at risk for contracting HIV (Martindale, 1997). Seal et al. (2000) report a similar phenomenon as noted above...

Quoting from Tremblay & Ramsay (2000) ends.

The fact that a number of older gay and bisexual identified males adolescents (including some heterosexual identified male adolescents) report that they were willingly relating sexually with much older males is a fact of life as revealed by studies such as:

Leahy, Terry (1992). Positively experienced man/boy sex: the discourse of seduction and social construction of masculinity. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 28(1), 1992. (Interview with boys who had sex with men when they were between the age of 8 to 16 years.)

Connell, Davis, and Dowsett (1993) praised the above study within the context of reporting on yet another aspect of adolescent male homosexuality:

"In the endless discussion of teenage sex, remarkably little is said about homosexual experience. Researchers, too, have been coy about this issue, partly because of moral panics about 'paedophiles'; Leahy's (1992) recent contribution in this journal being a notable exception. Our interviews reported patterns of childhood or adolescent sexuality in which male-to-male contact was common. Lyle Graham and his teenage mates went off to masturbate together in the sandhills almost every day. Peter Farthing called it 'fiddlies'. He recalls that he 'fiddled with' a variety of boys, for instance, being played with with his older brother's mate at the movies while his brother 'had it off' with a girl in the back row." (p. 117)

"The incest model also strongly influenced how researchers, other professionals, and the lay public attempted to understand these encounters, including those between adolescent boys and unrelated adults (Jenkins, 1998; Rind, 1998). For example, Masters et al. (1985) rejected the findings of Sandfort (1983) who concluded that a mostly adolescent sample of Dutch boys experienced their sexual relationships with men predominantly positively. They argued, consistent with the incest model, that these relationships were inherently abusive and exploitative and therefore necessarily negative, regardless of contrary claims by the boys themselves. In rejecting the boys' reports of positive reactions, Masters et al. speculated that they made them up because they were intimidated by the men. Similarly, the media have frequently also exhibited the influence of the incest model. In one typical example, an editorial in a major U.S. newspaper asserted that sexual encounters between adolescent boys and men are "profoundly damaging," because they "invariably involve the imposition of power and exploitation, in the most fearfully private of all ways... [which leaves] emotional scars, distrusts, [and] self-contempt that last through lifetimes" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 1984, p. 22A)".

"My father would not give me any money. My mother was in hospitalized for psychiatric problems. I had no one to turn to. I began going with men by the age of 12 or 13, to be spoiled by them, and my father took notice. One day, when I was taking a shower, he came to join me. Surprised, I tried to fight him off. He said: 'What? You don't want to do with your father what you are doing with other men? I will also reward you, if you are nice to me.' I was caught and he must have followed me to discover what I had been doing... From that time on, I had no choice." (Dorais, 1997, p. 40. Translation by Pierre Tremblay, author of this web page. This book is to become available in English from McGill-Queen's University Press early in 2002.)

Other boys in similar situations, and especially if they are on the streets, may experience even more devastating life experiences as this example from Sidney, Australia illustrates:

Although Casey {with a history of eight suicide attempts] reckons he "always knew" he was gay, he became one of the kids who was "forced into doing it". After moving to Sydney, Casey was drawn into a string of abusive "relationships".

Because of his low self-esteem borne of the silence, Casey says he was easy pickings for deeply-closeted homosexual "sick tickets" who found more pleasure in hearing screams for mercy as they held knives to the throats of other parents' sons than in real and open love.

Starved of real love and left with little hope, Casey, like many young gays, turned to chemical "friends" to fill the void. His only human friends became the other youngsters traded by the "sick tickets".

"Of the thirteen of us, I'm one of only three that's still alive today," Casey says. "Most of my friends blew their heads off, some of them OD'd and some of them have died from AIDS. They were all bright kids with talents and promising futures" (Clatcher, 1997).

The question would now be: "How many gay or bisexual identified adults have had sexual experiences as boys that would be decreed to be "sexual abuse" by many professionals?" Bruce Rind (2001) reports relevant information in a paper also reporting on the abuses he has been experiencing because he has acknowledged this reality:

"In March 1999 the Rind et al. (1998) meta-analysis came under intense attack by social conservatives (see Rind et al., 2000, for details). The Philadelphia radio talk show host who initiated the nationwide attacks pressured the Philadelphia gay and lesbian bookstore to remove all materials on intergenerational sex (e.g., books, newsletters). The owner yielded, but protested that 'I have thought it interesting that so many gay men I know report having had positive sexual experiences with adults when they were boys' (Giovanni's Room press release, March 24, 1999). Reacting to this comment and the controversy surrounding the meta-analysis, two journalists for a Philadelphia gay publication conducted interviews at various gay youth centers with male teen volunteers who had had sexual relations with men (Nickels and Hocker, 1999). Results supported the bookstore owner's observation: most of the nine volunteers reacted positively and none reacted negatively. Rejecting the notion that they had been abused, the tees instead identified various psychological, emotional, and educational benefits that the relationships conferred" (Rind, 2001: 349).

To illustrate the commonality of gay / bisexual identified boys who have sex with men, Rind (2001) used a sample of gay males that was made available by Savin-Williams:

"This study drew its data from research conducted by Savin-Williams (1997), a Cornell University psychologist who interviewed two samples of young adult gay and bisexual males to examine gay/bisexual identity development. Some of the data were obtained directly from Savin-Williams; other data were obtained from his 1997 report summarizing this research. Savin-Williams employed an interpretive interview approach, in which he requested his subjects to ground their memories in specific details during face-to-face interviews and to tell 'their own story' (p. 11). He argued, citing supporting methodological research (Kessler and Wethington, 1991; Ross, 1984), that this technique, along with the fact that subjects were generally only several years or months removed from important developmental sexual experiences or milestones, added to the validity of the results" (Rind, 2001: 351-2).

"Over the last quarter century the incest model, with its image of helpless victims exploited and traumatized by powerful perpetrators, has come to dominate perceptions of virtually all forms of adult-minor sex. Thus, even willing sexual relations between gay or bisexual adolescent boys and adult men, which differ from father-daughter incest in many important ways, are generally seen by the lay public and professionals as traumatizing and psychologically injurious. This study assessed this common perception by examining a nonclinical, mostly college sample of gay and bisexual men. Of the 129 men in the study, 26 were identified as having had age-discrepant sexual relations (ADSRs) as adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age with adult males. Men with ADSR experiences were as well adjusted as controls in terms of self-esteem and having achieved a positive sexual identity" (Rind, 2001: 345)

"...a number of studies based on convenience samples consisting of gay or bisexual men obtained through advertisements placed in gay magazines, bars, bookstores, or conferences have frequently yielded a predominantly positive profile of gay and bisexual boys' sexual experiences with men (e.g., Fellows, 1996; Hart, 1995; Jay and Young, 1977; Spada, 1979). They also have generally pointed out the commonness of early sexual attractions to and desires for older adolescent and adult males. For example, Spada (1979), who examined 1,038 male homosexuals aged 16-77 across the United States through mail questionnaires, reported that 'In the case of the respondent' first youthful experience taking place with an adult, it is usually stressed by the respondent that it was he who made the first advance, he who desired the initial encounter, and that no coercion or seduction by the adult took place. Several dozen did describe their first experience as a seduction, but just three reported the use of force (p. 30)' (Rind, 2001: 348).

Given the facts of the case, if there was an award to be given to individuals who have 'worked' to maximize casualties - let's say in the "suicide attempt" and even "contracting HIV" risk in the adolescent "gay" and "bisexual" self-identifying sector of the population - and both these outcomes are strongly associated with early death outcomes - this

would likely be given to all the (commonly gay and bisexual) researchers of AIDS related issues who have made possible the following report published in AIDS:

"In their review of age and HIV risk behavior among gay men Mansergh and Marks [1998] concluded that younger age was fairly consistently found to be associated with unprotected anal sex in North America, while only limited evidence was found for the association in European and Australian samples. Reasons for this are unclear. In order to assess more accurately the HIV risk for young gay men, it would be helpful to examine the degree of sexual 'mixing' across age groups and HIV status more closely. Although some studies have included assessments of perceived or known HIV status of young men's sexual partners, none of the studies reported the age ranges of the young men's sexual partners" (Stall et al., 2000: 5103, emphasis mine)

Studies should now be carried out on the researcher themselves to see if they were "actually ignorant" of a widely known fact of life related to a significant number of teenage gay and bisexual males - meaning that they could plead ignorance, thus requiring related follow-up questions. Or, they may acknowledge that they purposefully did not investigate this most obvious "high risk" factor, maybe for "political reasons." It is also possible that they knew what the results would be if such research had been done, and the fact that researchers had this knowledge but suppressed it would be damning. The follow-up inquiry would then explore the reasons why these researchers therefore believed that the lives of adolescent gay and bisexual males were expendable given the the predictable "Silence Kills!" outcome.

An answer to this question - in terms of an extremely common attitude of older males in North American gay communities when it comes to relating sexually with adolescent males - is embodied in the following re-quoted section of the Tremblay and Ramsay (2000) paper:

Quotation begins:

Gay and bisexual male adolescents and young adults engaging in prostitution are reported to be at higher risk for suicide attempts (Nicholas and Howard, 1998), but they have not been the only ones attracted to older males and acting accordingly. Others have also been seeking sex (with the hope of love) relationships with older males as illustrated in the special "Love" issue of San Francisco's gay youth XY Magazine:

But when I came out, the closeness I was looking for wasn't what I found. Instead, I fell into the gay community's 'if you're gay, young and cute, you have to be one of those guys who sleeps around' stigma... And I learned from all the wonderful people I met that sex was just sex and that the whole closeness thing was merely a pipe dream - certainly unattainable [if not via sex]... My problem arises when people just coming out see our community as only sexual. That affects me. They learn, like young people in every culture, from their peers and elders. What they see, hear and experience is what they are going to assume the gay community is. With this type of base, they are going to have a very difficult time making their love lives flourish... There are some people who want more than sex and don't feel "sex is just sex" (Weldon, 1997, p. 53).

[By the age of 19, he had] had two "official" relationships... lasting no more than a couple of months, [and he has not been impressed with what he learned.] Maybe this pattern simply indicates bad choices on my part. I guess I can see why older men think 19-year-olds have nothing more than sex to offer. But it surprises me that the older crowd want shallow, detached physical contacts while their younger counterparts are searching so very,  very hard for something more substantial (Foster, 1997, p. 21).

It must therefore be said that almost all (all?) North American researchers involved in homosexually oriented HIV issues will have an extremely difficult time to plead ignorance of the "at risk" status of homosexually oriented adolescent males given that the major gay publication in North America - The Advocate - reported what follows in 1992 article titled "America’s Worst-Kept Secret: AIDS is Devastating the Nation’s Teenagers, and Gay Kids Are Dying by the Thousands":

Gay boys and straight girls who are having sex for money, shelter, love - they are at risk. And our community, the gay and lesbian community - and I particularly fault gay men here - has done nothing to try to help our youth. Gay men view these boys as recreational toys to be used. I have heard many stories of HIV-positive men having unprotected sex with boys. They don’t think it matters. If there is a single reason why so little is being done in this country about adolescent AIDS, it is that as a nation we are terribly afraid of the sexuality of our teens. These kids, no matter how they identify, gay or straight, need more than condoms and instructions on how to use them. They need someone to talk to, a support network, a place where they can feel safe and secure and where their confidentiality and personal histories are going to be protected and respected. (Brownworth, 1992:: 41)

"These kids have been ignored not only by the straight community but also by the gay community... The adult gay and lesbian community has an obligation to also step in and say, 'Yes, we'll do our share too.'

The time is right for us to start networking across the nation. These kids are dying, they're being killed on the streets, they're drinking themselves to death, they're drugging themselves to death, they've been thrown out of their homes. The time has come for us as a gay and lesbian community to stand up for those young folks. It’s obvious no one else is going to do it" (Maguen, 1991: 47).

For ethical reasons, I have wanted the above issue to be addressed and placed relevant information on the first web page constructed to address the fact that the Surgeon General had not included homosexuality issues in The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent Suicide. A major American GLB organization had decided that it would maybe be important to begin the "at risk" status of GLB adolescents / youth for having suicide problems. In the related communication with the Director of youth issues, I decided to check what would happen if I mentioned the existence of "GB boys who have sex with men" as a "significantly at risk" group for suicide problems. As expected, although I was hoping for a change of predictable attitude, this part was deleted in the response by the director who was essentially 'stating': 'Silence is to rule on this issue. The recognition of this fact must not even to be hinted at in this organization, and especially not in print. We are attempting to make ourselves look respectable.'

Yet, the opposite would apply if the truth was known. Related information given in the above cited web page follows:

To the GLB organization in question, I also highlighted the fact that the most "at risk" GB adolescent males would be the ones who are having sex with significantly older males, often in the form of prostitution. As a rule, however, GLB organizations tend to ignore the most "at risk" adolescents and only care to use their "at risk" statistics to make gains for GLB people who are at lesser risk, or are not at risk with respect to having suicide problems. I saw this happen in Calgary's GB community when I began advocacy work, especially after I began writing about certain gay-identified men who liked their boys, and liked them young. I have yet to read any study about how gay adolescent males become 'integrated' in gay communities, but the phenomenon is apparently not supposed to be mentioned...

About a third of GB male youth will contract HIV! About the same percentage of GB male youth will attempt suicide, but where are the web sites focused on this problem??? I know, however, of some  gay males who are not at all pleased with my work. Why? Because if one ever begins to effectively address the underlying problems, it will mean an end to the wholesale delivery of vulnerable GB teenagers to their bedrooms (the youngest community "meat" available); this is related to dropping out of school, being throwaways and runaways, etc." (Feb. 4, 2000)...

Gay communities have failed miserably here, all because of the 'face' they are attempting to present to society. Yet, these are the GB kids who are contracting HIV at the youngest age and, from where I live ethically, consider this to be one of OUR greatest crimes - which  totally undermines / subverts our integrity even if it is only OURSELVES who know this. Also, they also happen to be the GB males who are most at risk for suicide attempts. But then gay community 'leaders' are not to officially recognize what any gay male who has been around the block a few times knows all too well.

"In the Remafedi et al. (1991) sample of 137 males, 40 percent had been runaways, 39 percent had been sexually abused, 35 percent had been arrested, 23 percent were classified gender nonconformable (feminine), and 17 percent had engaged in prostitution. The associated [lifetime] attempted suicide rates for males having these (often overlapping) attributes are 36, 46, 44, 47, and 52 percent; the average for the sample is 30 percent."

He was in a school and neighborhood situation where he would have never wanted his peers to know about his same-sex desires and this meant going 'somewhere' where males make themselves available for sexual encounters with other males. This took him to one of Calgary's well known cruising areas - the Devonian Gardens - where he met a man who suggested that they go somewhere else. The outcome in this situation was equivalent to rape, but what is such a boy to do if this happens to him? The related thoughts are: "If I tell, they will then all learn about where I was and what I was seeking, and that will also include my parents! Then everyone will know about me! That I was out to not even have sex with male my own age, but with adult men!" Such a boy will therefore remain silent with no one to talk with about what happened and the consequences of this socially constructed situation may be very negative.

Tragically, this "license to rape" (or 'just' sexually abuse) the "at risk" boys highlighted in this web page - continues to be what our society - and GLB communities and their organizations - have granted to all men who may wish to rape / abuse / use these boys, if they so wish. I remember telling the individual noted above that what happened to him was not all his fault. In great part, he had been the victim of a socially constructed situation that continues to be maintained with one predictable result: these boys will continue to at high risk for such negative experiences. True, the abuse may not happen, as it did for him, the first time they have sex with man via the anonymous public sex venues that have been an integral part of gay communities. For some gay and bisexual males I have met, all their adolescent sexual experiences with men will be deemed to be positive, or neutral, but many have reported both highly positive and highly negative experiences, often enough including rape, and sexual experiences between the two extremes.

The research that has separated gay / bisexual boys reporting only "wanted" sexual experiences with men from those reporting unwanted "experiences" (meaning that were sexually abused) has been missing one important category: the boys who report both types of sexual experiences. That is, an unbiased study of boys who sought out men for sexual encounters (or considered themselves lucky because a man made themselves available to them, thus making a quest unnecessary) should include all gay / bisexual males who report having had at least one or more positive sexual experience with a man when they were boys. That is, separating out the boys who only report "wanted" experiences from the ones who report "sexual abuse / rape" experiences may produce unrealistic results for all adolescents gay / bisexual boys who relate sexually with men because these experiences were wanted and desired.

The Rind (2001) study, however, does illustrate that the "sexual abuse" model that has been used to describe all relationships between men and boys is incorrect, at leat in part, but there is another highly negative result of this widely held belief by most professionals. The boys involved with men will soon learn about their beliefs and when abusive events occur, as they also occur in adult-adult relationships, they will not feel that they can talk to anyone about this, and especially not with so-called 'mental health' professionals, school counselors, etc.. These boys will intuitively conclude that, because all their sexual experiences with one or more older male will be labelled "sexual abuse," these professionals will therefore totally fail to understand what their problem "actually" happens to be. Basically, these boys will have been 'set up' - by society and its professionals - to solve their problems on their own when it is known that many adults in similar situations often do need help when abuse occurs in their intimate relationships. How do these boys fare out? Maybe someday, their realities will be recognized and related research will be carried out.

Meanwhile. if you are a researcher, the reality addressed in this webpage is not one that is very difficult to investigate, but there are ways of doing this as reported in the following article:

Gay Kids in the Real World (by Steve Silberman, Wired News, November 4, 1997): - The rooms are a theater of archetypes, of men with names like "HedCoach" and "LuvDad" exchanging horny messages with "SwmrDude" and "MusclKid." Many of the names that advertise youth, of course, are inhabited by older men. But there are boys there too - boys like Sam, and not like Sam: boys who play the games of boyhood successfully, winning at sports, excelling at school, admired by young women, well liked by their peers. And there are hundreds of men and boys in those rooms, every night of the week. Almost every one of the boys I interviewed for my article informed me that they were regularly propositioned by older men on AOL. At first, when I asked them what they thought of that, they'd wrinkle up their noses and say things like, "Gross."  Then, often, later in the conversation, if the trust level got high enough, a teenager might admit to me that he himself had met an older boy or man online, and saw him in real life. Sometimes the two became friends. Sometimes they had sex. Sometimes meeting offline had turned out to be an uncomfortable experience, but sometimes the young man perceived it in a positive light - an introduction to a larger circle of friends, or an entree to the wider gay world. For some of these highly intelligent, articulate young men, an offline rendezvous with an older male was a risk that had turned out to be worth it... The truth is, gay teenagers and older gay men have always found ways to meet, despite every law against it. Those interactions, fraught with risk on every side, comprise a kind of initiatory process for young gay men." ...

Rarely are intergenerational issues of the "sexual" kind ever addressed in gay communities. The following article report on this phenomenon although "teenagers" are not specifically mentioned.

Gay City crosses The Great Age Divide in public forum N/A (Seattle Gay News, November 20, 1998) (Link to Google Cache): "The forum revealed how often Gay men make mistaken assumptions about each other, based on our own life experiences, misinterpreting the  intentions and behaviors of other Gay men older or younger than ourselves. The discussions revealed how we often mistakenly project our own personal assumptions and stereotypes onto one another, and fail to understand the experiences of Gay men  from another generation... Gay City forum "The Great Age Divide" didn't solve the problem of intergenerational misunderstanding and conflict, or answer the questions of where we go from here... Generalizing from the trend of the comments from the audience, younger Gay men tended to view older Gay men as bitter, angry, frightened of their sexuality, and sexually exploitative of younger Gay men... On the other hand, older Gay men tended to view the younger generation of Gay men as reckless,  misinformed, superficial, sometimes cruel, and sexually exploitative... Many people expressed the desire of a Gay community where we relate to one another not as sex objects, but find some deeper ground for encountering and enjoying each other, while some folk felt that sexual objectification of Gay men was entirely appropriate and to be expected."

Intergeneration Issues For Gay Asian Males: The Truth About GAM: "The pursuit of a white boyfriend is so intense that many gay Asian men would sooner date a much older white male partner than another Asian.  Asian and Friends and the Long Yang Club are both social organizations with numerous chapters around the world that are designed for Asian men to meet Caucasian partners.  I had attended some of their events in cities from Sydney to New York, and all I saw were 50-something white guys with their 20-something Asian boyfriends." - Gay Asian Pride: "Based on my personal experience and talking to friends, I have found that most "Asian admirers" (or "Rice Queens" as they are known in the community) are always older than their Asian "boyfriends." ...While perusing the gay bookstore, I noticed a porn magazine with only Asian male models. However, unlike Caucasian porn magazines, these Asian men obviously appeared to be in their teens with very effeminate bodies." - The fetishisation of Asian and White. - Any boy bars in Singapore? See: More information from Canada on this subject.

Carl talks about deciding not to be sexual with men: "I was 13 years old. I was lying on my back on my bed and my best friend at prep school and I were talking. Suddenly, he rolled over on top of me and kissed me. The effect was so powerful, it took my breath away. Although I had dated girls for two summers and had gotten up the courage to kiss them too, this was different. In those first few seconds of intimacy with a boy, I experienced a bliss I had never known. For the next nine months, my friend and I had sex two or three times a day. I learned all the variations on giving pleasure to a male body. I tried sex in the shower, in the hot sun lying on top of a pile of hay and deep in the forest, under a pine tree. I had sex with other boys as well. And if I was hitchhiking and the driver wanted m e to jerk him off, I did that too. Sex with men was wonderful. I couldn't get enough of it. On holidays, I also continued to date girls. It never occurred to me in those early years that I was "homosexual". I figured that I was simply "sexual" and all kinds of sex felt good." Unfortunately, the teachers at my school had a different opinion. They caught me in the act over and over again, and eventually I was discharged for "committing sodomy". I was told that having sex with boys was perverted, but being intimate with girls was normal. Reluctantly, I tried to stop my encounters with men..."

Young Gay & Bisexual Men and HIV: A qualitative study of safer sex knowledge and behaviour among young gay and bisexual men - 1998 - by John Maxwell, Gay Men's Health Promotion Coordinator. AIDS Committee of Toronto:

Many of the study participants noted that as younger gay/bisexual men, they often felt that they were "preyed upon" by older or more sexually experienced gay men - even other more sexually experienced gay and bisexual youth. One participant lamented the lack of "mentoring" in the gay community: "When I came out into the community (a few years ago) I felt that I needed to become totally immersed in the gay community. So, I left a lot of my straight friends behind. Unfortunately, rather than meeting other gay men who could help me manoeuvre my way in the community, I often met people who just wanted to take advantage of me, sexually."

Garry Otton. Dancing With Paedophiles: "Whenever older men turned up in gay discos popular with young gays, they stood out like sore thumbs, particularly with a bunch of 'chickens' or a young pop group in tow. They certainly weren't there to dance to Dooley Silverspoon! Innocent youth? The boys chewed 'em up and spat 'em out. To reinvent youth as always the innocent and vulnerable victims of 'perverts' avoids the truth and lowers the complicated issue of sexuality further into the grave we are slowly digging it...."

Pederasty isn’t Greek to post-Taliban Afghans: "The New York Times account on Feb. 21 was less lurid, but had some of the same problems. It referred to "boys" and "pedophilia" but the "boys" were teenagers, some in their late teens. It told the same story about men fighting over a youth, but admitted that young men normally had to be courted with gifts. For instance, one man interviewed, Muhammad, 29, said he met his lover Ahmed, 19, when he was 22 and Ahmed was 12. He courted him for many month, taking him gifts like chocolate and "lots of money" until they became good friends and Ahmed, by then probably 13, agreed to be his lover. Ahmed said he has no regrets about the relationship and since the men are now 29 and 19, the relationship hardly seems pederastic at this point, much less "pedophilic."

Reid, Tim (2002). Kandahar comes out of the closet  (Alternate Link): The Times (London). January 12 (Alternate Links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5): “'In the days of the Mujahidin, there were men with their ashna everywhere, at every corner, in shops, on the streets, in hotels: it was completely open, a part of life,' said Torjan, 38, one of the soldiers loyal to Kandahar’s new governor, Gul Agha Sherzai… 'They are just emerging again,' Torjan said. 'The fighters too now have the boys in their barracks. This was brought to the attention of Gul Agha, who ordered the boys to be expelled, but it continues. The boys live with the fighters very openly. In a short time, and certainly within a year, it will be like pre-Taleban: they will be everywhere'. This Pashtun tradition is even reflected in Pashtun poetry, odes written to the beauty and complexion of an ‘ashna’, but it is usually a terrible fate for the boys concerned. It is practised at all levels of Pashtun society, but for the poorer men, having an ‘ashna’ can raise his status..." - Afghanistan, Through My Lens: A gay photojournalist reveals an ancient homosexual culture.

Afghanistan Holds Veil Over Homosexual Ways (The Salt Lake Tribune:  Sunday, April 7, 2002. By Maura Reynolds, Los Angeles Times: "Kandahar's Lightly Veiled Homosexual Habits"): (Alternate Link) (Alternate Link): "Daud is unmarried and has sex only with men and boys. But he does not consider himself homosexual, at least not in the Western sense. "I like boys, but I like girls better," he says. "It's just that we can't see the women to see if they are beautiful. But we can see the boys, and so we can tell which of them is beautiful... "These are hard questions you are asking," he says. "We don't usually talk about such things... The love by men for younger, beautiful males, who are called halekon, is even enshrined in Pashtun literature. A popular poem by Syed Abdul Khaliq Agha, who died last year, notes Kandahar's special reputation... Just ask Mullah Mohammed Ibrahim, a local cleric. "Ninety percent of men have the desire to commit this sin," the mullah says... Following the mullah's math, this suggests that somewhere between 18 percent and 45 percent of men here engage in homosexual sex - significantly higher than the 3 percent to 7 percent of American men who, according to studies, identify themselves as homosexual." - See "Pederasty in the Middle East and Central Asia" for some criticism related to media articles related to homosexuality and the Pashtun.

Western lenses on male same-sex relationality in Pashtun Afghanistan (PDF Download): "Relations between adolescent males and adult men in Pashtun culture is a mode of relationality that falls outside both the Eurocentrism and heteronormativity of the traditional kinship studies model... Thus, it is not surprising that these anthropological studies of Pashtun culture do not include any references to male same-sex sexual relationships, or of any male same-sex relationality outside of the traditional family model. The Pakistani anthropologist Sarah Safdar has written one of the few English-language works on the topic of kinship in Pashtun society, which was published in 1997. Her extensive discussion of kinship and marriage in Pashtun culture contains no references to homosexuality or any male same-sex relationality other than blood kinship... David Halperin’s genealogical approach to the history of male same-sex sexual desire can be applied to cross-cultural analysis of relational modes such as male same-sex sexual relationality in Pashtun Afghanistan to give a more nuanced view than that of either Euro-American news media or anthropological accounts... He shows how this modern concept of homosexuality unconsciously restricts contemporary Euro-American inquiries into same-sex sexuality and denies the many forms of relationality and sexual desire that have existed in other historical moments... This inquiry shows that existing Western lenses on male same-sex relationality in Pashtun Afghanistan to be inadequate and problematic, and that drawing from queer genealogical strategies in conjunction with reconfigurations of kinship studies can provide a framework to analyze these relationships... Likewise, new kinship studies could provide anthropological accounts of male same-sex sexuality in Pashtun culture that could also help to destabilize the hegemony of Euro-American sexual categories, but that would also require new studies of kinship in Afghanistan. Without any new research or field work on the topic of male same-sex sexuality in Pashtun Afghanistan, it seems extremely difficult to understand or think about this mode of relationality and compare it with Euro-American modern homosexuality and Western prehomosexual categories." - Afghanistan: Nightmare Future: "If the United Nations, puppet of the neoliberal governments, succeeds in reshaping Afghanistan, its indigenous form of homosexuality will be wiped out, destroyed with the same brutality which marked the destruction of the great mosques by troops of the British empire 120 years ago."

No Viagra jokes, please. Mixed Medium / Meet the gerontophiles, young men who chase sexy seniors (Alternate Link).

Intergenerational and Egalitarian Models: “Most overviews of homosexual history claim that there is a clear line of development from (1) ancient pederastic relationships through (2) early/modern patron/protégé relationships to (3) modern egalitarian relationships. It is no accident that this resembles the alleged dialectic leading from (1) feudalism through (2) capitalism to (3) a classless society. All three paradigms have been simplified and exaggerated, and the alleged shift from one period to another cannot be supported without ignoring a host of exceptions…”

Victims: "The more society puts pressure on men and boys to declare their heterosexuality: the less likely are they able to grow a healthy homosexual. There are more suicides. More marriages are broken. There are more arrests for indecency. And more names could be tragically added to the growing list of Britain’s gay serial killers: Dennis Neilson, Michel Lupo, Colin Ireland and Peter Moore. The police and judiciary are kept as busy as ever, filling the courts with victims of victims. And whilst John Major rides the crest of this wave of "pederasteria," championing a sporting nation and the setting up of voluntary cadet teams in state schools, he should consider that fewer men than ever are going to be prepared to take up the responsibility of looking after boys."

Some Issues related to young Asian males who seek older white males: "Inter-racial and Inter-generational Interactions and Relationships  - For many Asian MSM, power imbalances exist due to a marginalized status in mainstream society.  This particularly applies to many Asian MSM involved in inter-racial and inter-generational interactions and relationships, especially with older Caucasian men.  Some Caucasian men tend to assume power over their Asian partners.  The power imbalance between them is commonly manifested tangibly in terms of financial and/or sexual control.  According to participants, there is a local gay dating service that charges Asian MSM for using their services, while Caucasian men interested in Asian men can use the services for free.  Participants believed many Caucasian men perceive Asian men to be subservient and lesser persons.  Explaining the importance of this perception, a participant explained that "in sexual relationships, if others don't respect you, they can take advantage of you and force you to do something you don't really want to do".  Consequently, many Asian MSM are left in positions where they do not have the power to negotiate safer sex.  Participants said that many younger Asian MSM in such relationships with Caucasian men suffer from low self-esteem and are dis-empowered.  They feel, for example, a loss of control and self-confidence." The document identified as a 'Final Report" authored by Robb Travers. Dan Allman, William Lau, John Maxwell, Liviana Calzavara. Project Staff: Ilda Cordeiro (Coordinator), Chris Lau, with Community Partners: Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS), Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAP), Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples (CSSP), VIVER (Portuguese-speaking HIV/AIDS Coalition), Members of Toronto's African Communities... was still available in Google Cache as of August 29, 2004: Search in Google with "Ted Myers (Principal Investigator)" using quotation marks .

Some information about the "intergenerational" Younger Asian Male and Older White Males is given in the following document - Ryan, Bill (2003). A New Look at Homophobia and Heterosexism in Canada. Discussion paper commissioned by the Canadian AIDS Society. PDF Download:

"Sense of Attractiveness: ..Asian exoticism and eroticism or the so-called “rice queen” or “curry queen” results from discriminating against a person based on the colour of skin; exoticism sees only colour and culture instead of individuality. Exoticism perpetuates racial stereotypes and isolates a person, and since stereotyping is a tool for social control, exoticism also reflects and reinforces a hierarchy of power and internalized racism... Many first-generation gays and lesbians may also suffer from low self-esteem associated with the pressures of trying to fit into mainstream North American culture and gay and lesbian culture. As a result, some Asian gay men and lesbians may be at higher risk of contracting HIV/STIs because when an individual does not feel good about himself, he may feel alienated and disempowered in negotiating safer sex or refusing to participate in unsafe sex, resulting in highrisk sexual practices. The need to be accepted, to feel desired by a potential partner, and the preoccupation with more basic settlement needs such as employment, housing and learning a new language may take priority over one’s own health...

Internalized Racism: Internalized racism may manifest in the preference that some Asian gay men and lesbians have for Euro-Canadian men and women in their sexual and intimate relationships. This issue may be more prevalent in the new immigrant rather than first-generation gays and lesbians. An imbalance in power may exist in these relationships, most often to the disadvantage of Asian gays and lesbians. Internalized racism can be traced to a history of imperialism in Asia and a conscious / unconscious re-creation of the power imbalance between Asians and Euro-Canadians. The appreciation of lighter skin colour in most Asian cultures could be seen as proof of this. Whiter skin is desirable and regarded as powerful, whereas darker skin is devalued. Asians may collectively internalize these unequal power dynamics, and their underlying racism. The value of lighter skin colour is thought to be historically linked to colonization, and is continually reinforced in contemporary South Asian culture through the present day influx of western culture and media. Many recent immigrant gays and lesbians also attributed this preference to the excitement and novelty of being with Euro-Canadian men and women. Similar interest for Black or other Asian partners is not evident, thus reinforcing a cultural preference for lighter skin. This preference for Euro-Canadian men and women could have an impact on STI prevention efforts among Asian gays and lesbians who may take undue sexual risks if requested by their white partners. If they perceive white partners as better educated about HIV/STIs, they may perceive them as more trustworthy, making them less likely to question the risk of certain sexual behaviours....

Power Dynamics In Relationships - Power dynamics are understood as the imbalances created by factors such as sexual orientation, social class, economic position, race, age, language, immigration status, poverty, and health status. For many gays and lesbians of Asian origin, power imbalances exist due to a marginalized status in mainstream society. This may be especially true for many Asians involved in inter-racial and inter-generational interactions and relationships, especially with older Euro-Canadian men and women, who often assume power over their Asian partners. The power imbalance is commonly manifested tangibly in terms of financial and/or sexual control. Many whites perceive Asians to be subservient and lesser persons. Consequently, many Asian men who have sex with men are left in positions where they do not have the power to negotiate equal relationships, including safer sex. Many younger Asian men and women in such relationships with Euro-Canadians may suffer from low self-esteem and a sense of powerlessness. The perception of not being attractive due to the lack of positive Asian images in the media, coupled with the different standards of beauty promoted by mainstream, gay, lesbian and Asian communities result in members of the mainstream and gay communities viewing Asians as less desirable. This has a significant impact on Asian gay and lesbian youth. Many are faced with a limited choice of men and women with whom they can have intimate and sexual relationships. Many Asians have voiced concerns that some Euro-Canadian men who are exclusively interested in Asian men (commonly referred to as “Rice Queens”) take advantage of younger Asian men’s inexperience, perceived limited choices in sexual partners and exclusively target them. Gay identified Asians, who feel the pressure of exclusion and rejection, sometimes are more likely to engage in unsafe sexual behaviours because of their lack of negotiation power in the current power dynamics in the mainstream and gay community..."
 

Yoakam, John R (2001). Gods or Monsters: A Critique of Representations in Film and Literature of Relationships Between Older Gay Men and Younger Men. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 13(4), 65-80. Journal Web Page. Table of Contents. Issue Abstracts (Must Scroll).

Excerpts: "In searching for research articles or historical models for intergenerational relationships between older gay men and younger men, I discovered that such relationships are almost entirely framed in terms of adult-child relationships (pedophilia) or adult-adolescent-relationships (ephebophilia)... I contend that framing all intergenerational relationships as abuse or as an imbalance of power colors perceptions about and limits interest in researching such relationships even when the partners are consenting adults of different ages... From this study I conclude that few cultural representations of relationships between older gay men and younger men exist. There has been little change over thirty years in how such relationships are portrayed in film... The few studies that have been published on relationships between adult gay men of differing ages have demonstrated that intergenerational relationships have been beneficial for the participants of these studies, and that the value of such relationships have more to do with intrinsic qualities shared between partners than their extrinsic age or differences in material wealth and experience. More research is needed both of historical examples of intergenerational relationships as well as from contemporary couples to understand the value and challenges for the persons involved in these relationships..."
 
 

More to be added....

e.g.

1. The more "at risk" status of adolescents who are the most likely to be homosexually oriented.

2. The "at risk" status of adolescents who are referred to GLB youth groups. Has any research been done to determine if these goups are safe places for GLB adolescents. If not, why not?

3. Why are some of the most important "at risk" factors likely to be implicated in  contracting HIV by adolescent GB males ignored by the researchers in this field?
 

Notes

Note A: The are many - meaning researchers - who have collected data on suicidality as related to what is called "sexual abuse" by these researchers, and these studies would have included the type of the boys reported on by Kruks (1991). These researchers have also reported associations between reports of suicidality, or increased suicidality, and they have claimed that this suicidality was related to these boys having been "sexually abused." However, the report by Kruks (1991) suggest that the opposite applies in some cases. That is, if these boys do not experience what they so much desire - this being what many researchers have called  "sexual abuse" - "becoming suicidal" or "becoming more suicidal" results may be expected. Stated otherwise, for these boys, it is not being 'sexually abused' that results in suicidality, but it is not experiencing this 'sexual abuse' (not coded as sexual abuse by these boys) that is implicated in their suicide problems. I would say, however, that these boys may also experience "sexual abuse" (as defined by these boys possible as "uwanted sexual acts"). and that these "abusive" experiences may also be related to suicidality. It is most interesting that I have not yet encountered a study of "child sexual abuse" related to boys that caveated their results with the "fact of life" highlighted here that was reported by Kruks (1991). This was likely not done because it is related to "knowledge" to be denied. When researchers do this, however, they have become everything that is apparently not to be if researchers are actually living up to their mandate. For a presentation of some problems related to the research on the sexual abuse of boys see West (1998). Related issues are also available in "Letters" in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association). Project Background: "The Studies of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) in Ethno-Cultural Communities Project emerged in June of 1999 from a community consultation conducted by the HIV Social, Behavioural and Epidemiological Studies Unit (HIV Studies Unit) with the Toronto-based Gay Men?s Education Network (G-MEN).  The purpose of that meeting was to seek community input in Toronto on the feasibility and content of future research initiatives related to gay and bisexual men, specifically, a venue-based survey focusing on self-identified gay and bisexual men.  It was agreed at that consultation that a single study would be inadequate to address the HIV prevention research issues among MSM in Toronto?s diverse ethno-cultural communities. Given the complexity, scope and diversity of issues facing ethno-cultural MSM in Toronto, this developmental project was proposed to further identify interest, areas for research, in-depth research questions and appropriate research methods. This project comprised an effort on the part of the HIV Studies Unit to build successful project partnerships with community agencies and individuals.  This project also marks a milestone in Canadian HIV research: the identification of research issues and needs in several ethno-specific communities at once."
 

Note B: Gay community methods of 'acknowledging' and 'addressing' problems: Activists try to stem gay domestic abuse: "One reason the gay community balks at confronting abuse among its own members is that gays already face special problems such as HIV and discrimination, says Letellier. Publicizing abuse, he says, would be "airing dirty laundry."-   Gay Partner Abuse Project (Toronto). - Screams in a Vaccum: "Perhaps the most significant difference is the community's invalidation. Unlike mainstream's recognition and response to battered women the gay community has responded to its battered gay men with denial and silence. Community leaders have stated there is "no problem" while correspondingly and not surprisingly support services remain virtually non-existent." - San Francisco grapples with gay domestic violence: "They feel embarrassed and ashamed in airing any more dirty laundry to any enemies that would undermine what we already have. - The gay community's dirty secret - domestic violence - is finally coming out of the closet: "What about resistance from the gay and lesbian community who don't want their dirty laundry aired in public?  Definitely. Straight battered women have tremendous shame and denial, and the same thing is felt on a community-wide basis for gay people. Added to that is the sense of not wanting to increase the negative attention and attacks and pressure the gay community already feels itself under from the outside.".

Given the above information, one can only imagine what 'leaders' of a GLB community would do to anyone in their midst who dared to mention what has been reported in this webpage. Fortunately, relevant information for Calgary is available and it is located at the web site of the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Association GLCSA): http://www.glcsa.org/ok/childmolesters.htm . On this web page, the following is stated:

"In Canada, sexual behavior with children is called child abuse. All citizens have an obligation to report any ongoing abuse to their local police department and child welfare agencies. The encouragement of any sexual relationships with children is wrong and extremely harmful to children, even according to the vast majority of gay and lesbian people. For example, here  in Calgary, the Gay & Lesbian Community Services Association has a policy that states that any person even slightly encouraging sexual behavior with children will be asked to  leave GLCSA' s offices and will be barred from using GLCSA's services. Thankfully, over the past 4 years approximately 10,000 people  have used GLCSA' s services and the policy has was needed to be used only once."

Information related to this event and its meaning has been available at this web site since 1998 at http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/adams2.htm in Note 10.
 

References

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Letters (1998). JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association), 281(23). (Full Text) Related to Holmes and Slap (1998) Review of the "sexual abuse of boys" research.

Maguen, Shira (1991). Teen Suicide: The Government’s Cover-up And America’s Lost Children. The Advocate, September 24: 40-47.

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Rind B (2001). Gay and Bisexual Adolescent Boys' Sexual Experiences With Men: An Empirical Examination of Psychological Correlates in a Nonclinical Sample. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 30(4): 345-268. (Full Text) (Abstract)

Rind B (1998). Biased use of cross-cultural and historical perspectives on male homosexuality in human sexuality textbooks. Journal of Sex Research, 35: 397-407.

Rind B, Tromovitch P, and Bauserman R (1998). A meta-analytic examination of assumed properties of child sexual abuse using college samples. Psychological Bulletin, 124: 22-53. A related paper presented at a symposium in 1998 is available online: "An Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Based on Nonclinical Samples." (Full Text) (PubMed Abstract). A critique paper of these results: Stanford researcher rebukes study that claims little ill-effect of childhood sexual abuse. Another response: Rind, Tromovitch, and Bauserman: Politically Incorrect - Scientifically Correct by Thomas D. Oellerich (Sexuality & Culture, 4(2), 67-81, 2000. Full Text. Other recent critiques challenged by Rind, Bruce; Tromovitch, Philip; Bauserman, Robert (2001). The Validity and Appropriateness of Methods, Analyses, and Conclusions in Rind et al. (1998): A Rebuttal of Victimological Critique From Ondersma et al. (2001) and Dallam et al. (2001). Psychological Bulletin (PubMed Abstract). 127(6): 734-758.  Dallam SJ, Gleaves DH, Cepeda-Benito A, Silberg JL, Kraemer HC, Spiegel D (2001). The effects of child sexual abuse: Comment on Rind, Tromovitch, and Bauserman (1998). Psychological Bulletin, 127 (6), 715-733 (PubMed Abstract). Ondersma SJ, Chaffin M, Berliner L, Cordon I, Goodman G, Barnett D (2001). Sex with children is abuse: Comment on Rind, Tromovitch, and Bauserman (1998). Psychological Bulletin, 127(6), 707-714 (PubMed Abstract).

Rind B, Tromovitch P, and Bauserman R (2000). Condemnation of a scientific article: A chronology and refutation of the attacks and a discussion of threats to the integrity of science. Sex Culture, 4: 1-62.

Ross M (1984). Relation of implicit theories to the construction of personal histories. Psychological Review, 96: 341-357.

Sandfort T (1983). Pedophile relationships in the Netherlands: Alternative lifestyle for children? Alternative Lifestyles 5: 164-183.

Sandfort T (1982). The sexual aspect of paedophile relationships: the experience of twenty-five boys. Amsterdam: Pan / Spartacus.

Savin-Williams, R. C. (1997). "...And Then I Became Gay:" Young Men's Stories. New York: Routledge.

Spada J (1979). The Spada Report. New York: Signet.

Stall RD, Hays RB, Walso CR, Ekstrand M, and McFarland W (2000).The Gay '90s: a review of research in the 1990s on sexual behavior and HIV risk among men who have sex with men. AIDS, 14: Supplement 3: 5101-14.

Tomeo ME, Templer DI, Anderson S, and Kotler D (2001). Comparative data of childhood and adolescence molestation in heterosexual and homosexual persons. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 30(5): 535-41.

Wächter, Nino (1999). The Experienced World Of Young Gay Men Who Are Attracted To Older Men: A Phenomenological Study. Master's Thesis, University of Turku, Department of Psychology. English Summary & Link to Full Text in Finnish: http://www.saunalahti.fi/~satyyri/gradu/summary.htm N/A  . Alternate link to English Summary:  http://gay-s.com/gerontophiles.htm N/A  . New Link:  http://de.geocities.com/fatman_at/gerontophiles.htm . (Alternate link with link to complete study in Finnish.)

West DJ (1998). Boys and Sexual Abuse: An English Opinion. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 27(6): 539-559. (Full Text)

Wilson P (1981). The man they call a monster: sexual experiences between men and boys. North Ryde, Australia: Casell.
 

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