Study Finds Increased Need for Targeted Educational Materials on Oral Sex for Gay Men

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Study Finds Increased Need for Targeted Educational Materials on Oral Sex for Gay Men

SAN FRANCISCO (Oct. 27, 1997) -- Contradictory prevention messages addressed to the gay male community lead a significant number of gay men to believe that the risk of HIV transmission during oral sex is higher than it actually is, reports a study published in the current issue of the Journal of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. The study found that many gay and bisexual men have heightened anxiety about oral sex--even though few cases of HIV transmission through oral sex have been documented.

"What surprised us is that men who are anxious about oral sex took part in sexual activities that are widely known to be high-risk," said Seth C. Kalichman, PhD, the study's lead author. "The survey makes it clear that men are making decisions about when to use condoms based on what they believe is safe and underscores the need for specific HIV prevention messages that target specific behaviors. Our data do not support the belief that telling men oral sex is safer than anal sex will make them abandon safer sex altogether."

"Oral Sex Anxiety, Oral Sex Behavior, and HIV Risk Perceptions Among Gay and Bisexual Men" found that nearly one third of the 348 gay and bisexual men who completed an anonymous survey at a gay pride festival in Atlanta were "oral-sex anxious," and that significantly more "oral-sex anxious" men use condoms during oral sex than "non-anxious" men. The men's attitudes about oral sex were not related to whether they identify as gay or bisexual, are in a relationship, are HIV positive or negative, or how often they undergo HIV testing.

Yet in other areas of their sexuality, these men's choices were quite similar. Fully half (50%) of the "non-anxious" men reported engaging in anal sex without a condom within the previous six months. Similarly--and what researchers did not expect--half (49%) of the "anxious" men also reported engaging in anal sex without a condom within the same time period.

Kalichman believes that the concerns expressed by the gay and bisexual men he surveyed are linked to the mixed prevention messages on oral sex circulating in the gay male community. In 1996, to address the confusion surrounding oral sex and to improve the overall sexual health of gay men, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association began advocating for the creation of HIV prevention messages that underscore that oral sex is significantly safer than anal sex and classify oral sex as 'low risk.'

"This study lends credence to the hope that if we can help gay men understand the relative risk levels of different sexual activities they will make choices that are more likely to keep them healthy," said GLMA Executive Director Ben Schatz. "Informing gay men that oral sex is low risk allows them to enhance their sexual intimacy, and it may encourage them to take fewer risks with other sexual behaviors, such as anal sex."

JGLMA is the world's first peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary journal dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered health. Published quarterly, JGLMA specializes in original clinical research.

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The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association is an organization of nearly 2,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered physicians, medical students, and their supporters in all 50 states and 12 countries. Founded in 1981, GLMA works to combat homophobia within the medical profession and in society at large and to promote quality health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered patients.