ABSTRACT
In American society, homosexuality is a perplexing problem. For one thing, heterosexuality signals the absence of homosexuality. In addition, many hold the view that any homosexual act at any time in life means the person is homosexual, a status from which they could never fully recover. Yet, it might be the case that homosexual behavior is more prevalent in the society than is acknowledged. This may be problematic for the black male population. For instance, rates of HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases among black males are signifi cantly higher when compared to other racialized identities. The best science reveals that black males are not engaged in more risky sexual behaviors when compared to other statuses. However, we well know that sexually transmitted infections are higher among sexual minorities. For these reasons, some have thought that black males engage in homosexuality and do not disclose their behaviors to all their sexual partners. In addition, some public health scholars argue that a class of black males maintains heterosexual relations where they do not tell heterosexual partners about their homosexual behaviors because they prefer to represent themselves as exclusively heterosexual for social reasons. Added to this, high rates of incarceration among black males have caused some to reason that it increases same-sex relations, causing HIV spread among women. Others insist spread among women is because of their mate selection, drug use, and promiscuity.
