ABSTRACT
The distance between practice and identity became apparent during a focus group for young men in Harlem. As the group discussed behaviors that placed them at risk for H I V infection, there were several instances in which participants' boasting about sexual conquests had undercurrents alluding to homosexual practices. Many of the young men participating described incarceration experiences and their lives engaged in hustling since their release. (Unemployment was and remains a large factor in the lives of young, urban black men). Though no one stated explicitly their homosexual experiences, their "double lives" were clearly evident. This closeted sexual behavior, described as "on the down low" in the vernacular, is highly illustrative of the power of ideologies and social sanctions against homosexuality to deny and/or reconstruct risk behaviors despite a knowledge of how H I V is transmitted. Hearing how these men described and referred to sexual behaviors during the focus group became a prime opportunity to use appropriate slang or vernacular for their risk behaviors. We are now able to disseminate this same language to providers as tools to more effectively engage men from this urban community.
