In societies with strict rules, sanctions, and moral/institutional hierarchies attached to sexuality, we find gaps between people’s reported sexual identity and what they actually do. Because the stakes are high if people fall from esteemed sexual categories, people in these societies are invested in maintaining at least the perception of sitting on sexual high ground.
Different societies and organizations vary in their strategies for addressing gaps between identity and behavior. In the U.S. there is an entire media/medical/criminal justice industry built around catching, shaming, treating, and punishing (or at least exposing hypocrisy) for those who fall from their esteemed socio-sexual positions (e.g. Cheating Celebrities, Pedophile Priests, Gay Anti-Gay activists).
A newly released study indicates that from a sexual health perspective it may be more important than ever to acknowledge these known gaps in identity and behavior, especially when it comes to young people. This study, lead by Dr. Preeti Pathela of New York Department of Public Health and Mental Hygiene, found that for sexually active teens, nearly 1 in 10 engage in same-sex sexual activity; an increase over previous studies. (It is not clear whether this is a result of an actual increase in same sex behavior, sexual behavior in general, or whether respondents in this study were just more likely to report their same sex activities).
Regardless of the reasons for the reported increase in same sex sexuality, since teens in this often stigmatized group are also less likely to use condoms and other safe sex precautions, some sort of strategy is needed. From a sexual health perspective, creating space and decreasing stigma for same sex attraction in curriculum and school cultures is a basic first step. Below is a summary of the study:
By Zach Gottlieb
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new study suggests that nearly one in sexually active ten teens have same-sex partners — almost twice as many as previous research found. According to a 2002 study of Massachusetts and Vermont teens, only 5 percent to 6 percent of teens had same-sex partners.
In the new study, 9.3 percent of teens said they did.
“Clearly there’s a high rate of same-sex partners among teens, and we need to recognize any vulnerabilities that may be associated with these behaviors,” said Dr. Susan Blank, an assistant commissioner at the NYC Health Department. Blank, who was not involved with the study, was referring to a lower rate of condom use and unwanted sex among teens with same-sex partners seen in the study.
The new research, published in the journal Pediatrics, looked at more than 17,000 teens in New York City. It found that teens who had sex with only their own gender or with both genders were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, putting themselves at greater risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of the 18 million new cases of STDs that occur each year happen among people aged 15 to 24.
Such risky behaviors included not using a condom during sex and having forced sex. More than half of boys who engaged in bisexual behavior didn’t use a condom, compared to a fifth of those who engaged exclusively in heterosexual behavior. The difference was not quite as large for girls who engaged in bisexual behavior and those who engaged exclusively in heterosexual behavior, but it was similar: About half of the former didn’t use a condom, compared to 30 percent of the latter.
About a third of those teens who engaged in bisexual behavior had forced sex at some point in their lives, much higher than the 6 percent of those boys who engaged exclusively in heterosexual behavior and the 16 percent of the similar group of girls.
Elizabeth Saewyc, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, told Reuters Health that these teens may engage in riskier behavior because sex education programs don’t always acknowledge gay, lesbian, and bisexual relationships.
“Some teens I’ve seen tell me that they completely check out of sex ed because they feel what they were learning didn’t apply to them,” said Saewyc, who was not involved in the new study.
She suggested that educators need to acknowledge gay, lesbian, and bisexual relationships more often in sex education curriculums so that teens are more likely to listen and will feel more comfortable discussing any issues.
Though the authors of the new study report that the rate of same-sex partners is higher than previous studies, Saewyc pointed that this rate is actually similar to what she has seen in her own work and other studies.
In the 2008 British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey, for teens who were sexually active, 8 percent of males and 10 percent of females reported having had a same-sex partner. In a study looking at the 2001 Minnesota Student Survey, 9.4 percent of teens reported having had partners of the same or both sexes.
Dr. Preeti Pathela, lead author of the new study, said the results may have been different this time around because some states do not measure same-sex encounters. Still, Pathela said, it’s clear that some teens are more vulnerable to risky behavior and STDs than others. In discussing sexual relationships and potential risks, she said it is important that parents, educators, and researchers focus on behaviors and not just on sexual identity.
“How teens identify themselves doesn’t always correlate with actual behaviors,” said Pathela, a research scientist in the New York Department of Public Health and Mental Hygiene. “Behavior is a better measure of what’s actually happening because teens are changing rapidly.”
SOURCES: http://link.reuters.com/gas77m Pediatrics, October 25,2010.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_104931.html
Comments 3
Sam R. — November 2, 2010
How does "having forced sex" constitute "risky behavior"? That's a huge miscategorization to make about the huge difference in rate they find (33% among bisexual, 6% het boys, 16% het girls).
Kari Lerum — November 3, 2010
Sam, I agree that the story's wording around this is confusing; it seems to imply that the adolescents have control in conditions where they are being sexually assaulted. It would be more accurate to state that these risks aren't just about risky individual behavior but about risky socio-cultural contexts, where due to stigma and shame some kids are more vulnerable to abuse. Below is a quote from the abstract of the article, which I think is stated in clearer language:
"Adolescents with both-sex partners reported a marked prevalence of dating violence and forced sex. Many adolescents with only same- or both-sex partners (38.9%) self-
identified as straight. "
Preeti Pathela and Julia A. Schillinger. 2010. "Sexual Behaviors and Sexual Violence: Adolescents With Opposite-, Same-, or Both -Sex Partners." Pediatrics126; 879-886.
Gabe Blodgett — June 1, 2014
I would tend to agree with this article overall. In all of my own sexual experiences (I self-identify as bisexual), I never used a condom. Though I've never had full on intercourse, STD's could still be transmitted. The sex-ed classes I took were definitely all about heterosexual relationships. As teens, we never thought that condoms where a necessity when engaging in sexual behavior with same sex partners. It's just not something we gave any thought to. This is probably because their importance was only highlighted in respect for heterosexual activity.
I definitely think that the number of bisexual or homosexual youth is underreported. When you analyze the social influences and punishments surrounding any type of homosexual activity in our schools, churches and society in general, this begins to make sense. I don't think it's necessarily just a matter of youth not reporting because they don't want to be seen in that way, rather I feel that youth are not reporting because they don't think of themselves as bisexual or homosexual. The social influences that shame and punish homosexual activity and thoughts results in an automatic response to avoid that punishment and social stigma, which internally means not identifying as anything that would bring upon themselves the stigma. It's sort of like repressing that identity even though you're engaging in that behavior. You compartmentalize in a sense.
The church is an excellent example of this. In church, one of the unspoken social norms is that "good christians" don't struggle with anything, or have any issues in life. If one was to admit having same sex experiences, thoughts or desires, they would be perceived as "lesser" of a christian, as not serious enough, not good enough really. So, in this context, in order to avoid that social punishment and judgment, the natural response is to hide or repress those issues.
The process works similarly in our schools and in society in general.
I definitely think that part of the solution from this repression and engaging in risky sexual activity is to broaden the scope of sex education in our schools where bisexuality and homosexuality is explored and normalized. That would have made the risks clear and at the very least made us think twice before engaging in risky sexual behavior.