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Compensated Sex and Sexual Risk: Sexual, Social and Economic Interactions between Homosexually- and Heterosexually-Identified Men of Low Income in Two Cities of Peru

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru, rpfernan{at}pucp.edu.pe

Ximena Salazar

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru, 16570{at}upch.edu.pe

Carlos F. Cáceres

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru, ccaceres{at}upch.edu.pe

Andre Maiorana

University of California, San Francisco, USA, andres.maiorana{at}ucsf.edu

Susan Kegeles

University of California, San Francisco, USA, Susan.Kegeles{at}ucsf.edu

Thomas J. Coates

University of California, San Francisco, USA, tcoates{at}mednet.ucla.edu

Josefa Martinez

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA, jmartine{at}jhsph.edu

This study describes the complex dynamics of the sexual, economic and social interactions between a group of feminized homosexual men and men who have sex with men and self-identify as heterosexual (`mostaceros'), in lower-income peripheral urban areas of Lima and Trujillo, Peru. The study examined sexual risk between these two groups of men, and the significance of the economic exchanges involved in their sexual interactions. Using a Grounded Theory approach, 23 individual interviews and 7 focus groups were analyzed. The results reveal that cultural, economic and gender factors mold sexual and social relations among a group of men who have sex with men in Peru. Compensated sex is part of the behaviors of these men, reflecting a complicated construction of sexuality based on traditional conceptions of gender roles, sexual identity and masculinity. Several factors (e.g. difficulty in negotiating condom use, low self-esteem, low risk perception, alcohol and drug consumption), in the context of compensated sex, play a role in risk-taking for HIV infection.

Key Words: bisexual behavior • compensated sex • HIV sexual risk • men who have sex with men (MSM) • sexual identity

Sexualities, Vol. 11, No. 3, 352-374 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1363460708089424


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