News Finding: It found that many participants attributed their ability to stay HIV negative to a strong sense of religious and spiritual identity, social support from friends and family, and social engagement with other HIV-negative black MSM in safe spaces.
Paper Finding: Six (21%) men mentioned ''topping'' causal partners as part of strategies to stay HIV negative.
News Context: Understanding how black gay and bisexual men are able to remain negative -- despite being constantly labeled "high risk" for or "vulnerable" to HIV by public health researchers and health care providers alike -- might provide us a roadmap for how to achieve better health outcomes and ultimately end the AIDS epidemic. It found that many participants attributed their ability to stay HIV negative to a strong sense of religious and spiritual identity, social support from friends and family, and social engagement with other HIV-negative black MSM in safe spaces. The study noted the need to provide safe social spaces for black gay and bisexual men to engage around HIV prevention and the need to incorporate HIV prevention messages into religious/spiritual contexts.
Paper Context: Another theme that arose during the sexual encounter is that of intentional, adaptive sexual positioning strategies. Six (21%) men mentioned ''topping'' causal partners as part of strategies to stay HIV negative. As noted by one participant upon being asked about whether he had any rules for himself for staying healthy and avoiding HIV: Yeah, just the things I talked about.