Empirical systematic studies on political activism among self-identified sexual minorities are sparse and underdeveloped. When using three waves of a random national survey of respondents who have sex with people of the same sex (N = 184), this study tested the predictive capabilities of “resource,” “framing,” and “network” theories of political participation. After running discriminant analysis regressions for electoral and protest activities, the potency of eclectic and integrative models became apparent. With many resource, framing, and network variables reaching statistical significance, the results suggest that activism is partly contingent upon changing political environments and the educational attainment of the respondents, as well as their interpretations of heterosexism, authoritarian principles, the collective efficacy of citizens, the number of civic groups they joined, and the embracing of activist precepts as their own.

Reducing unmet family planning need to zero is an integral part of UNAIDS’ Global Plan to virtually eliminate infant HIV infection by 2015. This study aims to understand the beliefs and attitudes that influence family planning use among HIV-positive women in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program at Clínica de Familia La Romana, Dominican Republic, and to determine which barriers to use are most important in this population and prioritize them as targets for intervention. Data were collected from one focus group and 21 single investigator-administered semistructured interviews with women in the PMTCT program at Clínica de Familia La Romana, Dominican Republic. The majority of women stated that their last pregnancy was undesired, although they were not using family planning at the time of the pregnancy. Knowledge about the methods, social influences (family, friends), and logistics were not significant barriers within this population. The two barriers that were most frequently reported as reasons for not using, or stopping use of, a family planning method were the attitudes and beliefs of the partner and menstrual changes ranging from irregular bleeding to amenorrhea. This study suggests two main categories of interventions to reduce unmet family planning need in this PMTCT population. First, further research is needed to probe family planning attitudes and beliefs among the partners of HIV-positive women. Only by exploring both partners’ beliefs and expectations can culturally sensitive interventions be developed to increase family planning acceptability among the partners, and thus potentially increase use among women. Second, specific counseling is needed to ask for and address concerns of the women. Importantly, women need to understand that menstrual change is normal with certain methods and does not indicate a decline in their health status. Involving partners in family planning education and improving women’s understanding of how methods work and side effects to expect may improve uptake of contraception in this population.

The major purpose of this study was to identify the sexuality-related attitudinal patterns and variables related to those patterns for 32 European countries. Data came from the 1999 to 2000 wave of the European Values Survey which included questions about attitudes toward adultery, abortion, casual sex, divorce, and homosexuality. Cluster analysis produced six patterns with the largest cluster containing 13 mostly Western European countries and the smallest cluster containing only the country Malta. Additional patterns included two clusters of former Soviet Bloc countries, a cluster with Ireland and Northern Ireland, and one with mostly Nordic countries. Applying Reiss’s conceptualization of sexual ideologies and Inglehart and Welzel’s modernization theory related to value change, variables hypothesized to be related to sexual attitudes included level of economic development, religiosity, dominant religious background, and degree of gender empowerment and traditional gender role attitudes. Findings are discussed with respect to hypothesis support and implications for future research.

An exploratory study was conducted to determine if: (1) web-linked computer interventions can help low-income minority teens maintain or increase condom use; (2) directed use of computers for health purposes during clinic waiting room time is more helpful than is self-generated computer use. Teen clinics were randomly assigned to treatment and comparison conditions. Teens attending treatment clinics were directed to view one of two very brief condom-promoting PowerPoint presentations linked to teen-friendly health websites. Teens attending comparison clinics were allowed to use the computers for whatever purposes they chose. Treatment teens returning for follow-up appointments 3–6 months later knew more of the relevant information and were more likely to have “always” used condoms than comparison teens who did not have directed guidance in using the computers. This study suggests that to achieve meaningful outcome-based health education using computers and the Internet in clinics serving low-income minority youth, directed learning is likely to be more efficacious than unguided exploration or general use. Indeed, directed learning using technology may help reduce some of the health disparities experienced by low-income minority youth by increasing protective behaviors. Further research on this approach is merited.

In this article, we present the results of ethnographic research undertaken in areas with concentrated recreational venues frequented by diverse youth groups in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. This material is part of the larger “Relationships between race, gender and sexuality in different national and local contexts” research initiative. Here, we focus upon data collected through ethnographic observation and interviews conducted in various locales where young men meet to engage in homoerotic sociability, demonstrating different degrees of conviviality among groups of different socioeconomic profiles and distinct esthetic preferences, consumer habits, and body types. We explore the production of styles and body presentations that link markers of color/race, gender, and sexuality, as well as the relationships that these maintain with opening or restricting possibilities for the establishment of erotic and affective partnerships involving these boys.

Drawing on one of the features of the intersectional imagination, this article focuses on how lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) leaders of color talk about race as a barrier and conduit in their work as activists and social movement organizers. Using qualitative data from four focus groups, this article highlights three findings: (a) although research participants view their lives as intersectional, certain traits or characteristics often take precedence over others; (b) viewing intersectionality through the lens of race often showcases how stereotyping is perceived and experienced; and (c) all participants agreed that their own racial–ethnic identity helped them in their activist work, but not everyone agreed that it hindered their work. Together, these findings help define what the author identifies as racial capital, further underscore the justification for including LGBT people of color in the study of intersectionality, and add a new dimension to the framework: positive identity management.

Over the last few years, the number of people living with HIV who have been convicted for not disclosing their HIV status to sexual partners in Canada has been steadily increasing. Whilst these laws are criminal in nature, and not public health-based, it is important to examine their effect on public health HIV prevention efforts. To undertake such an analysis, the impact fraction model was used to structure and examine the extant literature about HIV transmission, HIV status awareness and HIV testing practices. The findings of this analysis indicate that although these laws might prevent HIV transmission in a few isolated cases, it is unlikely that they would influence overall population-level rates of HIV transmission. Some evidence even suggests that these laws could exacerbate HIV transmission.

This article is an exploration of current Danish discourses on prostitution based on a material consisting of long-standing ethnographic fieldwork in the field of street prostitution, including interviews with sex workers, counselors, and policy makers, and of analyses of legal documents, newspaper articles, and evaluative reports commissioned by governments. The article outlines a polarized debate about possible change to the current legislation and how the ‘othering’ and victimizing rhetoric of main actors are based on generalization and biased estimations and a mutual blaming for “stealing the voices” of sex workers. It is demonstrated how this polarized and victimizing discourse mediated by social workers in encounters with women in prostitution reduces the women's possibilities to perform rationality and thus their ability to gain relevant capital in the eyes of the counselors. By reducing the women in prostitution to victims, the media and the social system in the last instance can be said to rob them their status as ‘citizens.’

This article reports on a study conducted in northern Chile that examined first sexual intercourse and its characteristics, especially prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Using a psychosocial approach, the author assessed sexual initiation experiences of heterosexual men and women ages 18 to 69. Interviews showed that Chilean men constructed themselves as desiring subjects and women as without desire, reproducing cultural images of male and female sexuality. Women gave more importance to affection as a precondition for sex, although the number of women whose sexual initiation was motivated by curiosity has increased. The author found age synchronization of young Chilean men’s and women’s age at sexual initiation but, in contrast to trends in other Western countries, no greater early initiation in younger generations. Results suggest that effective approaches to preventing pregnancy and STDs in Chilean youth would emphasize contraceptive use for men and sexual relationship management for women.

This paper argues that prostitution policy is less developed than more established policy domains such as health, education, social welfare, or the environment. While all policy is about the struggle over values and categories, conceptually prostitution policy can best be understood as an instance of morality politics. Without hypostatizing morality politics, we define it as having six characteristics: it is ruled by an explicit ideology; experts have limited authority as everyone feels they “own” prostitution policy; it is highly emotionally charged; it is resistant to facts; the symbolism of policy formulation is seen as more important than policy implementation; and it is subject to abrupt changes. We then analyze three implications of the adversarial nature of prostitution policy. First, we discuss the cavalier attitude of relevant actors towards precise and reliable numbers. Second, by focusing on “forced prostitution” and “trafficking”, we discuss the ideological and obfuscating nature of key concepts in prostitution policy. We suggest instead using the concept of “exploitation”. Finally, we focus on policy implementation. We argue that the common concept of policy regime has limited value and that to understand the development of prostitution policy, its outcomes, and its impact on society, attention to the mundane details of policy implementation is required. The paper suggests some conditions to prevent prostitution policy to enter the realm of morality politics and to attain an effective and humane form of policy making.