Discursos y prácticas sexuales de usuarios de saunas gay. Una aproximación desde las masculinidades

Identifier:  TDX:3036

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX3036

Authors:  Aviñó, Constanza Jacques

Abstract:
Men who have sex with men (MSM) are the most affected population by HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in most European countries, including Spain. Gay saunas are one of the setting were MSM have sexual contact. The objective of this dissertation was to analyse, from masculinities perspective, the process of health (sexuality), disease (HIV and other STIs) and care (prevention) in different gay saunas users in Barcelona. The dissertation is presented through the compilation of three articles. The first, is a qualitative study of MSM, belonging to a cohort without HIV infection, who had been contacted in gay saunas. The second, is a systematic review, which addressed masculinities and HIV. The third is a fieldwork, conducted between 2012-2016 focused exclusively on male sex workers who offered their sexual services in a gay sauna. The main findings derived from studies are congruent and suggest that male hegemony related to responding to risk and demonstrating sexual prowess is a social construct that is not unique to the heterosexual world. The social and sexual practices of MSM converge between hegemony and transgression by making alternative forms of male identities visible. However, there is scarce research on the subject at the global level. Factors such as immigration, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, internalized homophobia, and age have a different relationship with risk, HIV perception, and health among MSM. Among the prevention strategies, the most important were to implement interventions in places of socialization for gay, to consider social support and social determinants. The policies that promotes the acceptance of sexual and cultural diversity from a gender perspective should be strengthened.