What’s Happening Under the Surface?

Individuals often tend to focus on apparent matters, but sociology tells us there is

frequently a giant glacier under the ocean surface of society. HIV, due to its unique modes of

transmission, human beings do not seem to be equal in front of it. I am lucky that I feel HIV

is far away from me. At the same time, I am still aware that specific communities are

especially vulnerable and likely to be infected with this almost incurable disease. Are you

also interested in why these people are so vulnerable to HIV? Join me on this eye-opening

journey to reveal the glacier behind plain data and facts!

General Summary

In the journal article, "'Triply cursed': racism, homophobia, and HIV-related stigma are
barriers to regular HIV testing, treatment adherence and disclosure among young Black gay

men," Emily A. Arnold, Gregory M. Rebchook, and Susan M. Kegeles's studied the social

factors that play a role in putting pressure on specific communities, discouraging them from

seeking help, and enhancing the risks for them to get HIV (2014). In particular, they

researched the group of young Black gay men, who experience layered stigma, and their

reactions to HIV.

Research Method

Arnold, Rebchook, and Kegeles's study utilized the interview as the research method, in

which thirty-one voluntary and eligible young Black gay men were interviewed

anonymously, and nine Black service providers were directly chosen to be interviewed. All

the interviews were semi-structured, in-depth, and lasted about ninety minutes (Arnold et al.

2014). Arnold, Rebchook, and Kegeles designed the interviews for each group to have
separate question guides, with that for the young Black gay men encompassing questions

ranging from their general life experiences as a Black gay man to their experiences and

thoughts with HIV, and that for the service providers containing questions that required them

to assess the ease of getting assistance with HIV for specific groups of people and their HIV-

related behaviors. Interviews enabled the researchers to obtain detailed information about the

participants. And because the interviews were anonymous, social desirability bias was greatly

reduced (Khan et al. 2021), and individuals could be completely honest with the authors.

Therefore, they could obtain authentic information about the real situations young Black gay

men faced and identify the recurring themes from the interviews.

Findings and Results:

Through analyzing the responses to the key questions, Arnold, Rebchook, and Kegeles

identified the interplaying forces between racism, homophobia, and HIV-related stigma that

exist on the larger social scale, challenging young Black gay men to frankly take actions to

protect themselves and others who were exposed with the risk of getting infected. Many

participants indicated that they lived their whole life in their Black neighborhood due to racial

discrimination against Black people. Racism forced them to stay together as they were

rejected by others in society. This tight-knit black community was their only support, and

when they confessed to their family members or neighbors that they were gay, many

experienced expulsions and hatred from them. Therefore, they would lose all their intimates if

they revealed their sexual orientation, an enormous risk that one would not voluntarily bear.

However, some confessed and were excluded from the Black community, leading them to
seek solace in risky sexual behaviors such as having sex without using condoms. They

desired the intimate connections from sex to fulfill the part of themselves lost due to their

sexual orientation and race. These unsafe behaviors put this community at a greater risk of

getting infected with HIV. Moreover, because of all the frightening consequences of being

found to be gay and HIV positive, they hesitated to be tested for HIV and did not want to face

the potentially unfortunate truth. And even if they were diagnosed with it, they would choose

not to confess to others as they do not want to be blamed and ridiculed for that. Besides,

because of the inequality deeply embedded in society, many young Black gay men did not

have the resources to be tested and treated. Thus, the delay in this entire process put more

people at risk and increased the chance for the virus to spread among this community. The

findings shed light on the fact that social factors can change young Black gay men's coping

strategies toward HIV, impeding the current HIV control measures that primarily rely on

individuals to take the initiative to get tested and treated.

Evaluation: how can we use sociology to explain the findings?

As "sociological imagination" indicates, individuals' personal experiences are influenced

by social forces (Khan et al. 2021). Through this study done by Arnold, Rebchook, and

Kegeles, we can infer that the life experiences of young Black gay men are damaged by

racism, homophobia, and HIV-related stigma in society (2014). Race is a significant

contributing factor in the rising social inequality. The Black population often confronts the

racial wealth gap between them and the White community, as racial discrimination, slavery,

and violence in history hinder them from accumulating wealth through generations (Kaufman
and Schoepflin 2021). Also, since race is a concept that White people arbitrarily determine,

society still holds the idea of "White supremacy" (Ray et al. 2021). Thus, the Black

population is frequently viewed as inferior to the White population. These threats are what

confine them to Black neighborhoods, and they greatly reduce their ability to achieve a

higher social class. Therefore, the innate social status of being a Black man decreases the

opportunities available to them throughout their lives, as they are prone to the threats of

poverty and discrimination. Additionally, social inequality stresses individuals in the Black

community, weakening their immune systems and making them more likely to get diseases.

Thus, we can infer that in this study, it is because the young Black gay men were afraid that

they could not afford it and did not have other alternatives to deal with it that they were not

willing to seek treatment even after they knew that they were HIV positive (Arnold et al.

2014). Also, as the Black neighborhood is a social group, people within it hold specific social

norms, which are the rules and expectations people need to follow as members of the group

(Halasz and Kaufman 2021). Deviance is regarded as any behavior that contradicts social

norms, and it is also an action that is defined by the reactions of others (Barian et al. 2021).

Although being gay may be regarded as a normal thing in other parts of the world, within the

Black community, this sexual orientation is perceived as deviant since all the individuals

within the community expel gay people and develop fear and hatred against them. Getting

HIV positive is also considered deviant, as individuals can spread this disease and potentially

harm others. These are reasons why young Black gay men fear confessing their sexual

orientation to their parents and getting tested for HIV: they do not want to break social norms

and risk being isolated from the communities they grew up in. Furthermore, the lack of
integration, an individual's connections to others, causes additional deviant behaviors as they

no longer try to fit into social expectations (Khan et al. 2021). From the study, after the young

Black gay men were repulsed by their social circle, they chose to attempt more dangerous

behaviors, such as having unsafe sex that they otherwise would not do if they had emotional

support from their family and friends (Arnold et al. 2014). Their inability to bond with others

changed their perception of themselves. They no longer believed that they were a part of

society and thus did not need to follow social norms. These social factors impose enormous

difficulties in tackling HIV within the Black community, as Black gay men face layered

stigmas from racism, homophobia, and HIV and change their behaviors simultaneously to

deal with them. We should reach out to individuals, especially those in the Black community,

and let them know that their sexual orientation is a part of their identity that deserves respect.

We should support and encourage Black gay men to be confident enough to be tested and

treated; therefore, we can reduce the rates of HIV in the community.

References

Arnold, Emily A., Gregory M. Rebchook, and Susan M. Kegeles. 2014. “‘Triply Cursed’:

Racism, Homophobia and HIV-Related Stigma Are Barriers to Regular HIV Testing,

Treatment Adherence and Disclosure among Young Black Gay Men.” Culture, Health &

Sexuality 16(6):710-22. DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2014.905706.

Barian, Angela, Patrick Sharkey, and Bryan L. Sykes. 2021. “Deviance, Crime, and

Violence.” A Sociology Experiment 1st Edition. Pan Open Telegrapher.

England, Brittany. 2021. “Black Men and HIV: Transmission, Stats, and More.” Healthline.

Retrieved November 16, 2022 (https://www.healthline.com/health/hiv-aids/black-men-hiv-

transmission-stats).

Halasz, Judith and Peter Kaufman. 2021. “Social Structure and the Individual.” A Sociology

Experiment 1st Edition. Pan Open Telegrapher.

Kaufman, Peter and Paltz Todd Schoepflin. 2021. “Social Class, Inequality, & Poverty.” A

Sociology Experiment 1st Edition. Pan Open Telegrapher.

Khan, Shamus, Patrick Sharkey, and Gwen Sharp. 2021. “A Sociology Experiment.” A

Sociology Experiment 1st Edition. Pan Open Telegrapher.

Khan, Shamus, Patrick Sharkey, and Gwen Sharp. 2021. “Research Methods.” A Sociology

Experiment 1st Edition. Pan Open Telegrapher.

Ray, Rashawn, Patrick Sharkey, and Matthew Clair. 2021. “Race and Ethnicity.” A Sociology

Experiment 1st Edition. Pan Open Telegrapher.