The only safe way to find a partner’
Rethinking sex and risk online in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15294642 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matthew Thomann (0000-0003-0754-3254, Kalamazoo College, corresponding author), Ashley Grosso (0000-0001-5759-7125, Columbia University), Patrick A Wilson (0000-0003-0006-5528, Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA), Mary Ann Chiasson (0000-0002-4906-0667, Columbia University) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 53-67 |
| Publication date | 2018-10-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Critical Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0958-1596 • E-ISSN: 1469-3682 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09581596.2018.1527017 |
| PMID | 36278242 |
| OpenAlex | W2894754550 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 35 |
Despite the Internet's global importance as a sex-seeking venue for men who have sex with men (MSM) and other sexual and gender minorities, little is known about this topic in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, existing public health research offers limited insight into the socio-cultural aspects of sexuality and how they articulate with patterns in online sex-seeking behavior. In 2015, we conducted survey and ethnographic research with 105 sexual and gender minorities in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Nearly half of survey respondents reported finding partners primarily online. Three quarters reported having found at least one partner online. Interviews with 24 of the survey participants revealed that a primary motivation for using online venues was that they allowed for the preservation and management of discretion and anonymity, permitting users to avoid discrimination and violence. While secondary to their strategies for managing such social risk, participants also reported using the profile features of online venues to filter out partners they perceived as presenting a risk to their sexual health. Though interview participants perceived online venues as providing a degree of protection against potential stigma and violence in offline contexts, survey data showed that over one quarter of participants had experienced extortion and/or blackmail by sexual partners they met online. By taking into account the socio-cultural context of sexuality and sexual activity in Abidjan, these findings highlight the disjuncture between essentialist notions of MSM who use the Internet to find sex partners as a universal, at-risk group and the complexity of sexual and gender minorities' experiences
Context (archaeology · Cote d ivoire · Geography · Human sexuality · Humanities · Population · Reproductive health · Sociology · Demography · Gender Studies · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Social Psychology
The Republic of Therapy
Gay men who look for sex on the Internet
A Comparison of On-Line and Off-Line Sexual Risk in Men Who Have Sex With Men
Meta-analytic Examination of Online Sex-Seeking and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Men Who Have Sex With Men
Risk
‘Party and Play’
HIV vulnerability and the erasure of sexual and gender diversity in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Who is Omitted from Repeated Offline HIV Behavioural Surveillance Among MSM? Implications for Interpreting Trends
Online Sex-Seeking Among Men who have Sex with Men in Nigeria
The Internet profiles of men who have sex with men within bareback websites
Sex and the Internet
Violence, exclusion and resilience among Ivoirian travestis
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Gay and Bisexual Men's Use of the Internet
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Gaydar Culture
Seeking Sexual Partners on the Internet
Sexual Negotiation, HIV-Status Disclosure, and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Latino Men Who Use the Internet to Seek Sex with Other Men
Men Who Have Met Sex Partners via the Internet
Internet Use and Sexual Health of Young Men Who Have Sex with Men
Making global health knowledge
Speculative pragmatism and intimate arrangements
Zones of Difference, Boundaries of Access
Safe on My Phone? Same-Sex Attracted Young People's Negotiations of Intimacy, Visibility, and Risk on Digital Hook-Up Apps
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,75 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |