Having The Sex Americans Won't

Josh passed along a long, interesting article on sexual behavior among the Mexican immigrant population in the American Southwest:

Ignacio doesn't consider himself gay, because he is always activo when he's with another man. Among mayates, there is one stark rule: The activo partner--or the person whom gay American men call a "top"--maintains his sense of masculinity, while the person who's being penetrated does not. And among recent Hispanic immigrants, who don't own much, manhood is a crucial possession. Mayates may think that letting another man give them a blowjob or giving anal sex to another man doesn't constitute cheating on their wives or girlfriends back in their own countries. And according to researchers who've studied male Hispanic immigrants and HIV transmission, the fact that many of them live in a small apartment to save money means that they sometimes end up having sex with one another. According to these researchers, being a mayate isn't a fixed sexual identity; it's the result of living in cramped quarters in areas of town where there aren't nearly as many women as there are other men who've just arrived from Mexico.

Contrary to queer fundamentalist rhetoric of fixed orientation at birth, increased cultural blending continues to illustrate that sexuality is a complicated construct that knows no politics and cannot be reduced to pamphleted sloganeering. What's interesting is how difficult it is for activists and health professionals to grapple with an environment not easily divided into gay and straight spheres. As culturally delineated sexual boundaries in America continue to erode under increasing sexual liberty, it will be interesting to see if there is a similar breakdown between the gay-straight divide, or if this phenomenon is restricted merely to the immigrant circumstance of a disproportionately male population.

The article is also a useful treatment of an issue politicians are not discussing about border security and illegal immigration controls: the spread of HIV among mainly rural, uneducated immigrants. The attitudes expressed by some in this piece are a chilling throwback to an age when HIV/AIDS spread almost unchecked due to ignorance of transmission methods.

Read the whole thing.

Comments

[Brian]

Hahaha. Nice play on the words. But I agree with you on how being the active/activo/top in the relationship means you aren't the gay one. It's right up there with, if you pull out before you cum, you protect yourself from the risks of contracting HIV and/or getting your girl preggers (the latter is for for the B(isexuals), C(onfused) and Q(uestioning)).

;)

[anapestic]

It's not exactly news that in environments where access to the preferred sexual partners (i.e., women) is highly restricted, then a lot of men are willing to fuck anything that moves, or perhaps doesn't move fast enough. You may have heard rumors of prison rape. I don't think this has any impact, one way or another, on the idea that most people's orientations are fairly well fixed before they know how to read. I know many gay men (including myself) who were married and behaved in an exclusively heterosexual manner before figuring out their orientation. Almost to a man, they will tell you that they were always gay. Behavior is a great deal more malleable than orientation.

[Malcontent]

Not that I think there should be an expansive role for government in a lot of stuff, but public-health is one area where I support more funding than a typical libertarian might be expected to. And I think this perfectly illustrates an area where our HIV-prevention policies need to get a little smarter than the disease. Are we doing enough in minority and high-risk communities? Do outreach and education efforts take these cultural taboos into account when designing programs and materials?

AIDS as a public-health threat has evolved a lot in the past 25 years, and I hope to God we're trying to stay ahead of it.

[Oscar]

This practice is ingrained in the spanish culture. In Spain, Cuba and some other Latin American countries these men are called "bugarrones". They are accepted as straight because they are complete tops. They only allowed the bottoms to service them. It is not because there are not enough women or the ability to get to the women. It is because a tight ass is better than a loose twat and if one is available, is a sin not to use it. By the way, many of the bottom later turn to be tops to others and the ball keeps on rolling. Sex is sex. Why leave it to the worms, when you can lend it to your friend.

[Robbie]

Anapestic - The more I think and read on the issue, the more persuaded I am that orientation is an artificial construct created mainly for political purposes. As Oscar notes (which I didn't include in the post, because I wasn't positive about it), this phenomenon isn't unique to the prison-like circumstances of "having sex with what's available." Even in heavily urbanized environments of latino populations with available females, this behavior is prevalent.

Does that mean there are more gay and bisexual folk in the latino population, or is culture a heavy influence on sexual preferences and behaviors? How malleable are they? Can we in honesty and good faith claim fixed orientation when there are cultures and environments that show an amazing flexibility based on social mores?

I'm just asking the questions. I certainly don't have the answers, but I have my suspicions.

[raj]

Just to let you know, this kind of mind-set is not new, and it is not limited to Latinos. I ran across it from american Fundies about 8-9 years ago when I was posting on FreeRepublic.com (Rush Lamebrain's favorite web site). It is also prevalent in more than a few third world societies, even among Muslims.

[raj]

Just to let you know, this kind of mind-set is not new, and it is not limited to Latinos. I ran across it from american Fundies about 8-9 years ago when I was posting on FreeRepublic.com (Rush Lamebrain's favorite web site). It is also prevalent in more than a few third world societies, even among Muslims.

[blewsdawg]

So does this mean all you top guys are straight now?

[PatrickP]

Shhhh, blewsdawg - we let them think that they are "straight acting."

[Queer Conservative]

There are "tops" here?

[el polacko]

it's not exactly breaking news that latinos will go for it with a guy as long as they think nobody will find out and threaten their public machismo... and they aren't all necessarily tops either. it's got nothing to do with a lack of access to women. they're just horny fuckers... generally speaking, of course.. haha.

[John in IL]

I'm looking at the guy who mows my lawn in a different light. He can get activo with me any day.