Male-with-male

About gay male sexuality

Many men report that they had experiences with people of the same sex when they were young. This is often a normal part of exploring their sexuality. Men who go on to describe themselves as ‘same-sex attracted’ or ‘gay’ include a strong physical and emotional attraction to men that they don’t usually feel for women.

Being a gay guy is natural

There is a lot of pressure from population for young men to be heterosexual or ‘straight’. This can often result in feelings of isolation for young men who are same-sex attracted and make them scared to exhibit their sexuality.

It’s important to remember:

• There are gay men in every customs and every country.
• Being gay is just a form of sexuality.

Why some men are gay

There is no real explanation as to why some men are gay and others are not. Although there is no right or false answer to the question, a achievable reason suggested by researchers is that we are born with our sexual orientation.

Knowing whether you’re gay

There is no test or questionnaire you can conclude that will reply this question for you. If you think you might be gay, it’s important that you:

• Don’t deny your feelings.
• Take your time to explore your sexuality

  Gay men and other men who have sex with men

  Abebe- an international student from Ethiopia, 24-year-old who identifies as male (he/him/they) and has been sexually active for the last five years. Abebe’s appointment is by telehealth. About three months ago, he started exploring his sexuality and has had sex with a few male partners (if asked for more detail – 4/5 partners, both insertive and receptive anal and oral sex, infrequent condom use). Abebe is feeling confused and uncertain about his sexuality and would never acquire felt comfortable exploring it further while living with his parents in Ethiopia. He is worried about anyone in his family finding out, particularly his father. Abebe has no significant medical history but has been feeling a little anxious lately. Abebe has never smoked cigarettes but has been experimenting with some recreational drugs since coming to Australia. He drinks alcohol with friends on weekends (4-5 drinks per occasion) and has tried some MDMA. These occasions are also when he started to experiment having sex with men. Harm reduction education is provided regarding drug use and linked into community organisation for progressing support.

  Clinical in
  
  

  • 3-monthly testing for STIs is recommended in all men who have had any type of sex with another man in the previous 3 months.
  • HIV self-testing is also available
  • Patients who are not sexually active or in a monogamous relationship may be tested less frequently, but at least annually.

  Site/Specimen	Test	Consideration
  Oropharyngeal swab	NAAT/PCR gonorrhoea/chlamydia NAAT/PCR gonorrhoea/chlamydia NAAT/PCR gonorrhoea/chlamydia	Self -collected
  First pass urine		Self-collected
  Anorectal swab		Self-collected
  Blood	HIV antibody/antigen	If not HIV positive
  Blood	Syphilis serology
  Blood	Hepatitis C	Test once a year in people living with HIV, on PrEP or with history of injecting drug use.
  Blood	Hepatitis A antibody	Test if not vaccinated. Vaccinate if antibody negative.
  Blood	Hepatitis B  Surface antigen (HBsAg)          Core antibody (Anti-HBc)          Surface antibody (Anti-HBs)	Test if not vaccinated. Vaccinate if no history or no documentation of full vaccination course. Consider offering first immunisation when Male to Male Sexual Feeling Across the Boundaries of Identity Explore the feelings of men toward other men without the pigeonholing set up in terms prefer “gay” and “straight”!Male to Male: Sexual Feeling Across the Boundaries of Individuality starts with the evidence that most studies on male sexuality have ignored--the same-sex feelings of men whose identities are heterosexual. Of the more than fifty men in this book, almost half were alert of some degree of same-sex feeling. But beyond percentages, the primary concentrate of Male to Male is the exploration--through their hold words--of how these men experienced queer feelings, what these feelings meant to them, the fears surrounding them, and the consequences of the collision between their heterosexual identities and their lgbtq+ feelings.In addition to comparative data on women's same-sex feelings, as well as on what men say in regard to their feelings about women, Male to Male includes material from two in-depth case studies. The first is on Clark, an African-American man who moved into sex with men in prison. His story shows that the need to observe gay men as feminine is really a cultural defense against the influential pull towar