Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men MSM regularly experience homophobic discrimination and stigma. While some research has examined intragroup stigma, this research has focused mostly on HIV-related stigma.
Intragroup stigma may have a unique influence on sexual risk-taking behaviors as it occurs between sexual partners. Online sexual networking venues provide a unique opportunity to examine this type of stigma.
The purpose of this study is to examine the presence and patterns of various types of intragroup stigma represented in Men Seeking Men Craigslist sex ads. Two categories of data were collected: self-reported characteristics of the authors and reported biases in the ads.
Chi-square tests were used to examine patterns of biases across cities and author characteristics. Biases were rarely reported in the ads. Patterns in bias reporting occurred across cities and author characteristics.
Despite an overall low reporting of biases in ads, these findings suggest that there is a need to address intragroup stigma within MSM communities. The representation of biases and intragroup stigma on Craigslist may result from internalized stigma among MSM while also perpetuating further internalization of stigma for men who read the sex ads. Understanding patterns in the perpetuation of intragroup stigma can help to better target messages aimed at making cultural and behavioral shifts in the perpetration of intragroup stigma within MSM communities.
