Gay men and other Men who have sex with men (MSM), Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS Introduction

Men who have sex with men (MSM) include gay and bisexual men, MSM who do not identify as gay or bisexual despite their behaviors, male sex workers, and transgender men who have sex with men who identify as gay or have sex with other men. The term “MSM” was originally intended to describe same-sex behaviors between men rather than identities, orientations, or cultural categories. It was designed to be less stigmatizing than culturally bound terms such as gay, bisexual, or homosexual and has been useful as an epidemiologic tool to help characterize the HIV pandemic in challenging contexts. However, in the era of HIV, there are growing contingents who now identify as MSM and feel a connection with the MSM community challenging the initial intention of the term. Separately, the term in 2016 is often used interchangeably with the term gay which can be dehumanizing to those who identify as members of the LGBT Community (Trapence et al. 2012). And given the dynamic nature of.