Gender Identity, Gender Role, and HIV Risk: Results From an Online Study of the U.S. Transgender Population.

Gender Identity, Gender Role, and HIV Risk: Results From an Online Study of the U.S. Transgender Population, Walter Bockting, University of Minnesota 

Funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, this study employed an online survey and online in-depth interviews to identify transgender-specific HIV risk factors. Male-to-female and female-to-male transgender participants (N = 1,229) were recruited via banner advertisements on transgender community websites and messages posted to online mailing lists, journals, and forums. Eighty-five percent completed the survey. Randomly selected participants (n = 131) completed the online interview using a combination of asynchronous (private bulletin board) and synchronous (private chat) computer-mediated communication. The relationships between unsafe sex and cross-gender identification and role were examined. Results indicated that female-to-males who are more committed to gender crossing were more likely to have unsafe sex. For male-to-females, however, the opposite was found: those who are more committed to gender crossing were less likely to have unsafe sex. Findings from the qualitative interviews suggested that, especially early in transition, transgender women and men's sexual relationships and HIV risk mirror that what is known about the risks of non-transgender women versus men. Transgender men appear to be at risk because of their own sexual behavior, particularly sex with men. Transgender women appear to be at risk, at least in part, because of the high-risk sexual behavior of their male partners.