Why AIDS Is Rising Among Black Women

Scotty R. Ballard

According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black women account for almost two-thirds (64 percent) of new HIV/AIDS cases among all women in the United States, and that number is growing.

Though sharing needles during drug use accounts for 25 percent of the new infections, a shocking 75 percent of the new infections are attributed to Black women having unprotected sex with men.

And health experts theorize that the infection rate is so high because 60 percent of these men are bisexual or living an alternative secret sexual life called "down low" and infecting their unsuspecting female partners.

Black men living on the down low have sex with other men, but don't identify themselves as gay or bisexual.

They do not heed public service announcements of the dangers of unprotected sex between men, and they do not go to clinics to be tested for HIV because they think of themselves as heterosexual men who like to have sex with men for a change.

Some of those on the down low apparently learned the lifestyle in prison, then began dual lives after being released, according to health officials.

"Down low has always been in existence. Because women have not dealt with it, we are at a critical point, and as much as we would like to push it under the carpet, we have to deal with it. It's an issue now because of the increase in numbers. But it should have been an issue 20 years ago," says Lora Branch director of the Chicago Department of Public Health Office of Lesbian and Gay Health center.

According to the CDC, nearly 325,000 Blacks are infected with HIV and more than 106,000 of these individuals are living with AIDS. That means about 1 in 50 Black men and 1 in 160 Black women are believed to be infected with HIV.

Gay Black men are contracting HIV at rates comparable to sub-Saharan Africa where 20 percent of the population is infected. Among gay and bisexual Black men in America it's 30 percent.

"HIV has been in the Black community since the beginning of the epidemic," says Branch. "In urban areas around the nation [AIDS] has not abated, but has increased." In Chicago alone, according to Branch, there has been a tripling [of HIV /AIDS cases] in Black women over the last few years. Branch points to the undetermined numbers of down low Black men as strong contributors of the disease. "It's a very gray area," she says. They get infected [through gay or bisexual sex] then infect their female partners."

Despite the fact that down low Black men are fueling the AIDS epidemic, Philadelphia psychologist Dr. Renee Robinson says women themselves share some of the blame as well.

According to Robinson, women have been infected with HIV/AIDS because they haven't taken more control over what happens in their bedrooms. "They need to deal with confronting their partners' sexual practices."

"Women who have low self-esteem or are desperate for companionship tend to ignore warning signs that can clue them in to a man's lifestyle," she says. "For [some] women the relationship is the most important thing for them and they are in denial. They decide to see it as being chosen by someone and this makes them feel valued."

To educate young women between the ages of 15 and 34 about the risks of HIV, the CDC recently completed the Women and Infants Project, which is designed to improve the understanding of factors influencing women's behavior changes regarding condom and contraceptive use.

Robinson adds that men on the down low, even if confronted, won't divulge their activities to their mates.

"[These men] don't see their behavior as homosexual or bisexual. So they don't claim responsibility for their actions. They are in denial. That's ridiculous!"

Such was the case for Hannah (not her real name), a 40-year-old mother of two adult children. Hannah was infected with HIV from her ex-husband 10 years ago. She says her husband infected her with HIV although he vehemently denied he gave her the virus. The couple divorced in 1991 and he died from AIDS two years later.

"Men aren't going to admit that they sleep with men," she says curtly. "They won't admit they sleep with other women. Women should stand firm and make their men wear condoms. Don't say to yourself, `he looks clean' or let him flip the script and accuse you or try to run that `I don't wear hats [condoms] in the house' game on you."

Hannah says she has many gay male friends who have sexual relations with married men. "It's hard to tell which men [are living down low]." She admits that she didn't confront her husband about his extramarital affairs and he didn't admit them. It turned out to be a double-blind mentality which changed her life forever.

E. Lynn Harris, author of Invisible Life, about the life of a bisexual Black man, says that a Black gay or bisexual man's fears, and homophobia within the Black community are the biggest reasons these men won't reveal their true sexual orientation which continues the spread of AIDS among Black women.

"[Down low men] don't have scarlet letters on [their] foreheads," states Harris. "If [people] are looking for the classical stereotypical [flamboyant] gay Black man, they are going to be sadly mistaken. And those types of mistakes can be deadly."

Harris, who is openly gay and who doesn't consider himself part of the "down low" environment, says that the stigma and the taboo toward homosexuality have fostered a "thriving community" of secretly gay Black men.

"Many people do it because they don't feel comfortable with the reaction they may get from their family and friends. It's still something that is not widely accepted within the African-American community," he notes.

"Women act in a negative way to someone gay or bisexual. Straight men do it too. If the church does it, then it's no way you're going to get these men to be honest, because being gay is not an option in many of our Black communities.

"So we all take responsibility by being closed-minded about the type of community we live in. [People] have a hard time believing that a masculine, macho man would be interested in another man, that is just not part of their thought capacity," Harris explains.

Antonio Le Mons, deputy director of Health Education for the California AIDS Clearinghouse, agrees the Black community has to be honest about whom in the African-American community is infected, how they are becoming infected, and why the community has less sympathy for gay Black men infected with AIDS.

"Clearly there is no one concept or set of ideas that will halt the spread of HIV," says Le Mons, who is author of the down low-themed book How To Ruin The Perfect Child, and a lecturer and personal relationship coach specializing in alternative relationships.

"The solutions are, however, attainable, but they will have to be the result of honest discussions within our community and all aspects working together, accepting that we cannot effectively deal with this pandemic without addressing homosexuality squarely, honestly, and with a significant amount of compassion and sincere openness and commitment to understanding," he adds.

"One thing is for certain--if we don't get really honest about this issue expeditiously, we might as well convert building fund plates passed in churches each Sunday into burial funds."

COPYRIGHT 2001 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning