(P175) The sexual health experiences and motivators of Black heterosexual men in London

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

16:00 – 18:00 CST

Primary Presenter(s)

Uzochi Nwaosu, DHealthPsy

Sexual Health Adviser
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom

Co-author(s)

Jane Meyrick, FFPH, PhD Health Psychology. AFBPS (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor
University of the West of England
Bristol, England, United Kingdom

Background: Black ethnic groups in the UK disproportionately carry the burden of poor sexual health outcomes. This is more pronounced amongst Black men and has been attributed to a complex interplay of individual, behavioural, cultural and structural factors. Drivers of these disparities are poorly understood and under-researched. Exploratory qualitative research was conducted to better understand the lived experience of Black heterosexual men.

Methods: Ten participants were recruited through creative snowballing of existing social networks via three popular barbershops in London. Purposive sampling was used to achieve depth and diversity in experiences. Data was obtained through semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data.

Results: Five themes and nine subthemes (figure 1) were constructed. In this study, perceptions of masculinity shifted with age. During adolescence, masculinity was signalled through multiple sexual partners. As participants aged and matured, perceptions of masculinity developed around meeting the needs of loved ones. Race and gender combined to significantly influence participants’ experience of sexual socialisation. Childhood exposure to explicit media content including music, film and racialised pornography created sexual expectations including multiple sexual partners. Racist sexual stereotypes exacerbated expectations, resulted in fetishization of Black male bodies and created pressure to achieve stereotypes. Condom use motivators were complex and multifaceted. Trust, perceived threat and perceived potential parenting were all described as influential factors alongside situation-specific decision making. Sexual health service use was influenced by previous experience of institutional racism and the fear of stereotyped Black male sexuality, underpinning mistrust in services. However, actual experiences with sexual health services were largely positive and counteracted expectations of racism.

Conclusion: The findings highlight needs that are specific to Black heterosexual men. Through parents or educational settings, it is vital that young Black men are engaged in relationship and sex education that appropriately explores and counteracts the messages absorbed from peers and explicit media content. Sexual health services could diversify their offer and build relationships with Black community organisations to facilitate service provision outside the clinical setting. Perceptions of sexual violence and education around consent could be more inclusive to include Black men’s’ experiences of feeling coerced into meeting racist hypersexualised stereotypes.