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According to Rotheram-Borus and Langabeer (2001), “In a different and more intensive manner than heterosexual youth, gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth must develop skills to judge and anticipate acceptance from peers and adults, seek information on their own regarding lesbian/gay culture, and examine their values, attitudes, and beliefs regarding sexuality and their sexual orientation” (p.118).
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As a result, sexual minority youth are required to put forth exceptional effort in learning about their sexuality, in addition to reconciling themselves to the task of assuming a stigmatized identity ( Boxer, Cook & Herdt, 1999). Specifically, attention to the concept of interpersonal scripts was crucial to our understanding of these experiences, as it allowed us to situate their narratives developmentally.ĭespite a changing cultural context in which same-sex desire is slowly becoming more acceptable ( Hammack, Thompson & Pilecki, 2009), heterosexuality is nevertheless presented as the default identity in most schools and families, the two traditional institutions to which youth turn for emotional and informational support. Given the emphasis on context and change over time, the notion of interpersonal scripts may be especially useful for guiding analysis of the negotiation of sexual identity in online spaces. Actors, whose scripts necessarily change as they enter different phases of the life cycle, both shape and are shaped by these scripts. Sexual scripts theory posits that individuals rely on interpersonal scripts in order to facilitate and structure sexual interaction. In this manuscript, we seek to examine YMSM's experience of online dating and consider how, if at all, their online explorations may inform innovative HIV/AIDS prevention perspectives.Īs a framework for grasping the meaning of YMSM's experiences of online dating, we chose to employ sexual scripts theory (Simon & Gagnon, 1985). What risks do YMSM perceive as salient in these online contexts? How do they negotiate these risks as they transition from novices to sophisticated users of digital partner-seeking technologies? We must answer these questions in the hopes of reframing and expanding of our understanding of online risk in this population. Furthermore, we know very little about the meanings that YMSM themselves attribute to their online dating experiences. This gap in the research underscores the emphasis on HIV risk that dominates much of the public health discourse on sexuality and necessitates investigation of the potential benefits of online dating as described by YMSM ( Bauermeister, Giguere, Carballo-Diéguez, Ventuneac, & Eisenberg, 2010). In a review of fifteen years of research on sexuality and the Internet, Döring (2009) found a dearth of studies exploring the potential benefits of the Internet in the context of sexuality, particularly from the perspective of participants. In contrast to the discourse on risk, the benefits of the Internet for YMSM have been largely ignored by the public health community. Although some researchers have concluded that the Internet itself is an especially risky venue for partner-seeking ( Bolding, Davis, Hart, Sherr, & Elford, 2005 Kim, Kent, McFarland, & Klausner, 2001 McFarlane, Bull, & Rietmeijer, 2000), others have called for a reexamination of these earlier conclusions regarding HIV/STI risk among MSM dating online ( Bauermeister, Leslie-Santana, Johns, Pingel, & Eisenberg, 2011 Jenness et al., 2010 Mustanski, Lyons, & Garcia, 2011). Public health researchers have suggested that the Internet may serve as a conduit of HIV risk for MSM, citing various unfavorable health outcomes for men who go online seeking sex and romance ( Garofalo, Herrick, Mustanski, & Donenberg, 2007 Horvath, Rosser & Remafedi, 2008 Ogilvie et al., 2008). Young men who have sex with men (YMSM ages 13-24) are at high risk for HIV infection ( Centers for Disease Control, 2009).