Homosexual demography: Implications for the spread of AIDS

Using both national surveys and surveys of self‐identified gay men in the United States, the numbers, age distribution, life expectancy, and marital status of men who have sex with men is examined. It is concluded that five types can be distinguished: open preferential, repressed preferential, bisexual, experimental, and situational. These five categories have different patterns of sexual behavior, and the numbers in each category are influenced by changing social conditions, in particular the growth of gay neighborhoods, and public tolerance. The typology is used to explain the low rate of reported HIV transmission from bisexual men to their female partners.