Geosexual Archetypes

Summer 2016

We interviewed 31 men who have sex with men (MSM) about their sexual lives. We learned there may be 7 geosexual archetypes that make up the architecture of the sexual network:

Hosters – Are a centralizing force. Prefer not to travel very far for sex, find most of their partners online, and have their partners come to them.

House-callers – Are a dispersing force. They either can’t or don’t want to host sex at their place but want to keep things intimate and private so they’re willing to travel to their partner’s place for sex, even if they have to travel a little further than their local neighbourhood.

Rovers – Remain local. Their sexual network is within ~5km of their homebase. They prefer to meet their partners in-person and have sex in a public place away from their home and their partner’s.

Privates – Are a highly localizing force and very private, keeping sex local (on average less than 1km), except on rare occasion when they may travel to the suburbs. They are willing to meet their partners in a variety of ways; however, they want to have sex in private, ie. your place or theirs.

Travellers – Often bridge people and places. Geography does not limit them – they will travel for sex, locally and out of town. They prefer to find their partners online and have sex away from home, at a partner’s house, the park, the club, anywhere really, as long as it’s not their place.

Sirens – Are an exceedingly rare type. They prefer not to travel to someone else’s home for sex but they gladly have their partners come to them, or connect at the bathhouse, the club or the gym.

Geoflexibles – Are a free spirit with a lot of love to share (or sex at least). They find partners both online and in person and they’ll have sex in a variety of environments. They often bridge people and places.

The Syphilis Epidemic

Fall 2014

Urban centers across Canada and the United States have battled syphilis epidemics with high rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection for over a decade. We examined the spatial epidemiology of syphilis over time for Toronto (Canada) with the intention of forming new insights and strategies for restoring low syphilis rates.

Between 2006 and 2010, syphilis incidence rates were high in Toronto’s downtown core area, intensified, and spread outward initiating 3 independent outbreak areas. HIV coinfection was high (47%); however, no spatial clustering was identified. Syphilis incidence rates, HIV coinfection, and behavioral risk factors promoting sexually transmitted infection transmission were high outside the core area, suggesting that peripheral sexual networks may be influencing high syphilis infection rates both inside and outside the core.

“What do guys know about sex?”

Summer 2016

This was a central question we continue to return to throughout the project. Capturing the knowledge guys have about sex helps us learn what information guys are operating off of when they are seeking out sex, taking care of their sexual hygiene, and finding sexual healthcare. We learned a few key things:

Partner Seeking

• Most MSM had one or two strategies for finding sexual partners (i.e. Craigslist, Grindr, or cruising) and only changed strategies out of necessity if challenges arose (i.e. time constraints).
  • On-line apps were the predominant strategy used to find sexual partners
• Men travelled the shortest distance possible for sex
• Distances MSM would travel were defined by their modes of transportation (subway, walking, biking, etc.).
• Relative notions of distance were strongly correlated with the surrounding density of MS
  • e.g. 4 blocks away in the Village is perceived as way further away than 4 blocks in Scarborough

Sex

• Guys were more comfortable asking partners when they were last tested for STIs instead of asking about their STI status (this is a great approach)
• Guys protected themselves from STIs using multiple strategies:
  • Condoms
  • STI testing
  • Creating rules around sex
  • Assessing the risk of the situation (e.g. anonymous sex)
  • Risk reduction strategies (e.g. sober sex, sero-positioning)
  • Talking with partners about STI testing and status

• Many men recognized the risk of oral transmission of syphilis (or any other STI)
  • However, very few men used condoms for oral sex
• Negotiating safe sex was easier and more direct on-line than in-person
• There was a complex intersection between power, intimacy, trust and sex

What Guys Knew About Syphilis and STIs:

• HIV predominated all conversations about STIs
  • Knowledge of HIV prevention was good
  • The seriousness of HIV made other STIs seem trivial
  • Syphilis and other bacterial STIs (chlamydia, gonorrhea) were dismissed because they are curable
  • Concern that increasing PrEP use for HIV prevention may increase transmission of other STIs
• Most guys had difficulty knowing the difference between Syphilis, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia
  • Most knew very little about modes of transmission, symptoms, testing or treatment for these STIs
• Knowledge surrounding syphilis was very low
  • Most men were unable to name any symptoms
  • Most men did not know there is an ongoing epidemic