Some Notes on the Structure of Homosexual Acts (From AIDS: Social Representations, Social Practices, P 147-159, 1989, Peter Aggleton, Graham Hart, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-130840)

• NCJ Number: 130848
• Author(s): P Davies
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: Taylor & Francis Inc.
• Publication Type: Conference Material
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Paper presented at the Second United Kingdom Conference on Social Aspects of AIDS, 1987, London

Annotation

This paper describes ways in which sexual activity between men can be analyzed as coherent, structured sequences of actions rather than as a simplistic count of the presence or absence of particular sexual events.

Abstract

While the logic underlying sequences is well-understood by participants, it remains to be systematically analyzed as a grammar of sexual action. Grammar essentially consists of three components: a lexicon or set of words, a set of syntactic categories or parts of speech, and a set of syntactic rules that define a well-formed sequence. A lexicon is developed to record sexual activity of men and offer preliminary ideas about the form syntactic categories may take. The role of orgasm is examined in relation to end sequences of sexual activity. From the standpoint of minimizing HIV transmission, it is imperative that the syntactic importance of orgasm and ejaculation be understood. Consideration must also be given to the high-risk sexual activity of anal intercourse between men and its important structural role in producing ejaculation. Sex education for homosexually active males should identify and promulgate an act or sequence of acts that can be substituted for anal intercourse, while retaining the structural integrity of sexual activity. Role specificity among homosexual males is discussed in terms of dominant masculine versus submissive feminine roles. 2 references, 3 tables, and 1 figure