Sexual Health of Trans Men Who Are Gay, Bisexual, or Who Have Sex with Men: Results from Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT

Recent reports have addressed the sexual health of female-to-male transgender or transsexual people who are gay, bisexual, and/or have sex with men (trans GB-MSM) using urban convenience samples. The Trans PULSE Project conducted a multimode, respondent-driven sampling survey in Ontario, Canada, in 2009–2010. Weighted estimates were calculated for trans GB-MSM (n = 173) for sexual orientation, behavior, partners, and HIV-related risk, as well as for psychosocial stressors and sexual satisfaction. An estimated 63.3% (95% CI [50.4, 73.5]) of trans men were GB-MSM (173/227). Results indicate great diversity in sexual behavior and experiences. Implications for sexual health promotion, counseling, and medical care are addressed.

KEYWORDS:

• Female-to-male
• gay
• bisexual
• men who have sex with men (MSM)
• sexual orientation
• sexual health
• sexual behavior
• HIV risk
• transgender
• transsexual

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research presented here was supported by operating grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, HIV/AIDS Community-Based Research Program (Funding Reference #CBR-83042) and Institute of Gender and Health (Funding Reference #MOP-106478). Results presented here were previously released in nonacademic form as a report for the Ontario Gay Men's Sexual Health Alliance Summit, Toronto. Partners in Trans PULSE include the Sherbourne Health Centre (Toronto), The 519 Church Street Community Centre (Toronto), The University of Western Ontario (London), Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo), the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, and Rainbow Health Ontario. The Trans PULSE Steering Committee members are Greta Bauer, Robb Travers, Rebecca Hammond, Anjali K, Matthias Kaay, Jake Pyne, Nik Redman, Kyle Scanlon (deceased), and Anna Travers. The authors would like to recognize the leadership of our late friend and colleague Kyle Scanlon in promoting the sexual health of trans GB-MSM in Ontario. The authors wish to acknowledge the 16 Community Engagement Team members and other contributors who worked hard to make the survey what it was, the 85 trans people and four allies who contributed to the first phase of the study that shaped this survey, and the 433 trans people who shared their experiences through their survey participation.