Sexual Relationships, Behaviors, and Experiences Among Bisexual Men in Mumbai, India

ABSTRACT

Objectives: This exploratory study attempted to assess a range of sexual behaviors, relationships, and related factors among a sample of bisexual men in Mumbai, India. Methods: Data collection occurred in two separate phases. First, focus group discussions were facilitated with local community members in order to finalize an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Afterward, structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 50 bisexual men using this questionnaire. Results: Participants reported a wide range of sexual behaviors and relationships with male and female partners. Conclusions: Findings have implications for future research and practice focusing on bisexual men in India,as well as their partners of all genders.

KEYWORDS:

• Bisexual
• India
• sexual behavior
• Mumbai
• men who have sex with men and women (MSMW)

Acknowledgements

The formative processes for this academic-research partnership were sponsored by the Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, and the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs at Indiana University, Bloomington. Additional grant funding was awarded by the Institute for Advanced Study at Indiana University, Bloomington (Brian Dodge, Ph.D.) and by the National Institutes of Health (Swagata Banik, Ph.D., principal investigator, R21 DA033719). The authors thank Ankur Srivastava and Alpana Dange for their assistance with data collection. We would like to express our deepest appreciation to all the staff of the Humsafar Trust, whose insight and support guided the researchers throughout the study process. We are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers of this manuscript for their feedback and insight on earlier drafts of the paper.