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journal article Jul 01, 2005

The Trouble With “MSM” and “WSW”: Erasure of the Sexual-Minority Person in Public Health Discourse

Rebecca M. Young Ilan H. Meyer ORCID
American Journal of Public Health Vol. 95 No. 7 pp. 1144-1149 · American Public Health Association
View at Publisher Save 10.2105/ajph.2004.046714
Abstract
Men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with women (WSW) are purportedly neutral terms commonly used in public health discourse. However, they are problematic because they obscure social dimensions of sexuality; undermine the self-labeling of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people; and do not sufficiently describe variations in sexual behavior. MSM and WSW often imply a lack of lesbian or gay identity and an absence of community, networks, and relationships in which same-gender pairings mean more than merely sexual behavior. Overuse of the terms MSM and WSW adds to a history of scientific labeling of sexual minorities that reflects, and inadvertently advances, heterosexist notions. Public health professionals should adopt more nuanced and culturally relevant language in discussing members of sexual-minority groups.
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References
25
[10]
Malebranche DJ, Peterson JL, Fullilove RE, Stackhouse RW. Race and sexual identity: perceptions about medical culture and healthcare among black men who have sex with men. J Natl Med Assoc. 2004;96:97–107.
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Vargas A. HIV-positive, without a clue: black men’s hidden sex lives imperiling female partners. Washington Post. August 4, 2003:B1.
[13]
Denizet-Lewis B. Double lives on the down-low. New York Times Magazine. August 3, 2003:28.
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Brainard J. NIH begins review of studies that were questioned at a congressional hearing. Chronicle of Higher Education. November 7, 2003:24.
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Metrics
431
Citations
25
References
Details
Published
Jul 01, 2005
Vol/Issue
95(7)
Pages
1144-1149
Authors
R
Rebecca M. Young

Rebecca Young is with the Department of Women’s Studies, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY. Ilan H. Meyer is with the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.

I
Ilan H. Meyer

Rebecca Young is with the Department of Women’s Studies, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY. Ilan H. Meyer is with the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.

Cite This Article
Rebecca M. Young, Ilan H. Meyer (2005). The Trouble With “MSM” and “WSW”: Erasure of the Sexual-Minority Person in Public Health Discourse. American Journal of Public Health, 95(7), 1144-1149. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2004.046714
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