There is a need for research that contributes to our understanding of how culturally shared gender ideals and expectations about men's behaviors influence HIV/AIDS risk. In the U.S., there has been a particular focus on masculinity among heterosexual, African-American men (see Wright 1993). African-American men, between 2001 and 2004, accounted for the greatest percentage of new cases of HIV/AIDS among males (44%), as well as 66% of all cases of heterosexual contact, with heterosexual contact being the second most common route of HIV transmission among this group after male to male sexual contact (CDC 2006).
HIV/AIDS: Risk & protective behaviors among adults ages 21 to 30 in the U.S., 2004-2019
