ST Forum: Figure on multiple gay sex partners too high (Aug 10)

Aug 10, 2007

Figure on multiple gay sex partners too high

IN HIS letter, 'Beware the high-risk 'gay lifestyle' (ST, Aug 8), Dr Alan Chin mentions that a US study showed that '75 per cent of homosexual men have more than 100 sexual partners and 28 per cent of them have more than 1,000 partners'.

As no citation was given for these figures, it took some sleuthing before I discovered that they are from the book by Alan P. Bell et al, Homosexuality: A Study Of Diversity Among Men & Women (1978).

Other studies on the number of partners of gays have contradicted the figures. Gebhard and Johnson (1979) found that 8.4 per cent of gay males had over 500 partners in their lifetimes.

Jay and Young (1979) reported that 12.5 per cent had over 500 partners.

Outside the United States, McManus and McEvoy (1987) found that 14.5 per cent of gay respondents outside London and 22.5 per cent in London had over 500 partners.

All of these figures are significantly smaller than the 28 per cent reported for the percentage of gays with more than 1,000 partners - even 22.5 per cent is only for those with over 500 partners.

I urge that readers who write to the ST Forum be more careful with regard to their selection of studies to back up their arguments.

Li Bihui (Ms)