[Gender and sexuality: fragments of male identity in the Aids era]

This paper focuses on specific aspects of male sexuality and how this sexual identity is built in the Aids era, based on conversations with low-income youth, ages 14-21 years, living in Greater Metropolitan Rio de Janeiro. We examine how Aids is perceived and investigate sexuality in this epidemic context. The goal is to provide concrete data to support a prevention campaign and contribute to preventive policies in Brazilian society. The proposal is based on the sexual identity of this gender/age group, comparing their reports on sexual practice. We used a partially open-ended interview protocol. We focus on the way young males choose their sexual identity under the premise that this is how men can become the channel for Aids transmission. Our research was thus based on gender and sexual identity as categories. Our results indicate that for a young man, 'being a man' means having an active sexual life, thus creating a stereotype placing them at risk for HIV transmission.