Black Men Who Have Sex with Transgender Women: Self-Understandings of Sexual Desire and Sexual Orientation

Black men who have sex with transgender women (BMSTW) have received little attention in Black masculinity and sexuality research. Within current research, some studies of Black men who do not identify as gay or bisexual but have sex with transgender women fall under the rubric of "Down Low" studies. In sexuality studies more recently, the number of qualitative studies has increased the understanding of the ways in which some men describe their desire for, attraction to, and sexual experiences with transgender women. These studies share a common focus on understanding men who have sex with transgender women (MSTW) in terms of their sexual desire and sexual orientation.

There exists a gap however between the expansion of research on MSTW and the implications this has in relations to trans attraction, sexual desire, and the sexual orientation of Black men. Here we present a meta-analysis of the current literature on sexual desire and sexual orientation among MSTW and tease out the cultural specificities when applied to BMSTW and their self-understanding of sexual orientation.