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Ezell JM, Pasquale D, Poudyal S, Azhar S, Monk E, Vidula M, Yeldandi V, Laumann E, Liao C, Schneider JA. Are skin color and body mass index associated with social network structure? Findings from a male sex market study. ETHNICITY & HEALTH 2021; 26:863-878. [PMID: 30870001 PMCID: PMC6745014 DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2019.1590537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Objectives: There is a growing burden of HIV and sex-related diseases in South Asia and India. Sociological research illustrates that key axes of social stratification, such as race and ethnicity, affect social network structure which, in turn, impacts sexual health and wellbeing. Research on networks has increasingly begun to examine the ways in which networks drive or harness sexual behaviors, but has largely neglected the influence of culture and cultural markers in this continuum. Furthermore, much of the existing scholarship has been conducted in the U.S. or in Western contexts.Design: As part of an exploratory effort, we examined how skin color and body mass index (BMI) affected networks among 206 men who have with men (MSM) frequenting sex markets in Hyderabad, India. A novel phone-based network generation method of respondent-driven sampling was used for recruitment. In assessing how skin color and BMI drive these structures, we also compared how these factors contribute to networks relative to two more commonly referenced markers of social difference among Indians, caste and religion.Results: Our findings suggest that skin color and BMI contribute significantly more to network structure than do caste and religion.Conclusions: These findings tentatively illuminate the importance of individual-level heterogeneity in bodily attributes, factors which are seldom considered in conventional approaches to researching how social stratification and health inequalities are animated during the formation of networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerel M. Ezell
- Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Dana Pasquale
- Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, NC
| | - Shirish Poudyal
- Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Sameena Azhar
- School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Ellis Monk
- Department of Sociology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | | | - Vijay Yeldandi
- International Center for Human Health Advancement, SHARE India, Hyderabad, India
- Department of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
| | - Edward Laumann
- Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Chuanhong Liao
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - John A. Schneider
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
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