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Title: The Rise of Male Same-Gender Sexual Behavior, 1965-1985

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2009

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Abstract: A significant increase in the prevalence of male same-gender sexual behavior and the number ofgay social and political institutions occurred in the US since the late 1960s. For example, menwho were born in the mid-1950s were 50% more likely to have ever had a male sexual partnerthan men who were born in the mid-1930s, and the number of formal gay establishmentsincreased five-fold between 1965 and 1985. Meanwhile, during the same period, a number ofexogenous changes were transforming the marriage market and family. In this paper, Ihypothesize that some of the driving forces of change in the marriage market (contraceptivetechnology, household technology, wage structure, unilateral divorce) may also be related to therise in male homosexual behavior. The empirical evidence suggests that the most consistentcorrelate of male same-gender behavior is the diffusion of contraceptive technology, whichmight point to causal mechanisms related to social norms, shotgun marriage, and partnersubstitution.

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Authors: Francis, Andrew M.

Publisher: Emory University

Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Other

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