Researchers link music tastes to HIV risks by Michel Comte
Thu Aug 17, 2:47 PM ET



US boys hooked on gospel, techno and pop are more at risk of HIV infection than devotees of other musical styles, including "bling, bling" hip hop, according to a new study.

Musical tastes may offer clues to rates of HIV infection, said researchers who tried to decipher the complex behaviors and attitudes of young men in the United States, at a global AIDS conference.

The music industry often says there is no connection between music and sexual behavior, but hundreds of young men interviewed in New York this year fiercely disagreed, said lead researcher Miguel Munoz-Laboy of Columbia University.

They said images of scantily-clad women in submissive roles in hip hop music videos, for example, had a "real impact on their lives," he said.

"There is a connection. You see it in the way people dance, dress and it has an impact on their sexuality," said Munoz-Laboy.

The researchers peered into male youth culture to help develop HIV prevention programs that target this demographic they say is too often neglected by health strategists.

They looked at three New York neighborhoods and interviewed boys aged 16 to 21 about their listening tastes and attitudes toward condom use and sexual activities.

"We often blame youth for their behavior without understanding it," Munoz-Laboy said. "(But) there is a complex story about sexuality, masculinity and culture here."

"It's clear that current schemes are not working," he said.

"It's very hard to get heterosexual young men into HIV prevention programs even though we demonize them a lot for pregnancies and passing on STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) to their girlfriends."

The study did not imply listening to certain types of music causes HIV infection but simply found links between genres and risk factors.

A behavioral analysis divided participants into two musical groups: hip hop, reggae, reggaeton, rap and rhythm and blues; and rock, heavy metal, pop, techno, electronic and gospel.

"Kids would be appalled that we grouped them this way, but this is how they mapped out in the mathematical analysis," Munoz-Laboy said.

Researchers also distinguished between two styles of hip hop: the "bling, bling" hip hop that values fancy cars, money, and many girlfriends; and "real" hip hop that tells of urban youth stricken by violence, poverty and drug abuse.

They found boys who listened to hip hop music were more likely to have vaginal intercourse and had more partners, but boys from church or New York club scenes (techno, pop, electronic) took the most sexual risks.

"Boys who listened to hip hop had more sex and more partners, but it did not impact condom use," said Munoz-Laboy. "Those who are part of religious culture or the club scene used condoms inconsistently."

Gospel??????????

Gospel??????????

I mean I've "known" plenty of Sally-Jesus praise & worship people, but that article just silly.

It's funny too because it's obviously a study done by people who know NOTHING about music. As if music is some kind of foreign chemical thing.

What about us music fiends?

What does it mean if you like Rachmaninoff, the Stooges, Nelly Furtado, and gamelan music?

Am I in danger?

the article was put out from yahoo.. not the researchers.. indictment of the media for sensationalism.. the researchers simply *describe* a relationship that is found statistically, what this means *functionlly* (i.e. how it is interpreted). thats where the problem arises. .

they call THAT research!!! show me statistics and numbers and then we'll talk.