Two similar stories from opposite ends of the gay social strata demonstrate a pervasive strain running throughout gay culture:
“Mike Dozer, a gay porn star was arrested in December of 2013 on charges of statutory rape, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, and aggravated indecent assault for allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old boy he met on the gay site Jack’D. Recently, the charges against 33-year-old Dozer (real name Christopher Steele) have been enhanced to include reckless endangerment, because Dozer allegedly may not have disclosed his HIV+ status before giving the boy poppers and having sex with him.”
“A prosecutor with the Delaware Attorney General's Office sexually assaulted a 16-year-old boy he met through gay dating app Grindr.” Daniel Simmons was charged after a month long investigation into the alleged attacks, which were said to have been carried out earlier this year. The 34-year-old, a deputy attorney general assigned to the New Castle County Misdemeanor Trial Unit, was charged with four counts of fourth-degree rape.”
An intriguing study titled “Sexual Coercion Among Gay and Bisexual Men in New Zealand,” conducted by The Department of Psychology at The University of Auckland found that: “Differences in age and experience were frequently identified as a dynamic that enabled sexual coercion. Younger, less experienced men can be vulnerable in sexual encounters with older, more experienced men. This is due to difficulties in negotiating implicit norms around gay sexual practices.” One study that they referenced stated: “participants spoke of being maneuvered into having unwanted sex by men who were both older and more experienced than they were. Another two described relationships they entered into within which their lack of knowledge about gay sexuality and relationships left them vulnerable to sexual coercion. In both casual and relationship contexts, participants described going along with the other man’s suggestions or desires because they assumed that ‘this was what gay men did’, or they felt in a position of considerable disadvantage because of their relative youth and/or inexperience.”
Link to New Zealand study: