Researchers investigate sexual communication in transgender population

Talking about sexual history and safe sex practices may be an awkward situation for anyone, but this may be especially true for individuals who are part of the transgender community.

For this reason, a recent study published in the Journal of Communications investigated how transgender individuals typically discuss matters of intimacy and how health interventions can address the high prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases among this group.

"The HIV prevalence rate is less than 1 percent for the general U.S. population. But for the transgender population, the HIV prevalence rate is estimated to be as high as 60 percent in major metropolitan areas. Although these are only estimates, they are troubling," said lead researcher Kami Kosenko.

The researchers found that transgender individuals value privacy, since many are concerned that they will be rejected or physically harmed when they reveal their biological gender to new partners. This may make it more difficult for them to bring up safe sex topics.

Another finding that can apply to the general population is that in some cases, transgender couples have agreements that each person can have intercourse outside of the relationship as long as protection is used. However, the safety of this method hinges upon whether each partner is truthful, the investigators said.