Counting men who have sex with men is harder than you might think
How many gay and bisexual men do you think there are in Metro Vancouver?
Think of a number. I’ll wait.
If you guessed 30,000, or three percent of Vancouver men, you’re probably not far off, according to a new study by a Vancouver researcher. But if you were way off the mark, don’t feel bad about it. It turns out counting gay and bisexual men isn’t easy, even for scientists.
There’s no definitive survey of how many gay and bisexual men live in Canada or any of its cities – we don’t ask about sexual orientation or identity on the census.
The population is also hard to pin down. There’s a difference between men who are attracted to men, men who call themselves gay or bisexual, and men who have sex with men.
Gay and bisexual men are what researchers call a “hidden population,” a group of people hidden from the public eye by stigma or lack of a clear definition.
Ashleigh Rich, a PhD student and researcher at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, studies populations who are at risk for HIV. She wanted to cast a broad net and identify as many men who have sex with men as possible. Gay and bi men account for more than half of all new HIV infections in Canada, and nearly a quarter of gay and bi men in Vancouver are living with HIV.