In fact, they presume they may even ‘gain’ status by obtaining benefits from homosexual men on grounds of being sufficiently masculine to seduce them and cunning enough to get what they want in exchange for insertive sex ( Fuller, 2001). As Vásquez (2002) points out, in assuming the ‘active’ role in sexual relationships with other men, mostaceros do not believe that they ‘lose’ status compared with other men. Mostaceros, when having sex with feminized homosexual men in exchange for economic and/or material compensation, perceive themselves as heterosexual, masculine and ‘active’. This view of masculinity transforms homosexuality into an illegitimate practice ( Fuller, 2001 Montoya, 1998 ONUSIDA, 2000 Parker, 1996 Schifter et al., 1996 Shepard, 1997). The type of interactions between mostaceros and homosexual men can be thought of as a ‘non-normative heterosexual relationship’, which is simultaneously part of and at odds with the traditional and normative models of sexuality and masculinity. 2 The category mostacero describes the intersection of gender identity and sexual identity associated with the hegemonic view of masculinity in Latin America, in which one of the most important attributes expected from men is their mandatory heterosexuality.
In Peru, bisexually active men who define themselves as heterosexual and who have sexual relations with feminized homosexual men, are widely referred to as ‘ mostaceros’ 1 or ‘ cacaneros’. Thus, a man that acts and looks like a woman is homosexual. The homosexual partner is penetrated he who penetrates is not defined as a homosexual. If the masculine sexual role is active penetration, sexual behavior between men is based on traditional sexual roles where the ‘man’ is the one who penetrates, and the ‘woman’ the one who is penetrated ( Guajardo, 2002 Toro-Alfonso, 2002). working in hair salons), and social and sexual roles, which mold the individual as well as his sexual behavior. clothes, attitudes, appearance, gestures), occupations (e.g. A homosexual man is expected to define himself in relation to stereotypically normatively feminine attributes (e.g.
Moreover, only the feminized partner is considered to be ‘homosexual’ ( Motta, 1999). From that perspective, wide-spread in less educated social strata, between two men who are sexually involved with each other, one is masculine and the other is necessarily feminine. The most sexist lay view in Latin America has traditionally framed homosexuality within a binary gender system with fixed sexual expectations, so that male homosexuality has been seen as a deviation where men are feminized ( Eribon, 2001 Hindley, 2001 Mejía et al., 2000 Núñez, 1999 Parker, 1991 Viveros, 2001). However, many of these cultures, not well described and marginal, are key constituents of the local sexual universe in Peru. As Toro-Alfonso (2002) points out, there are diverse sexual cultures that govern the lives of MSM. This allows for the generation of numerous ways of experimenting with sexuality among men. While many men who have sex with men (MSM) in lower-income peripheral urban areas of Peru define themselves as homosexuals, many others self-identify as heterosexual ( Cáceres and Rosasco, 1997, 2000 Cáceres et al., 2002). difficulty in negotiating condom use, low self-esteem, low risk perception, alcohol and drug consumption), in the context of compensated sex, play a role in risk-taking for HIV infection. Compensated sex is part of the behaviors of these men, reflecting a complicated construction of sexuality based on traditional conceptions of gender roles, sexual identity and masculinity. The results reveal that cultural, economic and gender factors mold sexual and social relations among a group of men who have sex with men in Peru.
Using a Grounded Theory approach, 23 individual interviews and 7 focus groups were analyzed. The study examined sexual risk between these two groups of men, and the significance of the economic exchanges involved in their sexual interactions. This study describes the complex dynamics of the sexual, economic and social interactions between a group of feminized homosexual men and men who have sex with men and self-identify as heterosexual (‘ mostaceros’), in lower-income peripheral urban areas of Lima and Trujillo, Peru.