Husbands Who cheat...with other men.

A little more than ten years ago, an article in a local paper caught my attention. It wasn’t just that it was well written (which it was), but the subject matter, because it corresponded so closely with research I was already doing in preparation for writing my novel, truly piqued my interest. The article began with the information that doctors, investigators and social scientists were puzzled by a sudden increase in HIV/AIDS cases in Long Island. The thing that really made this outbreak all the more mysterious was that the great majority of these new HIV/AIDS cases involved heterosexual married women. Subsequent investigation revealed that most of these women had been infected by their husbands who, it was later found out, had been sexually involved with some of the young male prostitutes that regularly ply their trade on the streets of New York City. In one extreme case, one of those husbands murdered his entire family fearing he’d passed the HIV/AIDS virus on to them because of his extramarital dalliances with male prostitutes.
Men sleeping with men certainly isn't new, even married men having sex with other males isn't a new idea, I believe it was Alexander the Great who said,and I paraphrase here, "A woman to bear children, a boy for fun." What has seemingly brought all this to the fore is the attention it's getting from and through the media. Recent events headlined in national news were the arrests of a famous celebrity, a couple of senators and other politicians, and top executives of Disney (of all places!) for either allegedly trolling public restrooms for man-on-man quickies, or for promoting child pornography. In 2007 alone, there were at least ten instances of well-known or at least well-to-do married "straight" men arrested by police or captured by the media either having sex or attempting to have sex with other men in public places, or in the case of the media; discreetly in motels or hotels. What confuses many of the friends and family (especially the wives) of these men is that they insist that they are "straight." Very few of these men ever admit to being homosexual, even when caught in the act of performing what is clearly a homosexual act. A few years ago a non-fiction book was published on the subject of men, specifically black men, secretly being sexually involved with other men. "On the Down Low: A Journey into the Lives of 'Straight' Black Men Who Sleep with Men" (Hardcover)by J.L. King (Author), became a best-seller.
What are the factors involved that would cause a seemingly happily married man to pursue a sexual relationship with another man? I would imagine they are the same as those that would lure a man into an extramarital affair with someone of the opposite sex. Other factors may contribute to the liaison(s) with other men however, such as latent( or not so latent) homosexual desire, easier sexual access, the thrill of performing a societal taboo... one or more of those things could be a deciding factor in causing or luring a married man into a covert homosexual relationship. In actuality however, the reasons a probably as complicated and numerous as the number of persons involved in such affairs. It would probably take a lot more knowledge in the area than I have, and many years of study to figure it all out completely.

My novel Chickenhawk was inspired, at least in part, by the revelations in those previously mentioned newspaper articles.