Community-engaged research to identify house parent perspectives on support and risk within the House and Ball scene.
This article describes a community-engaged study with the Los Angeles House and Ball scene in which the perspectives of the leaders of these communities are captured to better understand how the House and Ball communities may protect or increase its members' risks for HIV infection. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with House parents (N = 26). This study identified key features of both support (e.g., family and support, acceptance, and validation and recognition) and risk (e.g., members' struggles to maintain status in the Ballroom scene, sex work, substance use, danger of becoming too involved in the Ball community, and perception and stigma of the Ballroom scene within the larger gay community) within these communities. Findings are discussed in relation to framing how to leverage the supportive aspects of the House and Ball communities to design relevant HIV-prevention interventions.
Community, Health Outcomes, and Intervention Research Program, Saban Research Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90028, USA. kkubicek@chla.usc.edu
Katrina
K
Kubicek
William H
WH
Beyer
Miles
M
McNeeley
George
G
Weiss
Legendary Father Taz Ultra
LF
Omni
Michele D
MD
Kipke
D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000208:ethnology; D019058:Community Networks; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012306:Risk; D012944:Social Support; D063106:Transgender Persons / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D005260:Female