Homosexual Research Articles

A case-control study of risk factors for incident hepatitis B virus infection in South African blood donors

ObjectivesHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a global health problem. Risk factors for HBV infection are usually assessed in prevalent rather than incident infections. To identify demographic and behavioral risks associated with incident HBV among South African blood donors. MethodsA case-control study was performed between November 2014 and January 2018. Cases were blood donors testing positive for HBV DNA with or without hepatitis B surface antigen but negative for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen. Participants completed an audio computer-assisted structured interview on exposures during the previous 6 months. Sex-specific multivariable logistic regression yielded independent associations between risks and HBV infection. Results56 females and 37 males with incident HBV were compared to 438 female and 439 male controls, respectively. For females, risk factors were accepting money or goods for sex, using agents to prepare one's anus prior to anal sex, penetrating injury, non-Black race, and lower educational status. Men reporting homosexual or bisexual orientation or sex with other men, previous injury, referral for HBV testing, or lack of medical insurance were at increased risk. For both sexes, having more than two male sexual partners increased risk. ConclusionsSexual behaviors predominated over parenteral exposures as risks for incident HBV in both female and male blood donors.

Examining changes in sexual lifestyles in Britain between 1990–2010: a latent class analysis approach

BackgroundUnderstanding sexual lifestyles and how they change over time is important for determining the likelihood of sexual health outcomes. Standard descriptive and regression methods are limited in their ability to capture multidimensional concepts such as sexual lifestyles. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) is a mixture modelling method that generates a categorical latent variable to derive homogenous groups from a heterogeneous population. Our study investigates (1) the potential of LCA to assess change over time in sexual lifestyles and (2) how quantifying this change using LCA compares to previous findings using standard approaches.MethodsProbability-sampled data from three rounds of the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyle (Natsal) were used, restricted to sexually active participants (i.e., those reporting sexual partners in the past year) aged 16–44 years (N1990 = 11,738; N2000 = 9,690; N2010 = 8,397). An LCA model was built from four variables: number of sexual partners (past year), number of partners without a condom (past year), age at first sex and self-perceived HIV risk. Covariates included age, ethnicity, educational attainment, same-sex attraction, and marital status. Multinomial regression analyses and Chi-Squared tests were used to investigate change over time in the size of each class.ResultsWe successfully used a LCA approach to examine change in sexual lifestyle over time. We observed a statistically significant increase between 1990 and 2010 in the proportion of men (χ2 = 739.49, p < 0.01) and women (χ2 = 1270.43, p < 0.01) in a latent class associated with reporting 2 or more partners in the last year, relatively high probabilities of reporting condomless sex partners, greater self-perceived HIV risk, and a high probability of first sex before age 16 years, increasing from 19.5% to 31.1% (men) and 9.9% to 22.1% (women).ConclusionOur results indicate the viability of LCA models to assess change over time for complex behavioural phenomena. They align with previous findings, namely changing sexual lifestyles in Britain in recent decades, partnership number driving class assignment, and significant sex differences in sexual lifestyles. This approach can be used to extend previous LCA models (e.g., to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on sexual lifestyles) and to support empirical evidence of change over time, facilitating more nuanced public health policy.

‘It’s nice that we can do that too’: investigating transgender persons' negotiations with identity and community questions in Indian science institutions

Abstract In 2014, the Indian Supreme Court passed the landmark NALSA v. Union of India judgment that not only granted transgender persons the right to self-identify their gender but also recognized their right to equitable and accessible education. Further, in 2018, the apex court passed another landmark judgment in the case of Navtej Singh Johar &amp; Ors. v. Union of India, reading down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, and, therefore, decriminalizing consensual adult homosexual sex acts. In the backdrop of these landmark judgments – i.e. in post-NALSA and post-377 India – identity and community questions pertaining to transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary persons’ access to and presence in educational institutions in India have intensified. Focusing on science institutions, this paper attempts to delineate the ways in which proximal and distal networks of caste-class and gender shape transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary persons’ exclusion from and belonging in science collectivities. Further, this paper also investigates how transgender persons’ sense of belonging to certain communities speaks to their shifting epistemic dispositions. Finally, contextualizing transpersons’ negotiations in science communities and individual and collective scales as ‘unstable and hybrid assemblages’, this paper demonstrates the ways in which trans collectives in science institutions radicalize community building and development in these institutional spaces by interrupting dominant institutional cultures and practices.

Queer and trans community building in post-NALSA and post-377 India: a critical reflection

Abstract This article reflects on contestations that mark queer and trans community building in post- National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and post-377 India. In the past decade, queer and trans communities in India have witnessed two landmark judgements: the NALSA v. Union of India judgement 2014 and the Navtej Singh Johar and Ors. v. Union of India judgement 2018. The former granted transgender persons legal recognition and a promise of civil and substantive rights. The latter read down the draconian Sec. 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalized consensual adult homosexual sex acts. In light of these two judgements, this article traces challenges faced by queer and trans communities and challenges to queer and trans community building in contemporary India by tracing recent developments in the contexts of health, public policy, jurisprudence, social institutions, education, popular culture, and the precarity of gender and sexually transgressive communities during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the authors also trace narratives of hope that demonstrate how queer and trans people in post legal reform India continue to build enabling and affirmative communities in the face of an increasingly neoliberalizing country.

Same sex-attraction as a predictor of suicide and self-harm behaviours: The role of bullying and social support

Sexual minority youth are at higher risk of self-harming than heterosexual adolescents. Understanding why sexual minority youth are more vulnerable to poor mental health and identifying factors that might buffer against this risk is important for developing targeted interventions.We used the Millennium Cohort Study to investigate whether same-sex attraction at age 14 is associated with suicide attempts and self-harm at age 17. Additionally, we tested whether bullying victimisation might mediate any observed associations, and whether social support might protect against any increased risk.Sexual minority youth were 2.44 times more likely to attempt suicide and 2.59 times more likely to self-harm aged 17. There was no evidence for an association between greater social support and lower levels of self-harm. However, greater social support in sexual minority youth is associated with reduced risk for suicide attempt. Bullying partially mediated the relationship between same-sex attraction and mental health. Greater levels in bullying in sexual minority youth were associated with 1.32 times higher risk for suicide and 1.30 times higher risk for self-harm. Social support was not associated with reduced risk of suicide attempt or self-harm among bullied sexual minority youth.Sexual minority youth in the UK are at higher risk for suicide attempt and self-harm. To address this disparity, health and educational practitioners should understand this heightened risk for poor mental health, and address bullying as one risk factor. Further interventions are needed to assist sexual minority youth beyond social support provision through friends and family.

Intense Body Contact Increases Homosexual Pair Bond Stability in Female Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata)

The Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) has become a key species for studying homosexual behavior over recent decades. With the non-conceptive nature, their same-sex consortships illustrate that individual partner preferences can exist beyond direct reproductive benefits or apparent sociosexual strategies. An open question is whether the behavior shared between partners in consortship directly affects their choice to remain with a partner. With this study, we examined behavioral aspects underlying consortship temporal patterns in these promiscuous and bisexual primates. While these patterns could be relevant in both homo- and heterosexual consortships, our study primarily focused on female-female pairs. We hypothesized that the stability of consortships (duration and occurrence) is influenced by a pair’s sexual behavior, mutual sexual stimulation, and close affiliative inter-mount behaviors involving high-intensity body contact. A semi-free population of Japanese macaques was observed over one mating season. In total, 40 h of focal data on female-female consortship behaviors were analyzed. Forty-six percent of all sexually mature females engaged in homosexual interactions. Our behavioral analyses of female-female pairs found that close body contact, rather than grooming or sexual interactions, was correlated with the stability of homosexual consortships. The greater the amount of huddling and embracing a pair engaged in, the more likely they were to stay together and reunite again. However, the frequency of mounting, rubbing or thrusting had no discernable effect on consortship stability. The results of this study thus add important knowledge to partner qualities in promiscuous primates as well as to inter-group differences of homosexual behavior in Japanese macaques.

Ambiguous Sex: Regional Analysis of the Acceptance of Same-Sex Sexuality in China

Ambiguous Sex: Regional Analysis of the Acceptance of Same-Sex Sexuality in China

Genetic variants underlying human bisexual behavior are reproductively advantageous.

Because human same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) is heritable and leads to fewer offspring, how SSB-associated alleles have persisted and whether they will remain in human populations are of interest. Using the UK Biobank, we address these questions separately for bisexual behavior (BSB) and exclusive SSB (eSSB) after confirming their genetic distinction. We discover that male BSB is genetically positively correlated with the number of offspring. This unexpected phenomenon is attributable to the horizontal pleiotropy of male risk-taking behavior-associated alleles because male risk-taking behavior is genetically positively correlated with both BSB and the number of offspring and because genetically controlling male risk-taking behavior abolishes the genetic correlation between male BSB and the number of offspring. By contrast, eSSB is genetically negatively correlated with the number of offspring. Our results suggest that male BSB-associated alleles are likely reproductively advantageous, which may explain their past persistence and predict their future maintenance, and that eSSB-associated alleles are likely being selected against at present.

The Desirable Dad Hypothesis: Male Same-Sex Attraction as the Product of Selection for Paternal Care via Antagonistic Pleiotropy.

Same-sex attraction, a heritable trait with a reproductive cost, lacks a comprehensive evolutionary explanation. Here we build on a hypothesis invoking antagonistic pleiotropy, which suggests that genes linked to male same-sex attraction remain in the gene pool because they have conferred some fitness advantage to heterosexual men possessing them. We posit the "desirable dad hypothesis," which proposes that alleles linked to male non-heterosexual orientations increase traits conducive to childcare; heterosexual men possessing same-sex attracted alleles are more desirable mating partners as a function of possessing superior paternal qualities. We conducted three studies to test predictions from this hypothesis. Results were consistent with all three predictions. Study 1 (N = 1632) showed that heterosexual men with same-sex attracted relatives were more feminine than men without, as indicated by self-report measures of femininity (η2 = .007), warmth (η2 = .002), and nurturance (η2 = .004 - .006). In Study 2 (N = 152), women rated feminine male profiles as more romantically appealing than masculine ones (d = 0.83)-but less so than profiles possessing a combination of feminine and masculine traits. In Study 3 (N = 153), women perceived feminine male profiles as depicting the best fathers and masculine profiles the worst (d = 1.56): consistent with the idea that femininity is attractive for childcare reasons. Together, these findings are consistent with the idea that sexual selection for male parental care may be involved in the evolution of male same-sex attraction.

Behavioral verification and risk factors of HIV cross-population transmission in China: analysis of national surveillance data 1989–2022

IntroductionThe dynamic HIV/AIDS epidemic significantly impacts China, particularly affecting injection drug users (IDUs), former plasma donors (FPDs), men who have sex with men (MSM), and those engaging in high-risk heterosexual behavior (HRHB). This study specifically focuses on identifying the risk factors and influences that drive the spread of HIV among these population groups by performing a comprehensive analysis of contact histories of individuals diagnosed with HIV.MethodsData for this research were gathered from China’s HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Response Information Management System (CRIMS). Contact histories were described using bar and venn diagram. Trend in engaging in HBRB among MSM were identify potential change using the Cochran-Armitage test. Logistic regression was employed to analyze the factors influencing HBRB in MSM.ResultsFrom 1989 through to 2022, a total of 1,457,218 individuals aged 15 years or older in China, who reported being infected with HIV, indicated they had one or more types of contact histories including injecting drug use, male homosexual behavior, commercial plasma donation, and high-risk heterosexual behavior. Among these, 97.0% reported a single type of contact history, while 3.0% reported having multiple contact histories. Of those with multiple contact histories, 98.0% (42,258 individuals) had engaged in HRHB. Among all HIV-infected IDUs, MSM, and FPDs, their respective proportions of engagement in HRHB were 11.8%, 5.7% and 6.2%. Prior to 2012, most were reported to be IDUs; however, subsequent to this, most reported being MSM. Factors that heightened the risk of engaging in HRHB among HIV-infected MSM included being of age between 25–34 years [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.29] or 35–44 years (AOR = 1.22), marital status such as being married (AOR = 1.23) or being divorced/widowed (AOR = 1.17), belonging to an ethnic minority (AOR = 1.29), receiving diagnosis in hospitals (AOR = 1.81), residing in rural areas (AOR = 1.12), among others. However, the risk of HRHB decreased when age ≥ 55 years (55–64 years: AOR = 0.82; ≥ 65 years: AOR = 0.64).ConclusionThe potential for HIV transmission among diverse populations is substantial. As such, it is imperative that strategies are implemented to mitigate the propagation of HIV to the general populace via heterosexual intercourse.

Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey.

Same-sex sexual behaviour (SSSB) occurs in most animal clades, but published reports are largely concentrated in a few taxa. Thus, there remains a paucity of published reports for most mammalian species. We conducted a cross-sectional expert survey to better understand the underlying reasons for the lack of publications on this topic. Most respondents researched Primates (83.6%, N = 61), while the rest studied Carnivora (6.9%, N = 5), Rodentia (4.1%, N = 3), Artiodactyla (2.7%, N = 2), and Proboscidea (2.7%, N = 2). Most respondents (76.7%, N = 56) had observed SSSB in their study species, but only 48.2% (N = 27) collected data on SSSB, and few (18.5%, N = 5) had published papers on SSSB. Of the unique species identified as engaging in SSSB in the survey, 38.6% (N = 17) have no existing reports of SSSB to the knowledge of the authors. In both the survey questions and freeform responses, most respondents indicated that their lack of data collection or publication on SSSB was because the behaviours were rare, or because it was not a research priority of their lab. No respondents reported discomfort or sociopolitical concerns at their university or field site as a reason for why they did not collect data or publish on SSSB. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to assess whether taxa studied, education level, or identification within the LGBTQ+ community predicted observing, collecting data on, or publishing on SSSB, but none of these variables were significant predictors. These results provide preliminary evidence that SSSB occurs more frequently than what is available in the published record and suggest that this may be due to a publishing bias against anecdotal evidence.

The Epidemiological Characteristics of Mpox Cases - China, 2023.

Since May 2022, a global outbreak of mpox has emerged in more than 100 non-endemic countries. As of December 2023, over 90,000 cases had been reported. The outbreak has predominantly affected men who have sex with men (MSM), with sexual contact identified as the principal mode of transmission. Since June 2023, China has faced an occurrence of mpox, predominantly affecting the MSM population. Approximately 90% of those affected reported engaging in homosexual behavior within 21 days prior to symptom onset, a trend that aligns with the global outbreak pattern. The prompt identification of cases, diligent tracing of close contacts, and the implementation of appropriate management strategies have successfully mitigated the spread of mpox virus in China. We propose that mpox is transmitted locally within China. Drawing from our experiences in controlling the virus spread, it is crucial to investigate and formulate effective surveillance and educational strategies. Importantly, we must encourage high-risk populations to promptly seek medical care upon the onset of symptoms.

The Sexual Identity of Individual with Same-Sex Orientation: A Qualitative Study on Indonesian Gay

The homosexual phenomenon and those issues referring to LGBTQ community still confronting a debate amongst society especially in Indonesia. The pros and cons causing some people with homosexual orientation to hide their identity. The circumstances of someone’s lifetime experience are believed to be one of the factors why someone choose the same-sex orientation. This research uses a phenomenological approach with thematic analysis technique. The aim is to provide a self-concept overview of individual with same-sex orientation and also what are the factors reinforcing it. From the two respondents, we found six main themes that might influencing the formation of their sexual orientation, there are trauma, the parent-child relationship, school experience, peer influence, technology, and self-concept. Regarding their sexual identity, respondent 1 has now accepted himself as a homosexual person while respondent 2 accepts his sexual orientation right now but he believe that one day he has to change his orientation.

CARE-LESS DATA POP CULTURES: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE DATA IMAGINARIES AND DATA CULTURES OF THE PANDEMIC

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many studies have critiqued the care-less legal and technical aspects of governments’ data disclosure of COVID-19 patients’ information. Yet, while there were many reported cases of public shaming of COVID-19 patients, not many studies have examined citizens’ usage and engagement with publicized data. In our study, we direct attention to citizens’ care-less engagement with COVID-19 patients’ data through the case study of the “Itaewon outbreak.” In May 2020, the gay community in South Korea became the target of public surveillance after it was revealed that a person who tested positive had visited a gay club in Seoul’s multicultural district Itaewon. Using the anonymized demographic and location data disclosed by the government, the news media sensationally reported on the data by highlighting the visitors’ presumed gay sexuality. In response, citizens widely circulated the data across social media by drawing on social media's popular culture of surveillance and call-outs. We describe these processes of interpreting and shaping pandemic data through social media’s participatory culture as data pop culture. To analyze data pop culture, we first examine the dominant data imaginaries cultivated through news media and government reports on pandemic data disclosure and how they inform the public’s understanding of data. Then, we examine how these dominant data imaginaries create power relations between people on social media as data owners and data objects. Lastly, we illustrate how these data imaginaries and relations become reproduced through social media popular culture and their implications.

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF OLDER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN IN THE CHINESE POPULATION

Abstract Older men who have sex with men (OMSM) experience discrimination based on their age and sexual orientation, which presents major challenges to their health. Existing studies have examined discrimination experienced by younger MSM. This study aims to examine the discrimination experienced by OMSM in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The eligible participants for this research comprised OMSM aged over 60 years. The demographic information of the participants was collected. Particularly, the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), Personal Social Capital Scale (PSCS), Perceived Acceptance Scale (PAS), and Global Index on Legal Recognition of Homosexual Orientation (GIRLHO) scales were used to assess psychological well-being, discrimination, social capital, perceived acceptance, and legal inclusion. Discrimination differs across PRC, Hong Kong, and Taiwan (F(2, 450) = 112.07, p &amp;lt; .001), and it also has a negative impact on psychological well-being (B = -1.16, p &amp;lt;.001). Social capital was found to have a negative impact on psychological well-being (B = -3.38, p &amp;lt; 0.001), and a positive impact on legal inclusion (B = 1.55, p&amp;lt; 0.001). Lastly, social acceptance has a positive impact on psychological well-being (B = 0.52, p = .035). This study provides new insights into the negative impact of discrimination on the psychological health of OMSM and mitigating factors representing the positive effects. However, future studies are necessary to bridge the literature gap regarding the associations between the different factors described in this study.

Queering interventions: Improving pre-service teachers’ knowledge and awareness of LGBTQI+ inclusive practice

LGBTQIA+ is an acronym that stands for ‘lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual and other diverse sexualities and genders’. In Australia, LGBTQIA+ people still experience extensive discrimination within the education system, a recent report highlighting that most Australian LGBT students felt unsafe in secondary school. LGBTQIA+ youth in Australia have significantly higher rates of anxiety, mental health conditions and suicide attempts when compared to the general population. At the same time, pre-service teacher training in Australia is not consistent in providing information and support to prospective educators in LGBTQIA+ inclusive practice and curricula development. This paper explores the initial results of a multi-phase, ongoing project designed to assist pre-service teachers in developing their awareness and understanding of LGBTQIA+ inclusive practice. Utilizing Participatory Action Research (PAR), co-creation and the Design Justice Principles (DJP), the research group sought stakeholder feedback from both pre-service teachers, LGBTQIA+ identified educators and LGBTQIA+ allies to design and deliver LGBTQIA+ inclusive training and resources. Data was collected from pre-service teacher’s survey responses to a professional learning workshop on LGBTQIA+ inclusive practice, revealing high value in understanding inclusive language and discussions of gender diversity and desire for earlier inclusion of these topics in teaching degrees. This was followed by a co-creation phase, resulting in the development of a queering curriculum resource site, followed by a focus group with lived experience stakeholders. This latter phase of the project drew upon insider perspectives to help refine the co-designed resources to make them more intersectional, inclusive, and relevant. The resulting analysis highlights the link between our research and the DJP, while emphasizing the importance of ‘listening to the voices from within’ by establishing meaningful, ongoing stakeholder engagement in the development and delivery of inclusive education resources and materials.

“Sluts” and “Slaves”: The Internet and the Evolution of Fantasy in Dennis Cooper's Online Work

This article explores a yet unresearched part of Dennis Cooper’s production: his blog posts and, in particular, his “Sluts” and “Slaves” monthly posts, where he compiles explicit and sometimes sordid texts and images of gay sex workers apparently found online. First, this paper will situate these blog posts in the fields of citational and online literature, arguing that they are an example of ‘flarf’. In sodoing, it also extends the notion of “flarf” from poetry to narrative. Then, this paper explores the continuities and differences between the blog posts and Cooper’s other work, most notably The Sluts (2005), to argue that —while similar in their focus on the internet and “the impossibility of truth”— the blog posts present a significant transformation that compels readers to confront their own desires.

Homoseksual dalam Al-Qur`an: Studi Komparatif Penafsiran Wahbah Az-Zuhaili dan Mahmud Yunus

The main problem in this research is homosexuality in the Qur'an, a comparative study of the interpretation of Wahbah Az-Zuhaili and Mahmud Yunus. The purpose of this research is to find out and identify the similarities and differences in the interpretation of Az-Zuhaili's and Mahmud Yunus's interpretations of homosexuality. This type of research is library research. The method used in this study is the muqaran method by analyzing the interpretation of two figures related to homosexuality by using a comparative method. while analyzing the interpretation using the interpretation approach. Primary data sources of this study are the verses of the Koran, Al Munir's commentary by Wahbah Az-Zuhaili and Mahmud Yunus's interpretation of the Qur'an Karim. while the secondary data of this research are the results of research or original theoretical or theoretical writings, dictionaries, books, articles and journals that are relevant to this research. The results of this study conclude first, the Qur'an views homosexual behavior as fahisyah because it violates normal human nature to like the opposite sex. there is also a difference between the two mufassirs in interpreting lafadz fahisyah mufassir Wahbah Az-Zuhaili interprets it as an abomination while Mahmud Yunus interprets it as a crime. second, there are differences and similarities in the interpretation of these two commentators, namely in the punishment given by Allah, namely (Wahbah Az-Zuhaili: Allah punished the people of the prophet Lut in the form of a hail of stones and destroyed their country. Meanwhile, Mahmud Yunus interpreted Allah to punish the people of the prophet Lut in the form of rain of pebbles, a very great earthquake and destroyed their country.

Dimensi Kepribadian Big Five Berdasarkan Orientasi Seksual yang Terjadi di Kota X

Nowadays, there are many cases of sexual orientation deviations such as homosexuality circulating among society. Homosexuals are a minority whose existence, both from a religious and social perspective, is undesirable, so they often receive various forms of rejection in the social, educational or work environment. , the ban on the existence of homosexuals gave rise to a community called homophobia. The emergence of homophobia as a form of society's rejection of the existence of homosexuals is increasingly common in society. People who have sexual deviance problems are very vulnerable to mental health problems such as anxiety, low self-esteem, unhappiness, problems with sexual satisfaction, use of illegal drugs, depression, and even suicide attempts, in contrast to people who have heterosexual orientation who do not have mental problems related to their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation problems experienced by a person are related to personality. This research aims to determine the differences in the big five personality dimensions based on sexual orientation. The subjects of this research are people who have heterosexual and homosexual sexual orientations, where homosexuals are divided into two groups, namely gays and waria. The number of subjects in this study was 30 heterosexual people, 30 gay people and 30 transgender people. The instrument used for data collection is the big five scale. Data were analyzed using the ANOVA analysis technique. The results of this study show that there are no differences in the big five personality dimensions (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, open to experience and conscientiousness) based on sexual orientation (gay, transgender and heterosexual).

Power and Impunity in 1930s Colonial Cyprus: Rupert Gunnis, the ‘Uncrowned King’, and his Sudden Downfall

ABSTRACT Britain’s systems of imperial administration provided ample opportunity for self-seeking individuals to exploit. I argue that the career of Rupert Gunnis (1899–1965) in colonial Cyprus is one such case, in which even local laws were transgressed with impunity. His initial position as Aide-de-Camp to the Governor, Sir Ronald Storrs (1926–1932), established him as an influential member of the small British colonial community, affording him a power that he continued to exert as Inspector of Antiquities and informal adviser to the authoritarian Governor Richmond Palmer (1933–1939). Neither Storrs nor Palmer intervened to curb Gunnis’s suspected activity in breach of local laws against the export of antiquities and against homosexual behaviour. The two probable offences were linked through the close relations that he developed with the island’s Police force. Gunnis’s high social standing in Cyprus and in Britain, achieved through assiduous networking, suffered after his falling-out with Palmer. In revenge, he challenged the Governor’s position by participating in the nascent Cypriot movement in favour of a return to constitutional government. Gunnis’s escape from Cyprus to avoid arrest brought an end to this unprecedented challenge to a Governor from one who had successfully manipulated the system to his own ends.