Ya sabe tu mama? Does your mama know? Balancing sexual desire, behavior and identity in restricted spaces on the border

This research examined culture on the U.S./Mexico border among men who have sex with men (MSM). The purpose was to better understand the mechanisms employed by Mexican-American MSM as they cope within this border community. Using a qualitative ethnographic approach, I found that MSM in this border community participate within subcultures, illustrated specifically by the community within the confined spaces of an adult bookstore and theater. New social and family dynamics were created and implemented within a utopian community of sorts. This new community offered a detached, restricted, and to some degree, exclusive space where MSM could enjoy a sense of social and sexual freedom, a freedom that they were unable to enjoy or display openly as members of the dominant community.