This article discusses racial-social-sexual categories as related to HIV prevention and traditional public health strategies, specifically, the Young Men's Study conducted during the 1990s. We critique the use of pan-ethnic categories such as Asian and Latino, and the often invisible position of Whiteness in race discussions. We also engage with and develop problem concepts such as men who have sex with men, and uses of gender and sexuality categories in order to better understand complex results in this kind of study. While we use a critical method derived from cultural studies in our review, both the quantitative and qualitative methods of studying health risks and intimate behaviors in vulnerable populations require careful consideration and reorganization. It is only in so doing that the lived realities of members of these populations can gain accurate representation. Interviews, surveys, and their statistical renderings can otherwise be too coarse and devoid of practical information. In considering the continued need for alliance-based organizing across communities of color, we address the media coverage and government response to preliminary results of this multi-site study conducted in several US cities that focused on young men who have sex with men and their sexual behaviors with respect to HIV risk. While the critique is centered in NYC, the arguments presented here potentially hold national scope. (Contains 4 tables and 4 footnotes.)