This photo shows a cultural norm in Dubai and also reflected in other euro countries, where men who are not gay hold hands in public as a sign of friendship and brotherhood. Try doing that in Kentucky!
Over the years there’s been a change in American culture where feelings are much more sexualized. In the past, people could have strong feelings for members of their own gender, but were not sexualized except in rare cases.
You could have crushy feelings but it was understood as natural admiration, closeness, brotherhood or the excitement of close friendship. Today, people are socialized to immediately label those feelings as being sexual. If someone has ANY emotions for another person of the same gender, they start to wonder “am I gay?” which leads to questioning, curiosity, exploration, and self-labeling.
Just thirty years ago, you could see women walking around the streets holding hands and you would never assume they were gay. It wouldn’t even cross your mind. Now, it is the first thing you assume. If you read letters from by-gone eras you will see extremely romantic and flowery language used between people of the same gender, which were non-sexual friendships. It was a convention of that time and very normal to feel and express very strong emotional bonds to members of one’s own sex. Now, however, there is a sexual component ready to disrupt previously non-sexual interactions. This really is unfortunate because it injects an element that interferes with bonds of pure friendship of brotherhood in American culture.
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