Straight men can’t even think about other men in a sexual context, much less act on the curiosity. That's just a death sentence for many men in their peer groups. Being a man and being masculine is associated with having bountiful amounts of women at your disposal, being tough, and being invulnerable.
This has been a problem for ages. Sexuality is fluid for many people, but men are forced to repress anything gay, or anything that would make them feel less “masculine” for that matter. For some, it comes back to haunt them later in life and has the potential to inflict lasting psychological damage. I've heard random stories of men that repressed their sexuality for their whole life only to end up divorcing their wife and losing everything they have just because they finally admit and embrace the fact that they're gay. Some of them never accept it and go throughout their entire life in denial until they're no more.
There’s nothing wrong with being curious and wanting to explore one’s sexuality and identity. How do we make that concept more known and embraced in our society? It’s a problem that’s noticeably on the decline in the last few years I feel, but there’s always more work to be done. With the surfacing of more gender expression these days there needs to be more room for discussion and free expression in regards to sexuality for men.
That being said, as someone living in the younger generation I see an abundant amount of acceptance and positivity toward all people regardless of their lifestyle or identity and it makes me very happy. I know that there's still a lot of negativity and ignorance in our world, but at least we've made great strides.
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