20 “Straight Male” Quirks That Confuse Gay Men

An interesting discussion took place on a recent Reddit thread about things that gay men find wildly confusing about straight men. The conversation was inspired by one Redditor's bold question to users asking, "Gay men of Reddit, what’s something about straight men that doesn't make sense to you?” A plethora of answers revealed everything from toxic hatred towards tiny dogs to the exhausting "I hate my wife trope.” Scroll below to check out what these fabulous men had to say on the subject in depth.  

#1 I really don't understand the, "I hate my wife trope."

Image source: SpartanJT6, ivanmorenosl thedean246: I’ve worked with some older generations and most of them treat it the same way. They’ll sit there and complain about their wife and being married. I’m recently married and I’ve had several older dudes try to joke with me about it. Like… no. I actually love and enjoy my wife.

#2 Sports, they are just mind bogglingly boring to me, I’m what most people would consider a manly man gay/bi man and I still can’t imagine getting excited over them, UFC is slightly more entertaining but I still can’t be arsed to care about it.

Image source: FemboyHooters-, Beyza Kaplan

#3 I don’t understand why straight men don’t want gay men around. Gay men aren’t after women, so the more there are the less actual competition there is for the straight girls.

Image source: anon, Mizuno K

#4 Why can’t you guys cry to one another?

Image source: eab33305

#5 How certain things make you "gay" or less manly.

Image source: Dire-Dog, Tima Miroshnichenko Quazakee: One of my goals in life is to dress well enough that people think I'm gay.

#6 Wearing sunscreen. I offer people sunscreen when I’m going to be outside with them for more than an hour. A surprising number of people turn it down. Like, man, it’s free. You’re not too tough to get skin cancer, and you’re sure as sh*t not stronger than the sun.

Image source: Sethrial, Anna Tarazevich

#7 My male family members make fun of me for taking skincare seriously. Bro, you don't want nice skin?

Image source: anon, Lumin HeartAttackMemeGuy: I'm straight and my brother expects me to look like a frickin caveman or something? I put anything other than deodorant on me and they call me gay unironically.

#8 What's the obsession with buying trucks?

Image source: Snarfsicle, Athena Sandrini

#9 The ABSOLUTE hatred for tiny dogs, I swear to god it’s still a dog man just smaller, showing affection or walking a small animal does not make you gay.

Image source: FemboyHooters-, Robert Bogdan

#10 I don't get how they can't grasp the idea of a woman being equal to them and not an object like a sportscar that they brag brag with.

Image source: Michi181298, Nguyễn Huỳnh Phong Trường

#11 If you're gonna brag about your s*x life you probably shouldn't get offended if I brag about mine. It's a double standard. If you don't want to hear about mine, consider keeping yours to yourself.

Image source: CastInShadow

#12 At the risk of sounding like a stereotypical shallow gay - so many men just aren't even trying when it comes to their appearance. So many are overweight (seriously, cut back on the beers and go for a jog).

Image source: anon, Towfiqu barbhuiya Dress sloppily, don't manicure their hair, look after their teeth and in some cases actually stink. Like it or not - your body is just as much a part of you as your personality. Women would probably find you more approachable or treat you with more value too and they aren't automatically gold diggers or "whores" just for finding a more attractive man more, well - attractive. Women actually have to try pretty hard to make themselves aesthetically "worth it" to both the opposite and same sex, I kinda feel men should be held to the same standard too. It's amazing how many cases I see of "hot wide married to average looki'n Joe" - men should be grateful that women generally aren't as physical-motivated as they are otherwise a lot less straight guys would be scoring without a skincare routine and some time at the gym.

#13 I've had so many "straight" men try to get me to fool around with them that I believe if we didn't make such a big deal about s*x, more men would be at least bi. Having said that, just because I am gay does not mean I want to fool around with every guy I see. I won't even consider s*x until a few dates in.

Image source: Samisoy001, Joshua Mcknight

#14 I have never and will never understand why so many (obviously not all) straight men obviously want to have s*x with women, but have issues with women who want s*x. Why on earth would you s**t-shame women for having or wanting s*x... if you want to have s*x with women? It’s a complete double standard that forces women to have to avoid being both a s**t and being frigid. Crazy to me.

Image source: Rottenox

#15 Their denial of wanting nice things because they might not be “manly”. I know straight men who flat out refuse to buy cocktails, because they’re “girly” and will straight up just order beer even though they’ve said they hate the taste.

Image source: anon, lindsay Cotter

#16 A lot of straight men think gay guys want to have s*x with every male they encounter. Do they feel that way around females, so they just assume we do as well?

As a gay male, I just assume any other man I'm around probably *isn't* gay, so my thoughts never even go there. Maybe that's not an issue with females because the odds are more in their favor or something? Image source: Jaycatt

#17 Their contempt for women. They mansplain to them, they troll their socials, criticize their looks, downplay or even oppose their views despite their validity, and they feel like you are owed sex just because she is nice or dresses sexy. And to always associate girly stuff with weakness. Toxic masculinity is just so exhausting. Men live shorter lives not because women stress them out, it's because of toxic masculinity.

Image source: YazzGawd, Hannah Nelson

#18 The overwhelming fear a lot of straight guys have of being thought of as gay. I had a friend that, while we did get along really well and he didn't mind my sexuality personally, felt like he couldn't be seen around me anymore. It was quite painful to lose the friendship in that way, and since then I've noticed how big that fear is for a lot of people.

Image source: anon, John Karlo Mendoza

#19 Why do they have to assert their masculinity every second with literally everybody? It must suck wanting to be silly and have some fun and be reminded all the time that you have to be an epic alpha male. I know it's not every straight man but still.

Image source: Chasm987, Lance Reis

#20 I don't get why they always ask us if we secretly have a crush on them. Like duuuude are you that stupid...?

Image source: anon, LinkedIn Sales Solutions