As a result of this behavior-identity link, sexual congress between gay and straight men decreased considerably, or at least went underground. in the mid 20th century this behavior became associated with gay identity, new at the time and seen as criminal and then sick.
Interestingly, in the U.S., before there was such a thing as a gay identity, some straight men would, with little shame, engage in sexual contact with other men (usually allowing themselves to be fellated) when female partners were otherwise unavailable (see George Chauncey’s seminal book, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World 1890-1940) and there is good reason to believe this still occurs in other countries and cultures. Perhaps even scarier is that their emotional connections will somehow morph into sexual attraction. Straight men fret that if they get too close, others will see them as gay which in their minds means feminine (horrors!), weak, and perverted. According to Garfield, among the many obstacles to male-male platonic intimacy, fear of homosexuality looms large.
