Heterosexual male relationships and fear of looking gay

In the UK there's a high level of gay prejudice from heterosexual men
but not towards gay men. It's the fear of looking gay. It's something I
have no fear of but play to myself.

A friend of mine explained a theory he had that it relates all the way
back to the court case with Oscar WIlde. This was back in the day before
homosexuality was a mental illness. It used to be a crime because of the
prejudice long-standing in many undeveloped cultures.

It gets in the way of many male friendships. The fear of looking gay by
showing affection or using physical contact. It's a fear not shown so
much in other cultures outside the UK. It's pretty sad really but this
is the thing with so many of this stupid social constructs that get in
the way of purity of expression of feelings.