Sounds like your fella is a bit like me in this department. It did shock me at first. And to be honest still does.
There was a time when Ricky wasn't allowed to even sit fully clothed on the same bed as Lucy, hence the the twin beds.
We are a product of Hollywood and it's counter parts. If you watch telly or movies it does have an effect on you and the paradigm we live in at the time.
I realize people are gay , sounds childish but when I went to high school it wasn't even on the radar.
Years later I found out so and so is gay and so and so is a lesbian.
We need to understand these people are people and their sexual bent is not something they choose. It's God given , if you will. Or just part of the human and sometimes nature experience.
People don't read anymore. A picture does say a thousand words. Movies are about the only way to get a message to the masses.
Television, hollywood and the like owe it to us that they should help with shaping those that live in front of the screen .
And it is a balance, it's all about balance. Shows are not flooded with sex , why should they flood us with this.
We are in the infancy in coming to terms what we actually are as a species.
I don't remember the word "gay" ever being an issue back in high school...maybe because it was hidden. But then it was Stratford.
I remember over hearing my parents speaking of my little friend from next door and how he was pushing my baby pram and had put on my play lipstick and was wearing my fancy play heels and how his dad had a stroke when he saw...I remember my parents laughing about it but then my mum came home from her nightly visit next door and told my dad Johnny was still crying and she said how the sun should never set on anger and no little guy should go to bed so very upset...That sparked my interest in the whole adult talk about lipstick and heels because I shared everything with Johnny we showed all so to speak and I got my first introduction to his parts and my parts when he stayed over and my mum never made any big deal about it except boy/girl so a while later when I had screwed up my courage I asked. the explanation wasn't really clear until I got older.
I worked in the LCBO in Stratford and got introduced to and mingled with the theatre crowd so nothing much surprised me after that
My parents were ahead of their time but still felt most stuff should be kept discreet.