They unfortunately often get interpreted as "secretly gay" by a lot of modern people because they can't conceptualize the idea of close male friendships

Which is sad, but that is the reality. So many people are unaware that two men can be extremely close friends and love each other like they are brothers. Women who struggle with understanding this fact don’t interact with men that much, or only know men who are socially inept. But there are men who cannot understand this as well, probably due to a lack of male role models in childhood and not knowing how to maintain friendships with other men.

I’m close with my best friend, who is a straight man. We tell each other things we don’t tell others, and we’re both single. My family makes jokes about him being my boyfriend, but they know we’re just friends. But it wouldn’t surprise me if people thought we were lovers, because heaven forbid two single men be friends with each other.