Summary: Men who had sex with other men are less attractive to women, which makes men want to avoid "looking gay". In homophobic societies men still hug and cuddle, because people just assume they're still straight. In homo-accepting societies straight men avoid hugging and cuddling because people will assume they're gay or bisexual.

So here's this study with some interesting points. In a nutshell: men in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century had no issue showing lots of physical affection towards each other. Why did that change? Read the fourth paragraph.

This is a compilation about the history of male-on-male affection, especially physical affection, and how it went from common and accepted to uncommon and avoided. Maaaaaaaaany of those pictures would be considered ultrahypergay today.

But why should guys care about being perceived as gay or bisexual?

I remembered this post where a bisexual guy said women don't like finding out their guy used to have sex with other men, because that meant he was "submissive" to them by taking penises inside him. Other users agreed in the comments and said they had had similar experiences.

Men who fucked other men are perceived by women as less attractive. That's one of the reasons guys try to avoid looking gay. Showing physical affection like the pictures above would make many men seem homosexual or bisexual, so guys don't do it.

I remember some user claiming some african cultures still accept men hugging and cuddling, and don't think anything weird of them. Then I looked it up and those countries were homophobic to the point gay sex was punished by death. Those men cuddled because no one even considered the possibility they were gay, they would risk DEATH if they were.

The only time men dare to be affectionate with each other is when there is absolutely no chance people will think they're gay. If gay sexual orientation is accepted, men stop cuddling because being seen as gay will make them less attractive to women.

Thoughts on this topic?