The "too close for comfort" effect.

I think it's a result of the latent tabloid mentality in a lot of people that makes them want to see gay connotations in strong male relationships. Ridiculing something and processing it superficially requires less thought and is easier to digest than seeking an underlying deeper meaning.

The whole application of the term "gay" to anything that is superficial, vapid and silly is an insult to gays as well and does them a disservice. Apart from a few British TV shows I have never seen an American gay role that was not somehow flamboyant and petty; maybe there are art house films where that trend is broken but I don't know of any.

Maybe the trend in insinuating that characters might be gay is a way of diverting attention from the fact that heterosexual men themselves are in general becoming less manly, more "metro". By pointing out someone who is even more feminised than they are, they can feel better about themselves.

Jam it back in, in the dark.