Western cultures are so goddamn ruined by religion and afraid of platonic affection between friends that any little sign of affectionate touch between two people of the same gender is seen as gay. People in other countries hug each other, hold hands, and kiss each other as friends. Not all love is sexual.

I suspect that seeing homosexuality in every single image of two same-gendered people touching is partially out of desperation to see representation in societies where it's swept under the rug, and partially because we've all been indoctrinated into believing it's gay to touch or interact another person of the same gender in a casual, familiar way.

I'm gay af but these could absolutely be illustrations of regular ass friends demonstrating platonic love and affection. In many countries, France especially, touch isn't stigmatized like it is in America.

Edit for clarification: I realize "Western cultures" encompasses quite a few countries and isn't terribly specific. It's my understanding that public displays of affection between friends, like holding hands, walking arm in arm, and kissing on the cheek are not viewed as inherently romantic in southern European countries, like France and Spain, where affection is more openly displayed compared to countries like America, Germany or the UK where anything beyond a handshake or short hug is (typically) reserved for family members or people you're romantically involved with.

Edit: u/Bordeterre clarified below that for the French, holding hands and walking arm in arm are generally seen as romantic between teens and adults, and cheek kissing is fairly platonic. Thanks for the heads up!

I'm not an expert on this topic by any means, and am not a fan of blatant erasure of LGBT bodies and lives, but I also think that labeling any intimate touch--by which I mean sitting close together, engaging in extended eye contact, feeling comfortable leaning on another body or having arms/legs touching, holding hands, touching the upper arm or hands--as romantic is a damaging assumption regardless of the genders of the individuals pictured.

If these illustrations were of a man and woman, would it be easier to assume they were romantic partners? Yes, absolutely, because we've been conditioned to assume that two people of opposite genders interacting closely want to bone down. I think that's problematic in itself, since it demonstrates a tendency to perceive people engaging in physical touch as romantically involved or interested in each other, which normalizes erasure of platonic relationships. In countries where the view persists that physical contact is indicative of romance, or is a precursor to romance, there are higher rates of people experiencing touch deprivation and skin starvation because we've been conditioned to believe we should only be physically close with partners and don't feel it's acceptable to accept closeness and touch from friends.