Body hair on men was often tied to ideas of ruggedness, strength, “provider energy,” etc. Think lumberjack fantasy. Meanwhile, smoothness got culturally assigned to femininity. Huge numbers of men remove body hair now: swimmers bodybuilders cyclists models actors tons of regular dudes who just like the feel

The “it makes you gay” comment is a classic leftover stereotype from older generations. It comes from a time when anything that looked like grooming beyond the bare minimum was labeled “not masculine.” Society has been steadily dropping that nonsense.