Gay Stereotype and Cliche

Many Japanese university boys are interested in fashion, I mean they care about how they look: their outfits, hairstyles,etc. I had a friend from Japan who had been in America for a while. He was one of those boys but he said, here, he tried not to be so fashionable as he is in Japan because people here think he is a gay!

Yes. We have a stereotypes about gay men: they are obsessed with fashion, concerned with sex, they love to dance, roll like girls, have tanned skin, etc.

We find these stereotypes a lot in media. And almost always, gay character are used to give a comedy relief and a joking moment.

A famous movie, Legally Blonde, and its musical also use the stereotypical gay character to give a comedy relief. And in the musical, they sing a song, which is about judging whether he is a gay or European according to the stereotypes (waxed chests, pointy toed shoes, clothes etc.)

The song is funny, but it shows that those stereotypes are so pervasive that people can understand the joke.

Because of these well known images of gay men we tend to think they fit in the stereotypes in real life too. But they are not necessarily feminine as media portrays, not all gay men are superstylish and speak in high pitch. Most of them are just like everyone else.
These "special" stereotypes about gay people might make many of them who do not fit in the stereotypical images live in society with difficulty.