“ 1. Insecurity About Perception
• If he dresses in a way that some people might stereotype as “feminine” or “non-masculine,” he may already be aware that others could comment on it.
• This awareness can create anticipatory defensiveness — he feels vulnerable to judgment before it even happens.
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2. Projection and Overcompensation
• By calling others slurs related to being gay, he’s redirecting attention away from himself and onto others.
• This is projection: taking an uncomfortable feeling (“people might see me as X”) and assigning it to someone else.
• It’s also overcompensation: performing exaggerated “masculine” or “anti-gay” behaviors to reassure himself and others of his heterosexual identity.”
