Thank you for raising this dimension of the issue. Certainly, homosexual men experience and interpret social norms differently, but they remain embedded in the society and its norms. No one is completely unaffected by the hierarchical structures in society.

Several things are fair to say. Yes, gay men will feel less pressure to “get a woman” with the objectivity that that entails. Some gay men could easily see women as fellow human beings, even fellow oppressed colleagues. Some women find it much easier to be friends with men who are gay than who are straight because there is less of the tension. But gay men could also be so disinterested in women that they practice a different form of objectification of women. I knew a gay man who very openly said he found women disgusting, didn’t want anything to do with them. The fairest thing to say is that there is diversity of perception and feeling among all groups, gay men included.