To be fair, I think that age has a lot to do with this. A lot of teenage boys just want to fit in. I heard a lot of comments that would be considered homophobic when I was a teenager, and hear such comments much more seldomly now. I have a good friend who is openly gay now, and he used to say sort-of homophobic things. He told me he's known he was gay since he was 16, so I know he didn't believe a lot of the things he said at the time. A lot of other friends of mine who are straight used to throw around terms like "fag" as well, and known of them say that stuff anymore. I think teenage boys just don't want to be seen as falling outside of the norm, and for some reason, a lot of them go through a phase where they think saying nasty things will make them cool. Perhaps it's just insecurity, but I wouldn't say it's really a male trait to be homophobic or closed-minded.