I was doing the same type of things in the 70’s. It’s kinda funny trying to think about how the gay prism changed since the 70’s. When I was in HS, I certainly knew what gay, “homosexual”, meant. But the typical usage of the word was mocking a friend, as in “that’s gay!” I know I couldn’t pick out someone who was gay back then. That ability didn’t happen until the 80’s. Now kids know about this stuff from elementary school and onwards. It constantly surrounds them. When we were kids, it was the furthest thing on my mind. The major task at hand was pursuing girls.
I had a stepbrother who moved to New York to attend Parsons school of design in the late 70’s. When I overheard my dad and stepmom arguing over the “friend” he brought home from New York one thanksgiving, that’s finally figured out what was going on. I always thought that that choice that meant two less guy to compete for the girls at a party.