The real question is Is Dickie aware of Tom's homoerotic lust? As a gay man, I found the whole premise of Tom the unrich outsidet a metaphor for being a gay man in the 50s...the ultimate outsider desparate to belong.

Because we live in an essentially homophobic (albeit improving) culture...we even have this question regarding Dickie's sexuality. A real life Dickie would likely be sexually adventurous and have numerous sexual partners of all genders...he would fight a "label" and in the late 50s especially the gay culture was into plenty of gender role playing...so neither Tom nor Dickie are necessarily "gay" - Tom's appetite for Dickie's life that it includes a desire to consume him sexually or otherwise...

The real question is: is Dickie aware of Tom's homoerotic lust? As a gay man, I found the whole premise of Tom, the non-rich outsider, a metaphor for being a gay man in the 50s...the ultimate outsider desperate to belong.

Because we live in an essentially homophobic (albeit improving) culture...we even have this question regarding Dickie's sexuality. A real life Dickie would likely be sexually adventurous and have numerous sexual partners of all genders...he would fight a "label" and in the late 50s especially the gay culture was into plenty of gender role playing...so neither Tom nor Dickie are necessarily "gay" - Tom's appetite for Dickie's life that it includes a desire to consume him sexually or otherwise...