The straight gay guy

As i read the Dyer article on stereotypes i remembered an episode of Sex in the City. In this episode Charlotte meets Stephan, the pastry chef.  At the beginning of the episode Charlotte sees him as a friend because she thinks he is gay, we later find out that he is not. Why did Charlotte think Stephan was gay? I quote Dyer,  "When we regard a person in their role we are thinking of them purely in terms of the particular set of actions".  Charlotte thought Stephan was gay because of  her preconceived stereotypes and iconagraphies of a gay man. Stephan was a pastry chef (baking is associated with as a female pleasure), he was well dressed, and even went to a play with her. To Charlotte these were clearly the likings of a homosexual male. The stereotypes she had of a gay man were very much based on his actions. However, this episode questions how true stereotypes are. Even though Stephan "acted" as if he were gay by the rules of stereotyping, he wasn't. Charlotte went as far as to bringing her gay friend to meet Stephan, in order to further confirm his heterosexuality. It was almost impossible for her to believe he wasn't gay. For me this episode also questions also the stereotypes we hold for men. What actions deem a man heterosexual and which ones make him gay? Stereotypes are so perpetuated in our society that sometimes we don't even realize how prevalent they are.