He surmised that the isolation of such places may foster a “make do” attitude. “There is a fair amount of sexual contact among older males in Western rural areas, the type of homosexuality which was probably among pioneers and outdoor men.
Today it is found among ranchmen, cattle men, prospectors, lumbermen, and farming groups in general that are virile and physically active. These are men who have faced the rigors of nature in the wild. They live on realities and on a minimum of theory. Such a background breeds the attitude that sex is sex.”
What was perhaps most shocking about homosexuality in the Old West was not that it was so common but that it wasn’t a big deal. In fact, miners and cowboys settled into convenient partnerships called “bachelor marriages.” When the miners in Angel Camp in northern California had dances, half the men wore bandanas around their arms to signal their feminine role. It was also very common and accepted for same sex bed mates to sleep together in small beds.
https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/amp/homo-sexuality-on-the-range
No citations on the article. Bit skeptical that this was as widespread as they're implying.