27M confused about attraction to men

Hi everyone,

I’m posting here because I need a space to think out loud.

I’m a 27-year-old man, and I’ve always considered myself heterosexual. I’ve only had relationships with women. Once in my life, I had a non-sexual but intimate experience with a guy (we kissed, basically), and I… liked it.

Now I’m realizing there might be a part of me that I’ve never really explored.

On dating apps (like Hinge, for example), I naturally set my preferences to “women.” Out of curiosity, I’ve looked at men before. And I felt… intrigued. Attracted in a certain way — and that’s where it gets complicated.

The idea of having a sexual relationship with a man terrifies me. Really. It’s not something that attracts me. But paradoxically, I feel a desire to explore a form of intimacy, tenderness, a deeper emotional connection with a man.

And I keep running into a huge internal wall. A barrier I just can’t seem to cross. I don’t know if it’s fear, conditioning, or simply that I’m not sexually attracted to men and that’s the end of it.

I feel stuck between genuine curiosity, possible emotional attraction, and a fear of exploring further (which is actually the main reason I’m posting).

I’m mostly trying to find out whether others have experienced something similar. Does this resonate with anyone? Could this be a form of “romantic” or emotional bisexuality? Is it common to feel emotionally attracted but not sexually attracted — or is this just fear holding me back?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond.