I don't feel it's male sensitivity per se. Fandoms have been "shipping" characters in the same show for awhile now. While some of these ships are due to things in the story, many times it's just 2 characters that a group of that fandom are attracted to.

Sam and Buckey aren't ugly and sure have some fans that think they are good looking. Just being the same show and they probably would have been shipped, even without that scene. Just like how many fans shipped Sam and Dean from Supernatural (who are clearly brothers and not romantically linked).