Has this person ever driven past a factory farm?
They aren't grassy. They're muddy and full of shit. You can also smell them from a mile away.
Ever driven by a patch of solar panels and turbines? It's mostly just empty space. Not exactly tranquil--more mundane, but it's a hell of a lot better than a farm.
The character is not commenting passively on things he sees, for instance, "Oh, the hero has a preference for pauldrons" or "wow, the hero likes to match shoes with his followers". It's specifically about a preference for being surrounded by men-- pretty directly connected to the term "sexual preference."
I understand what you're saying, but people who grew up boys and men in a homophobic culture know exactly what this means. It's not because they are insecure with their sexuality, it's because enforced masculinity requires that guys come up with a million different ways to call each other gay. This is one of them and pretty much everyone in the thread recognizes it for what it is.