I did some googling and apparently the actor who plays Jesse in this is gay and there's a LOT more deliberate subtext and coding in there than I realized (which is saying something, since I already knew there was quite a bit).
The screenwriter did it deliberately, and the director was unaware of it at the time but laughs at how obvious it is in retrospect.
If you're a fan of the "Nightmare" movies, check out the documentary "Never Sleep Again" on Hulu (not sure if you have to have Plus). It's a lot of fun and they go pretty in depth on every movie in the series.