I think that her telling you to stop compliments/flirting is putting you back into place as a gay friend.
WOW,
So this is worse than the "friends" ladder on the "ladder theory". A "Gay" friend is harmless, and would not be looked at as a viable candidate for sexual or intimacy almost EVER.
Also the "gay friend" would allow the female to have stronger "masculine" tendancies around him, so that his would have to minimized to make up for it in Ying/Yang concept...
