If your mom calls you "honey", it's fine, if some guy you don't know calls you "honey", perhaps it's not fine. So, there are other examples of names that have different meanings depending on who is speaking to you.
I am non-white and American, so I'm not wondering what the GP comment is, but this example isn't very helpful at all. It's hardly rare for strangers to call people "honey" in everyday interactions, and I've been called that by men as well. Those men generally happen to be gay, but that says more about our attitudes towards masculinity and the way men can express themselves than anything inherently wrong with them saying that. The only reason I can imagine that would bother someone is that they're uncomfortable with homosexuality or old-fashioned about masculinity. (If this seems wrong to you, consider whether you'd find it weird if a female waitress or something called you "honey" and what exactly the difference would be if she was "some guy").
Funny you should mention that. Our US office receptionist (who is in her 60s) uses this word all the time to strangers. "Oh let me help you with that honey". Initially I found it condescending (for no reason), but now I am used to it.
