Gay + Radar = Gaydar

And so, finally, the urban myth is true. The science article says 60% accuracy rate. That spider-sense among the likes and un-likes must be an evolutionary upgrade in our psychological arsenals. Can anyone tell me the name of that mutant who can sense other mutants? 

Sodahead

Let's begin with working definitions. We don't have to agree with this on all points or even on many angles, but we have to start somewhere, right?


"Gaydar (a portmanteau of gay and radar) is a colloquialism referring to the intuitive ability of a person to assess others' sexual orientations as gay, bisexual, or straight. Gaydar relies almost exclusively on non-verbal clues and LGBT stereotypes. These include (but are not limited to) the sensitivity to social behaviors and mannerisms; for instance, acknowledging flamboyant body language, the tone of voice used by a person when speaking, overtly rejecting traditional gender roles, a person's occupation and grooming habits." (Wikipedia)

The index fingers of most straight men are shorter than their ring fingers,
and for most women they are the same length or longer.
Gay men and lesbians tend to have reversed ratios
New York Magazine.

Here's the article. What do you think?


“GAYDAR” colloquially refers to the ability to accurately glean others’ sexual orientation from mere observation. But does gaydar really exist? If so, how does it work? 


Our research, published recently in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE, shows that gaydar is indeed real and that its accuracy is driven by sensitivity to individual facial features as well as the spatial relationships among facial features. (NYTimes)


There's another more extensive article about this years ago, The Science of Gaydar.