Gaydar
For the personal name, see Gaidar. For the website, see Gaydar (website).Gaydar (a
portmanteau of
gay and
radar) is the intuitive ability to determine whether another person is
gay,
bisexual, or otherwise not
heterosexual. [
1] [
2] Whether anyone actually has such an ability is a debated question, especially in Western culture.
The idea of "gaydar" relies on indirect senses and intuitions rather than direct questions ("Are you gay?") or fact-finding (like researching the identity of previous romantic partners). It also relies on sensitivity to certain mannerisms: anything from flamboyant or overt rejection of traditional
gender roles (including occupation, grooming habits, and so on) to more subtle clues, like one's style preferences or other personal tastes or habits.
Some feel the idea of "gaydar" has a negative effect on the perception of sexual orientation because it reinforces social
stereotypes about gay people. [
3] [
4] [
5]
The idea of gaydar as an ability is also complicated by
homomasculinity (gay men exhibiting masculine characteristics) and the rise of the
metrosexual.
A study by the Philadelphia's Monell Chemical Senses Center, published in the Journal of Psychological Science found that "gay men were found to be particularly good at detecting the scent of other gay men".
[Martins, Yolanda; Preti, George; Crabtree, Christina R.; Runyan, Tamar; A. Vainius, Aldona; Wysocki, Charles J. "Preference for Human Body Odors is Influenced by Gender and Sexual Orientation." Psychological Science 16 (2005): 694-701.] [
6] [
7]
William Lee Adams, an undergraduate at Harvard, replicated earlier work by his advisor, Dr. Nalini Ambady who is now at Tufts University. Ambady's original study published in 1999 showed that homosexuals are better at correctly identifying sexual orientation than heterosexuals from silent videos and photographs. Adams' research, started in 2004, focused excuslively on the face, the focial point of most social interaction.[
8] Similar work by Rudolph Gaudio in 1994 showed that men's sexual orientation can be reliably identified from their voices, too.
[Gaudio, Rudolph (1994) "Sounding Gay: Pitch Properties in the Speech of Gay and Straight Men." American Speech 69: 30-57.] This finding was elaborated by Ron Smyth and colleagues in 2003. [
9]
*
Gaydar by Donald F. Reuter (ISBN 060961102X)
*
The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey (ISBN 0309084180)
*
NPR Program on gaydar*
Psychology Today: Queer Eyes: Blips on the Gaydar*
Homosexuality*
Genetics and sexual orientation*
Gaydar (website)*
Fruit machine*
Metrosexual
