• the217
• LGBT
• Oh hey, you’re gay right?

I want to give you a better understanding of what 'gaydar' is, if there is some confusion. Frankly, I am surprised by how many gay men lack this necessary faculty. Gaydar is a portmanteau of 'gay' and 'radar'. Put the two together as the word portmanteau suggests and out pops gaydar. As a gay, I need to admit that my gaydar is pretty much on point, maybe with a margin of error of plus and minus 1 (read: out of a sample of 10 guys I suspect are gay, 1 is not although he's probably a metrosexual...ugh I'm fooled every time!). Thus, gaydar is the intuitive ability to detect that a person might just be same-sex oriented.

But, having a decently functioning gaydar is common for gay men and women. In fact, a study published by the Monell Chemical Senses Center concluded that "gay men were found to be particularly good at detecting the musk of other gay men." Gaydar, too, has found its way into popular culture, with references to it as a popular buzzword in the media, and in The Office Jim sends Dwight a gaydar device that he says is sold by the Sharper Image. I checked the Sharper Image's website and no such gaydar metal detector exists. But who knows what their R&D department will come up with next!

Additionally, in “The Science of Gaydar” from New York Magazine, researchers shed new light on the verbal and non-verbal signals that make you appear gay (note: appearing gay is not synonymous with being gay, even though popular culture likes to make you believe that, although there's a high correlation between the two). This shortlist is what supposedly makes my gaydar go off. If you find that any examples apply to you...then scientifically you appear gay. This is verbatim from the article:

1. Gay men are more likely to have a counter-clockwise hair whorl.
2. Gay men and women are more likely to have an increased density of fingerprint ridges on the thumb and pinkie of the left hand.
3. 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.
4. Gay men and lesbians are 50% more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous.

Number 3 most definitely applies to me. And I don't think currently my hair whorl and my fingerprint density are very telling, and I'm right-handed. But, next time you're out and you're not sure if that good-looking someone is gay, ask him to show you his hair whorl. Hey, at least it's an interesting icebreaker.