Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Is there really such a thing as "gaydar"?
Question:
Is there really such a thing as "gaydar"? What is it exactly?
Answer:
Absolutely! There is definitely such a thing as Gaydar, which is the ability for someone, gay or straight, to determine if someone is gay just by watching them. When asked how gaydar works, most people would describe it as a "feeling" they get, more than specific cues the other person is giving off.
Gaydar is rarely 100% accurate, but there are some people who will claim that they have never been wrong. However, the more recent emergence of people known as metrosexuals has challenged the gaydar of the best of us. While people of any sexual orientation might have gaydar, it is usually found to be more accurate with gay people. Recently, studies have started to indicate that gay people have developed a more attuned attention to detail so that they can discern other gay people in a crowd, but we gays have known that all along! You kind of want to know that you're not gonna be whacked upside the head when you ask someone out, so you learn to figure out the signs.
Bonus knowledge for you word of the day fanatics. Gaydar is a portmanteau. What is a portmanteau, you ask? It is a word that is formed by two different words. Most of you are smart enough to figure out the two words that are used in Gaydar are Gay and Radar. We never heard the word portmanteau before, so we learned something, too!
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Yet another really interesting Q&A! For a het, I've always had a finely tuned gaydar - probably cuz my brother and so many of my friends are gay, it kinda rubbed off. But this once-finely tuned machine has taken a battering since relocating to England. Straight British men are generally more effeminate than their macho American counterparts, so here in England, my gaydar often leads me astray.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb! That's very interesting. None of the studies we've read so far have really taken into consideration cultural differentiation. That makes us want to do some follow up research!
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