New study finds that your ‘gaydar’ is terrible [Thoughtcrime]

Washington Post ^ | 9/8/2015 | Rachel Feltman

[Jan_Sobieski]

A new study suggests that 'gaydar' -- the sixth sense by which many insist they can just tell that someone they meet isn't heterosexual -- is bad in two big ways. For starters, it doesn't work. But more importantly, the concept of gaydar may be pretty harmful. It may -- big surprise here, guys -- just be an excuse to revel in harmful stereotypes about LGBTQ people.

In a paper published in the Journal of Sex Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison psychologist William Cox argues that gaydar just isn't really a thing. "Imagine that 100 percent of gay men wear pink shirts all the time, and 10 percent of straight men wear pink shirts all the time. Even though all gay men wear pink shirts, there would still be twice as many straight men wearing pink shirts. So, even in this extreme example, people who rely on pink shirts as a stereotypic cue to assume men are gay will be wrong two-thirds of the time," Cox said in a statement.

Previous studies have come out claiming that gaydar is very real, and perhaps even based on cues as innate as facial shape. So a single study can't debunk all of those. It's possible there's some detectable difference that's common, if not inherent or universal, in people of different sexual orientations. But in his own team's studies, Cox found that any facial gaydar people seemed to have could be attributed to something pretty trivial: Photo quality...

[RightGeek]

Big sports fan too!

[BenLurkin]

[needmorePaine]

Christians often given people the benefit of the doubt out of love, however “Gaydar” can be a good tool. Like Reagan said, “trust, but verify”.

Depends on what's needed for verification. I'm OK with some things remaining a mystery.

[Red Badger]

William T. L. Cox, PhD Assistant Scientist Department of Psychology & WCER University of Wisconsin-Madison My gaydar works just fine.........................and it's pegged right now......................

[driftless2]

On vacation with the wife the last two weeks, I was taking the luggage up to our room at a hotel in the Southwest. Two young men were walking towards the elevator ahead of me and looked uh...a little light in the loafers.

They held the door open for me and engaged in a little conversation with themselves on our way up in the elevator that was about 180 degrees from the way John Wayne used to converse, if you get my drift.

Now was I wrong to assume the two young men were homosexuals? I would have bet a very large amount of money that they were.

[Red Badger]

http://www.sciencecox.com/

[Constitution Day]

[Teacher317]

I heard about "Gaydar" on Will and Grace far more than on any other show, ever. My guess is that this is another example of a word that one group can say, because they are enlightened and wise and wonderful and are exalted Victims^TM... and that all others may NOT say, because they are lowlife filth that are not worthy of the word, and must be shown their place by not being allowed to use certain words... and must be punished and publicly shamed if they were to ever do so.

[Old Sarge]

Ew...

[TheRightGuy]

so, they can be “born that way” but we’re not supposed to be able to recognize it.

[jessduntno]

“We need to do a more detailed group study by physicians on transgender men, but Cox will have to be removed.”

“But Doctor, how will we do this kind of study on transgender men, without Cox?”

[Jan_Sobieski]

I really think God has a sense of humor!

[MrB]

My question is “which of these ‘harmful stereotypes’ isn’t true?”

[Gen.Blather]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZa26_esLBE

The lumberjack song. Real men, there.

[Mears]

I absolutely love that !!!!!!!!!!!!

.

[Raycpa]

Then how to gays find each other?

[Jan_Sobieski]

Mine too!

Limp Wristed?
Feminine acting?
Speak with a lisp?
Dressing feminine?
Invites you over...alone
Overly friendly
etc...

[Raycpa]

He cannot be gay. He is not wearing a pink shirt.

[Jan_Sobieski]

Agreed!

[Marko413]