Has The Gaydar Mystery Been Solved?
Friday May 30, 2008
Ever wonder why some gay men can identify other gay men from a mile away? Well, a mile might be an exaggeration, but most gay guys do have a keen ability to identify other gay men in the immediate vicinity. There is often no concrete explanation why, at least until now. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Monell Chemical Senses Center may have solved the mystery behind our so-called "gaydar" or a gay man's ability to recognize other gay men without specific identifiers.
According to geneticist Charles Wysocki, when volunteers were asked to sniff underarm sweat from donors of a variety of genders and sexual orientations, gay men were able to recognize the samples that came from other gay men. In pattern, lesbians were able to identify samples from other lesbians and straight women rated the scent of straight men higher than that of gay men. Wysocki theorizes that gaydar is based on scent. Each volunteer group (independent of sexual identity) preferred the smell of their first-choice mates.
Similarly, researchers at Karolinska University in Sweden found that a steroid compound that men secrete in their sweat, called androstenone, excited areas of the brain that control sexual behavior in gay men but left the brains of straight men unaffected.
So, the next time you're in line or hanging out in a room full of people, see if your nose can lead you to the other gay men near you.
Image © Martin Walls.
Comments
Is there some garage somewhere where I can have this gaydar installed? It never works for me.
This is true! We can sense it when a guy is gay, no matter how he tries to conceal it! I’m very sensitive to masculine natural body smell and sometimes I feel like if something is yelling from inside the guy:”I’m gay!!!” He doesn’t need to have special mannerisms, walk, talk, move in a special way, I can feel it! Hi Romeo, I’m Mario. You don’t have to go to any garage to have your gaydar installed! Just be sensitive to others, their beauty, their needs and I guess that it will work! Maybe you have it but you don’t know how to make it work.
My gaydar works too well. It even works through the television. I talked about Gov. Jim McGreevy, of New Jersey, years before he made his television announcement and I never met him in person. I have friends that will back me up. And no I don’t just think all guys are.
I am often introduced to people at a party who claim to be straight, my meter jumps, only to hear about something they did (usually while drunk) some time later.
Ok, but does this mean non-gays have no ability to detect gayness? I have a friend who I do believe is genuinely straight, who says he can spot a gay man (although he misjudged me before I came out to him). And I know more than a few straight women who have gaydar, some better than mine.
I don’t know about scent, but I am able to spot my bretheren without ever smelling them. Gaydar, in my opinion is a combination of intuition and perception. Additionally, gay men pick up on subtle signals such as that uncomfortable or knowing glance and eye contact that others might not be looking for.
This is silly.
It’s all about posture/subtle mannerisms, eye contact and frequently style of dress.
I’m not falling for it.
I look up in a crowded restaurant and spot a gay man coming through the door. That is not about scent. Its about eye-contact, dress, mannerisms, etc. Eye-contact is the biggest giveaway of all.
Does this mean that gay men produce a different scent than straight men and lesbians produce a different scent than straight women? Wouldn’t all men regardless of sexuality smell the same as well as all women?
another case of scientism… science doesnt have to explain it all! it doesnt have to be all chemical or physical or whataver! I think gaydar is about observation, curiosity and memory and some people have these three factors more accurate than others, that’s why their gaydar works better.
Yeah, I had the TV on with the sound turned off when McGreevey came out. I wasn’t paying attention to the TV, but something went off in my head, and I thought, “what is that man talking about?” I turned up the sound and McGreevey goes, “I’m a gay American.” I don’t doubt phermones play a part, but there are very subtle non-verbal cues — and they have nothing to do with mannerisms we pick up in gay bars.
And also brain waves — I believe in gay brain waves.
i firmly believe that gay men get it wrong all the time! I’m from afrika and i’m by training, formal! That means, i dress appropriately for all kinds of occasions…am i gay too? Haha