All those times you boasted your “gaydar” was spot on, well, now science proves you were right.
According to a study published in the online Public Library of Science, researchers from the University of Washington found that people can tell whether someone is gay or straight in the blink of an eye.
The same way you build a first impression the moment you meet someone, the study found you immediately know someone’s sexuality.
The study consisted of 129 people who were shown 96 black-and-white photos of gay and straight men and women. They were shown the image for less than a second. The photos were cropped so that hairstyles were not visible. Researchers did not use photos of people with glasses, make up, or facial hair in an attempt to prevent “easy cues.” The researchers then asked the participants to guess the sexuality of the person in the photograph.
The study shows that people are better at judging a woman’s sexuality at first glance. In two-thirds of the cases, participants were able to determine a woman’s sexuality, and in 57% of cases, they accurately guessed a man’s.
Only 129 people participated in the “gaydar” test, so Joshua Tabak, a psychology student at the University of Washington, told the Daily Mail that there was “always a small number of people with no ability do distinguish gay and straight faces.”
If knowing whether someone is gay or straight is as easy as ABC, are we not allowed to act surprised next time someone we know comes out?
