Gaydar test

Hmm

I will guess the one on the right.

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by: txrad @ Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 17:28:44 PM CST

Right

I'm guessing you are on the right.  And I'm guessing.

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by: konagod @ Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 17:28:47 PM CST

i'd be interested to know

if they somehow controlled for style in personal grooming.  do  gay people really look gay physically, or are the majority merely following subtle gay styles of dress, hair, etc. that people pick up on?  i bet i could fairly accurately pick the fundies out of a fundie/atheist crowd based on personal presentation.

Lurleen on Twitter

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by: Lurleen @ Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 22:11:11 PM CST

Must be

you on the right hand side.

Pam,
J'aime ma Peau

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by: Blonde Pam @ Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 23:13:10 PM CST

Left

He has seen the day and knows life.  He has also see this masculinization, as you will, of gayness for men.  

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by: LoAnth @ Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 23:23:41 PM CST

This could be a trick

Maybe you're both gay.  Failing that I'm going to say Fritz on the left.

ALLY (ALLIE) (transitive) To connect or form a relation between by similitude, resemblance, friendship, or love.

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by: Vicster @ Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 23:27:18 PM CST

Arbitrary study

I must say this is a really flawed study.  Culture, history, geographics are missing.  Not to mention race, class, ethnicity, etc.  This is why people are fighting these days.  Get the context back into the picture and stop the competitions for who is MOST gay, or trans or what have you.  We all deserve gender and sex and sexuality rights, bottom line.  We all look and desire all kinds of ways.  This "science" shit is that--shit.  Anyone remember scientific racism that still haunts us?  Totally fucked us all up.

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by: LoAnth @ Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 23:27:49 PM CST

The other one is still in the closet.

:)

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by: Tomistocles @ Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 23:30:56 PM CST

Yeah, they both look kinda gay

But the one one the right looks gayer.

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by: dstavro @ Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 23:41:31 PM CST

Left.

I'd say the one on the left because the one on the right seems to be holding back on the smile.  Straight men tend to hold their emotions in check.

How's that for stereotyping?  

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by: Edie @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 00:03:30 AM CST

With great trepidation I explain my choice...

I think it is Fritz on the right because he looks somewhat fitter.  That handsome man on the left looks to be 20-30 pounds heavier and we all know how those straight guys let themselves go after they're married or partnered up and have reached a certain age.

I know.  Even if I'm correct, it was a stereotypical, insulting analysis. I lose either way.  But, honestly folks, am I really the only one who thought that?

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by: Pollyanna @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 00:30:46 AM CST

I did notice the weight difference

but I'm pretty sure I didn't base my answer on it. I happen to be a heavier set gay man. It is funny though because I get feedback every now and then when I happen to mention my boyfriend or some other fact that reveals my orientation that the person had no clue I was gay because as she said "all gay men have amazing bodies." As a formerly active duty Marine I'll admit I've let myself go. I maintained for a while but after a few years when I landed my first "real" job I got too busy to keep exercising at the same level I had and eventually I fell completely out of the habit. The appetite however remained just as healthy as ever.

Never try to train a pig. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig.

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by: cali_techie @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 01:49:06 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Hey, all the better for cuddles!

Fewer hard, pokey bits.

<3 Sam

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by: Samie D @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 05:32:48 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Some hard pokey bits

can be fun tho...

Never try to train a pig. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig.

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by: cali_techie @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 09:23:26 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Left

I'll say the left. Just a gut feeling.  

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by: Ferin @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 00:56:17 AM CST

You're on the right

I can't articulate why, but that's my answer.

Never try to train a pig. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig.

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by: cali_techie @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 01:43:22 AM CST

I'll take either one.

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by: Brian @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 01:47:11 AM CST

Greedy!

Really now... save some for someone else! ;-)

Never try to train a pig. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig.

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by: cali_techie @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 01:49:39 AM CST

[ Parent ]

My guess

My first impression was to vote for the guy on the left, because he's wearing hair gel (way to feed the stereotype, eh?) but now I feel like the guy on the right is the one.  He just seems to be more comfortable in the picture.  Can't wait to see the results!

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by: easbookgirl @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 07:44:58 AM CST

i thought "right" but for the same reason

the guy on the right has that "i worked really hard on my hair this morning, but didn't want to look like i worked to hard" hair.  i mean, look how fluffy it is!  gay men will go for fluffy over flat every time :)

sean

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by: StSean @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 10:16:22 AM CST

[ Parent ]

My initial reaction is the one on the right

Don't ask me why; it's gut gaydar.

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by: johnnyleen @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 08:09:00 AM CST

Guy on the Left

I'm leaning to think both guys are Gay

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by: RogernDC @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 08:20:31 AM CST

Given the other answers, odds are I'm the 30% who got it wrong.

I'll say left.  Honestly, it's the hair and the turtleneck.

About the study:  I'd be shocked if they could repeat the study with a proper control on the pictures, but I also suspect that's not the point, because the people you meet in real life don't have that kind of stripping of other contexts.  

As well, I'd immediately suspect the positive rate got much higher because the participants were looking for "signs of gayness" after having been told that some of the pictures were of gays, and  that the hit rate would be much lower if the question had been "Tell me what you think about this person based on the picture".

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by: John @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 10:16:50 AM CST

On the left...

I don't know why, but he just strikes me as being gayer.  I would like to see more of their bodies though to make sure.  Just the head shot makes everything in the shot seem biased and makes me look at things I wouldn't normally look at to guage whether someone is/might be gay.

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting." -E.E. Cummings

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by: popsiclestand @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 10:16:58 AM CST

How gay are you..

Fritz, our society seems to 100%: one is either 100% gay or 100% straight. That is not true of course.

I am fascinated by 'twining', how do you rate yourself, how does your brother in your gayness/straightness? In your emotional/sexual desires, where do you both fall on the Kinsey scale? Are you a '6' and your brother a '0'? Do you both fall somewhere in between? I am REALLY interested in this subject area. Please post, or email me I would really appreciate it.

Tom

teetomus@yahoo.com  

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by: Thomas @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 10:29:26 AM CST

Blow out hair white shirt

Very gay, on the right.  The one on the left is straight, doesn't diet, licks p-ssy.  Both loook like nice people.

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by: Dunkindonuts @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 10:39:44 AM CST

Test

Left - its the hair and he's tilting to the left (his left)plus his ears are closer to his head. (if you believe that I have a nice bridge in NYC I would like to sell you.  The "Left" answer was a pure hetero guess.

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by: Herb @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 10:41:01 AM CST

My initial gut reaction was

Right.  The fluffed up hair did it for me.

Then I started thinking too much and saw the gelled hair and turtleneck and thought, "oops, nope, left."  My partner said the same thing and for the same reasons...now that's scary.

Usually, I'm good at picking gay guys out, but it helps to hear them talk (yeah, I know, another stereotype).  

Lesbians, lesbians of color, and older lesbians are the hardest for me to pick out and in that order too.  That just kind of sucks when you're a lesbian!

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by: callie @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 11:54:08 AM CST

gaydar for lesbians

I've found that the best way to figure out if a woman is a lesbian or not is to watch how she interacts with men. Straight girls flirt with men to some degree, they position themselves demurely and things like that,lesbians- not so much.
I had no gaydar for the longest time too. Now I've got a half of one. It's not very intuitive.  

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by: reblaw @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 19:24:04 PM CST

[ Parent ]

gaydar?

This one is hard because both of them look pretty butch, but I'll guess the heavier set one on left with the dark collared shirt...

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by: wagonjak @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 12:03:14 PM CST

I'm going to say Left

But I'm the last person you should ask:  my gaydar only seems to work with women, which doesn't do me a bit of good.

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by: Phil @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 12:05:45 PM CST

GUYON THE RIGHT

I think it's the guy on the right....

It's an interesting study...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Mad Professah Lectures http://madprofessah.com
"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act." George Orwell

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by: Mad Professah @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 12:09:02 PM CST

Left.

Left.  

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by: steveshack @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 13:14:05 PM CST

From my blog

I have this crossposted at my blog and have a few responses:

I think the twin on the left is the gay twin. I'm only basing this on his use of hair gel. Otherwise, there isn't much difference.

The only differences I see are the ears and the hairstyle.

Since the one on the left appears to have had his ears pinned back, I think he's the gay one. A gay man is more likely to have cosmetic surgery.

You're both cute and adorable, but my gaydar picks the one of you on the right as family.

Thanks for promoting this, Pam. The answers are simply fascinating!

When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will.

- Abraham Lincoln.

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by: Fritz @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 14:10:09 PM CST

BTW

I should have pointed out that both my brother and I struggle with our weight. Sometimes I'm heavier than my brother. Sometimes it is the other way around. Right now, we're about the same weight (the photos were taken a couple of years ago.)

When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will.

- Abraham Lincoln.

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by: Fritz @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 14:12:54 PM CST

LEFT

I can't say why I choose the left-hand photo over the right, but between these two it is my choice.  Both are handsome gentlemen, however Mr. Left is, well, hawt.

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by: Storm @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 14:16:11 PM CST

I'd like to point out

that a 70% accuracy rate for this kind of study isn't as impressive as it seems. What really matters is how far away the result is from 50%, since you could get 50% just by flipping a coin. In fact, someone with a 0% success rate would actually be completely able to tell gay and straight people apart; he'd just be getting the labels backwards.

In fact, if the proportion of gay and straight pictures was the same as it is in the Real World (almost certainly not the case here) I'd be able to acheive a 91% success rate. All I'd have to do is guess "straight" 19 times out of 20 and "gay" one time out of 20 (OK, OK, I'd have to look at quite a few pictures to achieve that rate, since it's a long-term average).

If the study used an equal number of gay and straight faces, then the 70% results should really be expressed as "40% better than chance."

Note also that to the extent that the subjects really are picking up on something, that something doesn't have to be a "common characteristic of gayness." It just has to be something that's more common in gay men than straight men, even if it isn't very common in either. For example, someone who speaks with The Voice has a lot more than a 5% chance of being gay, but at the same time, only a few of the gay men I've ever met speak with The Voice.

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by: ebohlman @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 15:33:31 PM CST

Gaydar

Right -- the coif is too coiffed.

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by: pluky @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 16:22:18 PM CST

don't know but

My first impression; it would be the guy on the right (is Fritz). Analysing -because? I don't get any 'vibe' from that smile, like I do from straight men? Some kind of masked effect.

So I want to ask, who took the photos? Man or woman? Straight?
It could make a difference in the expression.
I'm a straight woman, fwiw.  

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by: crowings @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 17:47:47 PM CST

I haven't a clue.

Though I suspect the guy in the College Republican video above
video above who talked of same sex attractions he had but is certain he's straight just might not be.

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by: Charles @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 19:07:26 PM CST

Right, but only because I checked the pics`

quick., and the guy on the right hit me first. After looking at them for a longer period of time, I'm not so sure.

(PS Bring 'em both by, I'll do 'em. Together.)

Remember what FDR said, "I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it." Have you written/called a congress-critter today? 8.25, 6.21

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by: Jacques @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 19:22:43 PM CST

Instant decision

I didn't try to analyse the photos, I made myself make a decision within 10 seconds and chose the guy on the right. Having looked at them a few more times, I still stick to my choice.

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by: Stephanie @ Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 23:25:08 PM CST

Two votes

Bill and Sandy both say left.

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by: Bill Ware @ Mon Jan 28, 2008 at 00:15:42 AM CST

Although both are adorable

Gonna have to go with the left because of the hair gel and turtleneck.  Also the smile is a little happier...gayer...if you will?  But beyond that I see no differences.  I have horrible gaydar.  It gets me into trouble.  It's often very wishful gaydar.

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by: JBravoEcho09 @ Mon Jan 28, 2008 at 09:58:46 AM CST

I flipped a coin

and it landed on edge.  No help there.  So my anally-derived guess (I pulled it out of my ass) is ... right?

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by: Jami @ Mon Jan 28, 2008 at 10:04:16 AM CST

I'm pretty sure

Gay on the right.

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by: spork @ Tue Jan 29, 2008 at 22:32:03 PM CST

70% accuracy is not at all impressive

When you are testing for a trait that occurs in from 5-10% of the poulation.  If my gaydar is working at 70%, and 10% of the population is gay, that means I am going to think 34 out of 100 people I see are gay.  And of those 34 people, 27 are going to be straight!!!
How's a boy supposed to know who to hit on with those odds!?
Sheesh, no wonder I don't get any.  ;)

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by: bgkev @ Thu Jan 31, 2008 at 18:09:58 PM CST

Thank God there's a mathematician among us.

The only way that 70% could be meaningful is if the 70% were for your assessment of gays and you had a much much higher accuracy for judging straights.  Even if you were 90% correct on straights that would still give you only 7 correct and 9 wrong out of every 100 you saw.

But Gaydar still works, hon, and I'm sure you're being modest...

However, as other people have already implied above, it's not about pictures; you have to see facial and body mobility, clothes, how they look at you...  

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by: Tomistocles @ Thu Jan 31, 2008 at 18:33:35 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I do in fact have a math degree

Stats like this are the reason lie detectors are virtually useless.  Most people didn't do it.

But as for how we know the 'mo is on the left - it's the skin.  Straight guys are using hair gel now, but they still aren't moisturizing, by and large.  ;)

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by: bgkev @ Fri Feb 01, 2008 at 09:01:57 AM CST

[ Parent ]