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Gaydar is Dead
BREAKING: Some Straight Men are Friendly with Gay Men!
Al Reynolds Teaches Us How Not to Dispel Pesky Gay Rumors
Sacha Baron Cohen's Gay Fight Night Hoax
Wikipedia Confirms Chace Crawford As a Bottom
Hey Ladies! Sean Avery Will "Jerk Off to You Now"
Gay Actor Becomes Ironic Deodorant Stud
Overcompensating Update
What's the Difference Between 'Overcompensating' and Just Being, Well, Straight?
OK, Fine: Gossip Girl Boys May Actually Like Girls

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SiddhiSextus
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
For confirmation that gaydar is not even a little bit dead, see the studies by Nicholas O. Rule and Nalini Ambady, the most recent of which (to my knowledge) appeared in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2008. There's a whole series of these studies in which the researchers demonstrate that people can judge sexual orientation, with better than chance accuracy, not only from photographs of whole faces but also from individual facial features. Given that the researchers controlled for obvious characteristics like makeup and jewelry, and given that participants could judge sexual orientation from just seeing someone's mouth, I'm betting these journalists either don't know how to use databases like PsycInfo or don't want to have the premise of their stories disrupted by the actual evidence. There's a saying, "The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'," and I think that gets tragically overlooked.
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SeaBassTian
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
Let me get this "straight", heterosexual men are no longer barbarians and gay men can't be counted on to conform to strict stereotypes and Danica Lo is confused. I suggest she take less stock in superficial clues and concentrate on a dude's body language. No matter how much someone might attempt to mask his true sexual orientation, his body language will betray him. You can usually tell if somebody is attracted when you look into their eyes. There's this old technique called "flirting" that is usually a dead giveaway. If all else fails, maybe she should grab his crotch for erection clarification. Now that would be service-y.
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BenderingTimeV2
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
Gaydar is alive and well. Us with well-honed gaydar can tell by looking in someone's eyes.
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m4ximusprim3
08/11/09

@BenderingTimeV2: I don't think that's gaydar, really.
Most straight guys are not going to let other guys look deeply into their eyes for very long.
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Astroblack
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
There's still an underlying presumption here that groomed and manicured = gay. If there's been any blurring of the lines I'd think it comes from the opposite direction as well. Bears, gay cops and firefighters, and gay athletes have disrupted simplistic notions of what gay "looks like" or "acts like." The underlying assumption in this article and in these comments is still that pretty boy = gay which does not hold water with me at all. By the way, "straight" guys who are in the closet LOVE this kind of stereotyping because it keeps the attention off of them.
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Edited by Astroblack at 08/11/09 11:43 AM Astroblack was starred Astroblack was unstarred

BadUncle
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
Personally, I prefer it when total strangers ask if I'm an angel, because they think they've died and gone to heaven. Or try to guess my weight, with their hands.
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lionboy
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
This has become so confusing I can't even tell if I'm gay or not. I have a tag with my sexual orientation sewn into my underwear to remind myself.
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Mount_Prion
08/11/09

@lionboy: But if somebody's already taking off your pants, hasn't the decision been made before you get to the tag?
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Beau Nerd
08/11/09

@Mount_Prion: Maybe we should just check everyone's tag whenever we walk into a new place. It works for dogs.
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Forgetitjake
08/11/09

@Beau Nerd:
I had noticed that about dogs but I never really knew until now that it was doggie gaydar at work.
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City_Dater
08/11/09

@Beau Nerd:
It's dog owners who check the tags... The dogs themselves sniff each others' butts and ears. Which come to think of it, is not a bad way to answer this question for people.
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Island of Misfit Toys
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
I'm pinning all of my hopes about Alexander Skarsgard on this phenomenon.
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flexy
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
And forget about vocal inflection. Sometimes it's hard to tell tell if a guy is gay or from California.
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anonymousryan
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
"I like my beer cold, my TV loud, and my homosexuals flaming."
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irishflyesq promoted this comment Edited by anonymousryan at 08/11/09 9:38 AM anonymousryan was starred anonymousryan was unstarred

flossy
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
"Gaydar" exists, but Danica Lo doesn't have it. And why would she? She's a straight. The ability to determine sexual orientation based on the subtlest of cues, voice inflection, body language, etc. is a talent honed by necessity through years of practice. There's really no reason an attractive straight woman would need to develop this capacity.

"Oh mah gaw, straight dudes be dressin' so gay!" just means that fashion is trending toward the gender neutral--it does not mean that gaydar itself is dying. Unless you believe that Danica Lo is the canary in the sexual-evolutionary coal mine. More likely she thinks something becomes a trend by virtue of it happening to her.
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Edited by flossy at 08/11/09 9:13 AM flossy was starred flossy was unstarred

Niko Bellic
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
I'm neither. I'm European.

What you people call "straight" to mean "doesn't care how he looks", the rest of the world (except maybe Australia) simply calls "American".
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Edited by Niko Bellic at 08/11/09 9:12 AM Niko Bellic was starred Niko Bellic was unstarred

i'm a bottle
08/11/09

@Niko Bellic: This is true.
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irishflyesq
08/11/09

@Niko Bellic: You got it.
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Botswana Meat Commission FC
08/11/09

@Niko Bellic: Look, we really enjoy our BRIGHT WHITE sneakers, ok.
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son of spam
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
I'm pretty sure the line is drawn at the sphincter.
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Nic Fit
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
In Miami, it's easy. The guys with the plucked eyebrows, self tanner, flamboyant button down shirts and European cut bathing suits are the straights ones.
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blix
08/11/09

@Nic Fit: Gay or Latino?
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Magister
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
Personally, I think the prefix "metro" sort of limits the story because once you get away from the city, the lines seem a little less blurred.
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Edited by Magister at 08/11/09 7:16 AM Magister was starred Magister was unstarred

geckolicious
08/11/09

In reply to Gaydar is Dead
Real gaydar (when you don't rely on stereotypes) is not dead. Some people (like this ny post writer) just don't have it. and never will.
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