UW Researchers Say Study Debunks ‘Gaydar’ Myth

The slang term “gaydar” is the alleged ability to discern if someone is straight or gay. But a new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers and published in the Journal of Sex Research shows gaydar is fueled by stereotypes, and not a sixth sense.

UW-Madison psychology researcher William Cox took a set of participants and divided them into three groups. One was told that gaydar is real, another was told it’s fake, and a third was told nothing about gaydar. Partipants were then shown pictures of gay and straight men randomly paired with statements.

“Either gay stereotypic statements like, ‘He likes shopping,’ neutral statements like, ‘He likes to travel, he likes spaghetti,’ or straight stereotypical statements like, ‘He likes sports,’” he said.

The group that was told that gaydar is real ended up stereotyping the most when assigning a sexual orientation to the pictures.

“Calling it gaydar legitimizes that stereotyping process. So, stereotyping for many people is an ugly word. But if you call it gaydar, it’s OK, it’s just fun and silly,” he said.

Cox said he hopes his work exposes gaydar as something more harmful than people realize.