The Science of Gaydar: How Ovulation and Sexy Stories Sharpen Sexual Perception
Radar Installation BukvoedMadam, your gaydar is beeping On a scale of 1 to George Michael, I'd put my gaydar at about 7. But evidently my so-so ability to spot a gay man sharpens close to when I'm ovulating, or if I've recently imagined myself in a romantic situation, according to a series of studies conducted at the University of Toronto. The results show that straight women are better at judging men's sexual orientation when they are unconsciously motivated to do so, either by hormonal fluctuations or by the power of suggestion. Nicholas Rule, a psychologist who studies social perception and cognition, and colleagues ran three sets of experiments to test women's gaydar. In the first, Rule showed 40 heterosexual women pictures of 80 self-reported gay and straight men on a computer screen. The black-and-white face shots were devoid of adornments, such as jewelry and facial hair, that could throw off...