Hi everyone, I have been questioning my sexuality for a while now. There has been one strange thing that has been on my mind and I was wondering if I could have your opinions on it? This post is in no way meant to offend anyone, it's just something I've come across and has confused me a lot. Apparently there have been studies on having a gaydar, and people have coined the term 'gay face' which is when lesbian and gay women and men have different facial features to straight women and men. Here is a link to this study: There's Something Queer about That Face - Scientific American Blog Network I'm really not sure what I think about it. I've been questioning my sexuality a lot recently and I've noticed I have some of the features on my face they described, and that I may have a 'gay face' as a girl. My face looks a little more masculine than my friends and just different. It's not very obvious at all and in general I look feminine but if you look closely to may notice I look slightly different. I'm not sure whether this means I'm definitely gay? Because I'm not sure. The logical part of me says no there is more to sexuality than your face but this study is really confusing me!! I feel attracted to men and women but it's really complicated, I feel better without labels and I'm still working things out. That's a whole other issue I will eventually find the answer to, but I really don't know what this means haha! I was just wondering whether this is a good indicator for sexual orientation to see if you're gay? Is it the same for bisexual people too? I've never been one to want to judge based on appearences and I'm not sure how ethical this study is to be honest, so I'm not asking in a prejudiced way but I'm not sure whether it means I'm definitely gay. I wouldn't mind if it did mean I was gay, but I prefer the thought of finding out through my own experiences than ON MY FACE!! Haha Sometimes I want to label myself as bisexual but then this study pops into my mind again. It just adds to my confusion! Like I can't be bi if I have a 'gay face' which sounds silly but that's what I feel like the study is saying. Thank you for any replies I would really appreciate other opinions.
I'm not sure whether I'm just being really stupid by asking this. Of course I don't believe in stereotyping, I'm just confused as to how to take this information in regards to my own sexuality. I'm asking on this forum because it's one thing that keeps me questioning my sexuality other than my attractions. Please let me know if I'm asking a silly question. I would move this to the chit chat forum but it applies personally to myself, as well as wanting other people's opinions. Also I have Asperger's and anxiety issues so this has been playing on my mind a lot which is why it may come across as random to other people!
I don't think it's a stupid or silly question but I don't find the article and study in question to be very scientifically credible. Now there's a lot of 'evidence' based on stereotypes in that study (though it does make mention of that). And there can be truth in stereotypes but not always. There is no such thing as looking 'gay' or having a 'gay face'. People who identify as non heterosexual are varied and unique just like straight folks. All those facial traits mentioned in that article are not true for every gay/bi/lesbian/etc, I can guarantee you. And even if they apply personally to you that is not definitive way of gageing your sexuality. Only you can determine what your sexuality is.
I don't think gaydars really exist. Sometimes you can guess if they're gay or not, but the only way to find out for sure is if you start a conversation and get to know them. I've always had trouble telling apart who was gay or not, and the ones that I suspected that were gay are the ones that look at me periodically and look away when I look at them. Or, if they act differently when they're around me that gets my attention too.
If i understood the study correctly it is talking about facial things that appear through certain facial expressions..thus things you'd only get once you're older..so i do not think that it should worry you. Especially not at your age.
Hey guys, thank you so much for your replies. I completely agree and that's what I thought deep down but I just wasn't sure and wanted some one else's opinions. I think the study is flawed and it bothers me a little if I'm honest? I don't mean that in an argumentative way but it doesn't address the complicated nature of sexuality and minimises it into what your face looks like which is ridiculous!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this! ---------- Post added 25th Sep 2016 at 03:54 PM ---------- Also I asked my psychologist about this study, and she says it is completely false and I shouldn't believe it, and she's an amazing psychologist. One of the professors she works with who has studied homosexuality for years, and he found it was pretty much impossible to tell someone's sexual orientation like this, and that gaydar isn't real. I agree with you Jax, the only way you would know is by getting to know them and possibly eye contact with you. Thank you again
Hiya, Yeah this is a bit like 19th phrenology which held that you can determine people's characteristics by the shape of their skull. Needless to say that has been totally discredited. I would also say that we grow up with and develop handy rules for interacting with people, mainly using socially acceptable indicators. For example, the stereotype that feminine men are gay. Femininity is not a character trait as such but is also determined by what society considers to be feminine - in other words femininity is socially constructed. Similarly, that facial (and other traits) that we would use for 'gaydar' will also be determined by social and cultural characterisations of things. Obviously, these are just general rules and don't apply to everyone. In the study you mentioned people may have been able to identify gay people because they used social and cultural expectations to guide their choices and because the gay people on the dating sites did the same (i.e. they used social expectations to try and fit in with the image of a gay person). But this would not apply across the board - pretty much everyone I ever meet thinks I'm straight so I have to literally tell them I'm gay before it even crosses their mind.
Hey. Even before I came out straight girls knews I was gay or bi or something not straight. Its in the unfeminine way taht i walk and interact with people. im different. they knew i was different. They didn't care.
I wonder how many of these indicators are accurate. For example my hair whorl pattern would probably indicate that Im straight, but my finger ratios match those of a heterosexual woman. Maybe this is a physical manifestation of why I'm bi and trans? Then again, it could be nothing. There might not be any outward physical manifestations of sexual orientation that aren't created by our own internal desires.
Only thing I can tell you is, if there's such a thing as more gay typical facial features, my gaydar is quite bad. I think I only succesfully identify 1/10 gay men.
