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[Feral]

New York Magazine has an entirely readable round-up of many of the findings regarding biological determinism in orientation. While the piece is rather long, take heart -- it could have been twice as long had it treated any of the more subtle (and more interesting) neurological studies. An excerpt:

At first read, their findings seem like a string of unlinked, esoteric observations. Statistically, for instance, gay men and lesbians have about a 50 percent greater chance of being left-handed or ambidextrous than straight men or women. The relative lengths of our fingers offer another hint: The index fingers of most straight men are shorter than their ring fingers, while for most women they are closer in length, or even reversed in ratio. But some researchers have noted that gay men are likely to have finger-length ratios more in line with those of straight women, and a study of self-described “butch” lesbians showed significantly masculinized ratios. The same goes for the way we hear, the way we process spatial reasoning, and even the ring of our voices. One study, involving tape-recordings of gay and straight men, found that 75 percent of gay men sounded gay to a general audience. It’s unclear what the listeners responded to, whether there is a recognized gay “accent” or vocal quality. And there is no hint as to whether this idiosyncrasy is owed to biology or cultural influences—only that it’s unmistakable. What is there in Rufus Wainwright’s “uninhibited, yearning, ugly-duckling voice,” as the Los Angeles Times wrote a few weeks ago, that we recognize as uniquely gay? Does biology account for Rosie O’Donnell’s crisp trumpet and Charles Nelson Reilly’s gnyuck-gnyuck-gnyuck?

[berto]

That's crazy! Wow! My fingers are just like that (om the right). I never knew this... (although I am not left-handed, but I *am* somewhat ambidextrous.)

[berto]

Colbert interviews David France, author of "The Science of Gaydar"

*click* (video available @ link)

[Feral]

That's crazy! Wow! My fingers are just like that (om the right). I never knew this... (although I am not left-handed, but I *am* somewhat ambidextrous.)

There you have it then.

I, alas, am afflicted with 'het-fingers.'

[Feral]

Step by step, researcher looks for sexuality clues

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Can you tell whether someone's gay just by the way he or she walks?

Yeah.

They're studying this?

As with the speech investigations, people have a remarkably good success rate for telling whether a person is gay or not. (All the more remarkable since, statistically speaking, we're talking about people who cannot tell you what month 9/11 happened in.)

Scientists puzzle me. It is not interesting that people can tell if a person is gay by the way they speak or walk. It would be interesting to know why they can tell.






P.S

Beware of the cheese.

[vanrozenheim]

I, alas, am afflicted with 'het-fingers.'

What about your hair-whirl? =))

Seriously, it seems that we are coming closer to a set of simple biological tokens for a non-invasive, affordable Gay diagnostics. If one particular token does not suffice for the 95% identification of a Gay individual, it is very probable that the occurence of 2 or 3 of such tokens might amount to the necessary certainty. This is practical for our argumentation on behalf of the Gay peoplehood, but I shudder on the mere though of consequences in some regions of the world. But still, I never finish to get exited by nature - it is simply amazing what corellations can be discovered.

This research has actually brought me to examining my own body for some gay tokens. Unfortunately, my handedness, fingers and hair whirls are entirely het-looking. Good news, by my voice I am always identified as "Frau Z." by telephone researchers, marketers and other telephone mobsters.  :wink:

[Feral]

Ah, but what of your walking? I should probably have put the post in this thread (that would have been entirely sensible of me, which is also the likely reason why I failed to do so... Imagine: ME, being sensible).

As for my hair whorl... alas, it has been many decades since most evidence of it fell from my head. forensic anthropologists tell me that the fossil record indicates that it was counter-clockwise. I understand there is photographic evidence (yes... they ARE daguerreotypes) that this ornery counter-clockwise whorl caused great rooster-like plumes to disrupt just about any hairstyle imaginable... until some genius recognized the possibility that my hair might be parted on the other side. (It was a great day for some, this realization... amazing, the things that can surprise the simple.)

[vanrozenheim]

Ah, but what of your walking?

Hastily hurrying forwards like the White Rabbit, I am probably *the* fastest long-distance walker in the neighbourhood. The only moments when I walk in the typical sluggish manner of our folk, is when I purposefully choose to slow down and enjoy the back-sight of a particularly well-shaped laddy. :oops:

[Feral]

LOL

The ability of a lad to alter one's gait must surely be an identifying characteristic of the Gay walk. In this case, I suspect a simpler aesthetic explanation is in order and that we need not trouble the scholars with this phenomenon.

[Rain]

My gaydar came with some useful attachments...

1. cockometer (rhymes with "odometer")
2. hagometer
3. topometer
4. bottometer
5. flopometer
6. kinkometer
7. quickcometer

and of course the all important (and standard issue)

8. closetometer

[Feral]

Oh my ... straight to the Hall of Fame for that one!

[berto]

LOL

Naturally, I tested France's findings on myself.

Since there's a bald spot where my hair "whorl" is, I couldn't tell what direction it grows in. And as for the ridges on my fingertips, if I could see those I wouldn't need to use The Force to hook up.

But my index finger is longer than my ring finger. That would explain my affinity for dick.

Still, subtle genetic hints serve no purpose on Davie St. If I'm looking at a man's hands it's not to determine whether or not he's gay, and by the time I'm staring at the back of his head, we've pretty much established he's a bottom.

So much for science. Thanks for nothing, Einstein.

If science has proved anything, it's that there's no such thing as a sure thing. Unless Apple invents the iHomo, I'll just have to learn not to get embarrassed when I occasionally cruise the odd straight guy.

[Feral]

Strange how everyone seems to want to turn such research to diagnostics. No matter how many caveats are given, no matter how many explanations of what the findings mean (and don't mean), it always comes down to a game of 'spot the homo.'

I recollect that I once said "never, ever underestimate the importance of getting laid." I wasn't kidding.

[Rain]

Here's some more "research" for ya...

Self explanatory.

Cock size percentages per capita of the overall male population.

[berto]

Ummm... whose "measuring stick" are you using in that first graph, Rain?