The term gaydar, a colloquialism referring to the intuitive ability of a person to assess another’s sexual orientation, has been thrown around casually in the media and among the gay community. However, is there any truth to this concept?

In this episode, we take a look at the early origins of gaydar, the science behind the phenomenon, and how advancements in technology may be able to identify a person’s sexual orientation from a photo.

Additional Resources

• Gaydar Definition (Urban Dictionary)
• Gaydar Definition (Green's Dictionary of Slang)
• What is Gaydar? Does it Work Like Other Gay Dating Apps, and Can I Join for Free?
• Detection of Sexual Orientation by Heterosexuals and Homosexuals
• Accuracy of Judgments of Sexual Orientation from Thin Slices of Behavior
• Gaydar: Visual Detection of Sexual Orientation Among Gay and Straight Men
• The Science of “Gaydar”: How Well Can We Detect Other People’s Sexual Orientation?
• The Truth About "Gaydar"
• Inferences About Sexual Orientation: The Roles of Stereotypes, Faces, and the Gaydar Myth
• Deep Neural Networks are More Accurate Than Humans at Detecting Sexual Orientation from Facial Images
• This Psychologist’s "Gaydar" Research Makes Us Uncomfortable. That’s the Point.
• The Invention of AI "Gaydar" Could be the Start of Something Much Worse
• Gaydar (2002)
• Gaydar (2013)

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