Scientist: Women Can Tell A Man's Sexuality

If a woman tells you she can spot a gay man just by looking at him, don’t dismiss her claim out of hand. Scientists say women really do have ‘gaydar’, which helps them spot whether a man is straight or gay just by looking at his face.

And the instinct is at its strongest when she is at her most fertile and in the mood for romance. Their findings suggest that a woman’s ability to determine whether a potential male partner is straight or gay is linked to the impulse to have children.

During the three experiments, some 40 heterosexual women were shown a set of photographs of 80 men’s faces, all with the same expression. Researchers found women were remarkably adept in being able to spot the gay and straight men.

But in a similar experiment using photographs of gay and straight women, they were less able to differentiate. The study, by psychologists from the University of Toronto, then compared the results to the women’s cycles and found those at their most fertile had the most accurate male ‘gaydar’.

Lead researcher, Professor Nicholas Rule said: ‘This effect is not apparent when a woman is judging another female’s orientation. This suggests that fertility influences a heterosexual woman’s attention to potential mates rather than merely increasing sensitivity to sexual orientation or nonverbal cues more generally.’