I was reading this article on Cracked.com (although I have seen some of the content elsewhere): 6 Intimate Details You Can Tell Just By Looking At Someone | Cracked.com And it basically suggests a few ways you can supposedly tell if someone is gay: 1. For a male if his ring and index (pointer) fingers are the same length-ish or for a female if her ring finger is longer than her index finger 2. Gay females and males are 50% more likely to be lefthanded than straight people 3. Gay males are more likely to have a counter-clockwise hair whorls (on their heads) I was wondering how true any of it actually is? For me personally (gay male) the first one is true. However I'm not left handed and I have no idea which way my hair whorls. How do you match up to the three 'supposed' truths?
My friend studying psychology explained 1) to me. From what she said, if the ring finger is longer than the index finger, it indicates higher levels of estrogen than usual in the person. I guess since a lot of people associate feminine with gay and feminine with estrogen, that's where that myth comes from. Though this article is from Cracked, I wouldn't put too much weight on it
A lot of this soinds like correlation rather than causation. Just because 50% of gay people are left handed doesn't mean that left handedness causes gayness and that left handed people are more likely to be gay :/
Yeah, if you read the article that's actually how it is presented. I've just lifted out the bits I found interesting (and my thread title is misleading). ---------- Post added 15th Mar 2013 at 10:36 PM ---------- I have heard that explanation too as well (and also not from Cracked which I do know is a humour website!) ---------- Post added 15th Mar 2013 at 10:37 PM ---------- Serious question...how did you check the hair whorl one?
Hand mirror won't kill you, but I just know that I have clockwise hair whorl, if that's what you meant.
I don't match any(not sure bout the hair one), I don't think. My index finger is clearly shorter than my ring finger and i'm right-handed, tho I think I have the affinity to write with my left hand as well tho.
1. My ring fingers are just slightly longer than my index fingers. 2. I am right handed. 3. My hair whorl is clockwise.
Sorry... ---------- Post added 15th Mar 2013 at 10:46 PM ---------- Mirrors are confusing. How do you know you're looking the right way round? Don't answer that.
Just for the statistics... First two are true for me. Ring and pointer finger are the same length, and I'm left handed. As for the hair, I have three hair whorls, or should I say one and two halfs, since one is on the top of my head (clockwise), and two are at the front, with only half of each showing on each side of my forehead (one clockwise and one counter-clockwise). So for that one, I could say it's 1/3 true for me.
2/3 1) My ring fingers are longer than my index fingers. 2) I am right handed. 3) The study only applies to gay males, but my hair whorl is counter-clockwise.
Really? I'm pretty sure you have it backwards. If the ring finger is longer than the index finger, it indicates exposure to androgens (masculinizing hormones, such as testosterone) during prenatal development. From what I understand, this correlation with sexual orientation is stronger in women than in men, and the correlation is really with non-heterosexuality rather than just with being gay. Non-heterosexuals of both sexes are more likely to not be right handed (which means left handed OR ambidextrous). The correlation is not 100%, but there is some evidence that there is one. I am pretty ambidextrous, and I do have the finger ratio thing, personally. In both cases it's theoretically a "common cause" thing--the causes of all three things being related to hormone exposure during prenatal development. I don't know about the hair whorl thing, but I expect it's similar. I read in one article that men with many older brothers are more likely to be either gay or non-right-handed, but they are not more likely than other men to be both gay and non-right-handed. Just one or the other. I thought that was really weird. But I think I only had one source for that one.
My right hand's ring finger is longer than my index. My left hand's ring finger is shorter than my index. I'm ambidextrous. This does not apply to me? xD