Talk:Gaydar

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Is the use of the term Gaydar in Futurama Series 1, Episode 4 (Love's Labours Lost in Space) a coining of this term, or was it around before then? Is the etymology known? Andrewferrier 00:15, 2004 Sep 13 (UTC)

I can testify that I heard the term before that episode. As for etymology, I'm unsure. Best, [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 00:18, Sep 13, 2004 (UTC)
First usage on USENET was back in 1989... [1]

The etymology is fairly simple, and it's been a while since I read the article, but I'm pretty sure it's mentioned right at the top: gay + radar. Exploding Boy 15:37, Sep 13, 2004 (UTC)

Is it a spoonerism, though? I would have called it a mot-valise. User:Chewyman

It's definitely not a spoonerism. A mot-valise, yes, though I'm not sure that word is used in English. Exploding Boy 15:50, Sep 29, 2004 (UTC)

In English, it's portmanteau word. David.Monniaux 21:51, 28 Oct 2004 (UTC)
The term wasn't coined in Futurama, and I wouldn't agree that Futurama is the most famous use of the term. I'd heard of it in several places before I saw that episode. What do other people think? Is it really the most famous use? --Sum0 00:06, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Science and gaydar

I removed the following text from the article:

No scientific study has absolutely verified that popular stereotypes are accurate enough to allow a person to reliably guess the sexual orientation of a stranger, although some studies suggest that one can have a limited ability to distinguish between homosexuals and heterosexuals.

So, I gave a more detailed explanation of why/how gaydar does or does not work in practice, as far as I understand it. I'm not sure I really like the phrasing of the first half of the "scientific study" sentence above, and I couldn't find any documentation for the second half, which I would want to expand into a better explanation if it's kept. The link no longer points to the article referenced, and I couldn't find the Harvard study in the initial results from Google or Google Scholar. If someone wants to track this down so a proper summary can be added to the article, that would be nifty. I suppose the Wayback Machine at archive.org would be the place to start. -- Beland 04:39, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Futurama

The website 'Gaydar' has been around longer than the television series, Futurama, so it definitely didn't originate there (as some have already mentioned).

I can vouch for that time and date

[edit] That last paragraph

It's not sourced, and it sounds ridiculous. Should someone take it out?

I think the onus is on you to first demonstrate that it is ridiculous. --Gazzster 06:49, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gaydar

there is no mention of advanced gaydar technologies.

[edit] Some references, unverified, different takes

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=207269&page=1 http://joeclark.org/soundinggay.html http://www.comm.unt.edu/research/bennett-gaydar.doc [Microsoft Word format] http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Reviews/Psychology%20Perverted%20-%20A%20Response.htm

[edit] Gaydar

Gaydar is also the name of a hugely popular Gay Dating website for men. 'Gaydar Profile' is a term used by gay men for their membership profile on the site. There are other versions of the site including www.gaydargirls.com for lesbian women.

-bill ____________________________

[edit] Gaydar complications

"The idea of gaydar as an ability is also complicated by homomasculinity (gay men exhibiting masculine characteristics) and the rise of the metrosexual."

Can anyone tell me why a citation is needed for this sentence?

It seems like it would be fairly hard to refute that sentence. This article seems to suggest that there is no scientific basis for finding out if someone is gay, which would imply that gaydar is largely based on the ability to identify common homosexual characteristics.

-Homomasculinity: a homosexual man displaying masculine traits that are usually associated with masculine, heterosexual men. This would interfere with "gaydar."

-Metrosexuality: a heterosexual man displaying traits related to aesthetics that are usually associated with homosexual men. This would interfere with "gaydar."

Really, I do not see why a citation should be added. Could anyone tell me? Smooth Nick 12:22, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Added citation, don't know how to format it

In response to the note requesting a source for "metrosexual," I supplied the URL for a Web page. This now appears as note 6. Wikipedia's instructions for embedded URLs ask for a second part of the job, creation of a corresponding reference. Presumably I'd do this in the editing window for the "Notes" section, but what's in that window doesn't let me know where to type anything. It seems that the contributors of some other notes had the same problem, as not all the notes have corresponding info under "Notes."

The note should read something like this: "Definitions and history of the word 'metrosexual' at the Word Spy Web site."

Can someone else complete this sourcing? Cognita 05:59, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

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