Gaydar

Gaydar, a blend of "gay" and "radar," is the colloquial name for a person's intuitive sense of another's sexual orientation, drawn from verbal and nonverbal cues like body language, tone of voice, grooming, or ways of moving through gender roles. Queer people often describe it as a way of recognizing one another. The science is mixed. A 1987 study called it a myth, but later research, including work reviewed by psychologist Nicholas Rule, found people can guess orientation at rates modestly better than chance from brief glimpses of a face. Critics caution that gaydar leans on stereotypes and that above-chance is far from reliable.