Editing Gaydar (section)

{{short description|Colloquialism for intuitively assessing people's sexual orientation}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:"I Have Awesome Gaydar" (29136703338).jpg|thumb|234x234px|2018 pride parade attendee, wearing a shirt reading "I Have Awesome Gaydar."]]
[[File:Man with Pac-Man T-Shirt at 2011 NYC Gay Pride Parade.jpg|thumb|A 2011 attendee of [[NYC Pride March|NYC Pride]], dressed in fashion that may indicate connection to the [[LGBT community|queer community]]]]
'''Gaydar''' (a [[portmanteau]] of ''[[gay]]'' and ''[[radar]]'') is a [[colloquialism]] referring to the intuitive ability of a person to assess others' [[sexual orientation]]s as [[homosexuality|homosexual]], [[bisexual]] or [[Heterosexuality|straight]]. Gaydar relies on verbal and [[Nonverbal communication|nonverbal]] clues and [[LGBT stereotypes]], including a sensitivity to social behaviors and mannerisms like  [[body language]], the tone of voice used by a person when speaking, overt rejections of traditional [[gender role]]s, a person's occupation, and grooming habits.

Similarly, '''transdar''' (a term in use since at least [[wiktionary:transdar|1996]]) refers to the ability for trans people to recognize trans people who [[Passing (gender)|pass]] well, by subtle cues such as "the size of the hands and wrists".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Friedman |first=Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9No6G7-1wb0C&dq=transdar&pg=PA59 |title=Blind to Sameness: Sexpectations and the Social Construction of Male and Female Bodies |date=2013-07-15 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-02377-9 |language=en}}</ref>

However, the assumption of sexual orientation by outward appearance or behavior has been challenged by situations in which [[masculine]] [[gay men]] do not act in a stereotypically gay fashion, or in which [[metrosexual]] men (regardless of sexuality) exhibit a lifestyle, spending habits, and concern for personal appearance stereotypical of fashionable urban gay men.<ref name="Metrosexual, Logophilia">{{cite web
|last=McFedries
|first=Paul
|title=Metrosexual
|publisher=Logophilia Limited
|date=12 December 2003
|url=http://www.wordspy.com/words/metrosexual.asp
|access-date=2007-12-17
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222153750/http://www.wordspy.com/words/metrosexual.asp
|archive-date=22 December 2007
|url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="Here Come The Mirror Men">{{cite web
|last=Simpson
|first=Mark
|title=Here Come The Mirror Men
|work=The Independent
|date=15 November 1994
|url=http://www.wordspy.com/words/metrosexual.asp
|access-date=2007-12-17
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222153750/http://www.wordspy.com/words/metrosexual.asp
|archive-date=22 December 2007
|url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="Meet The Metrosexual">{{cite web
|last=Simpson
|first=Mark
|title=Meet The Metrosexual
|work=Salon.com
|date=22 July 2002
|url=http://www.wordspy.com/words/metrosexual.asp
|access-date=2007-12-17
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222153750/http://www.wordspy.com/words/metrosexual.asp
|archive-date=22 December 2007
|url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="Vanity, Thy Name Is Metrosexual">{{cite news
|last=Hackbarth
|first=Alexa
|title=Vanity, Thy Name Is Metrosexual
|newspaper=The Washington Post
|date=17 November 2003
|url=http://www.wordspy.com/words/metrosexual.asp
|access-date=2007-12-17
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222153750/http://www.wordspy.com/words/metrosexual.asp
|archive-date=22 December 2007
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> For women, a [[tomboy]] might be mistaken for being [[Butch and femme|butch]], or a [[lesbian]] might act and appear in traditionally [[feminine]] ways.

Since at least 2015, media outlets such as Australia's [[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] have called the gaydar "damaging" and possibly "dangerous" due to its perpetuation of harmful stereotypes, its potential to lead to harassment, and its potential to dissuade people from [[Coming out|coming out of the closet]] on their own terms.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-09-08 |title=Put your gaydar down and stop trying to work out people's sexuality |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-08/shaw-put-your-gaydar-down/6758912 |access-date=2024-07-26 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-09-07 |title=Your 'gaydar' is way off because it isn't real: study |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-08/your-gaydar-is-way-off-because-it-is-not-real-study-finds/6756892 |access-date=2024-07-26 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-23 |title=Is he? Isn't he? Speculation over celebrities' sexuality could come at a cost. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-life-and-style/gaydar-wishdar-danger-obsessing-shawn-mendes-sexuality-rcna6165 |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> ''Gayety'' argues that the only way to assess a person's sexuality is based on their open identification and whom they are dating.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Gayety |date=2022-11-19 |title=How To Tell If Someone Is Gay: Dispelling Myths & Outdated Stereotypes |url=https://gayety.co/how-to-tell-if-someone-is-gay-dispelling-myths-outdated-stereotypes |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Gayety |language=en-US}}</ref>