How do Dallasites measure up?
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It’s considered more of a parlor trick than a scientific study. Either way, the Gay Finger Test can be fun and full of surprises.
In March 2000, the science journal Nature published an article about finger patterns and how they’re affected by androgen (male hormones).
They concluded that a woman’s index finger is generally the same length as her ring finger, while a man’s index finger is often shorter than his ring finger. And when comparing right hands to left hands, finger lengths in the right hand tend to be more sensitive to male hormones than the left.
When it comes to lesbians, researchers found that the lengths of right-hand ring fingers were often longer than index fingers and therefore more masculine, suggesting higher androgen levels.
But when comparing gay men and straight men, there wasn’t much of a difference unless they have older brothers. The more older brothers, the more masculine the finger pattern.
Other research studies have indicated that the more male children a mother has, chances increase that the male child could end up gay.
What’s the break down? More older brothers, more androgen. More androgen, longer ring finger. Longer ring finger, probably gay.
Again, this isn’t scientific just fun. Nine brave Dallasites recently took the Gay Finger Test. Here are the results.
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Who: Amber Pate
Residence: Oak Lawn
Occupation: Clown
Sexual identity: Lesbian
Siblings: No older brothers or sisters.
Dexterity: Right handed
Finger comparison: Masculine Amber’s ring finger obviously longer than her index finger.
Result: No clowning total lesbian. But no older brothers.
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Who: Christopher Blair
Residence: North Dallas
Occupation: Make-up artist
Sexual identity: Gay
Siblings: Two older sisters.
Dexterity: Right handed.
Finger comparison: Too close to call. Christopher’s ring and index fingers look exactly the same size. But I bet those fingers can make his older sisters look fierce with some luscious lip-liner and smoky-eyes. And look at Christopher’s cool bracelet.
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Who: Jacqueline Knudsen
Residence: Oak Lawn
Occupation: Hostess
Sexual identity: Straight
Siblings: No older brothers or sisters.
Dexterity: Right handed
Finger comparison: Feminine Jacqueline’s ring finger appears shorter than her index finger. As straight as a yardstick.
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Who: Daniel Ferrell
Residence: DeSoto
Occupation: Artist
Sexual identity: Gay
Siblings: Two older brothers and two older sisters.
Dexterity: Right handed
Finger comparison: Masculine. Ring finger is longer than index finger. And Daniel has two older brothers.
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Who: Ryan Rodriguez
Residence: Oak Lawn
Occupation: Claims manager
Sexual identity: Gay
Siblings: One older sister.
Dexterity: Right handed
Finger comparison: Masculine Ryan’s ring finger is longer than his index finger.
Result: Totally gay, but no older brothers to claim.
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Who: Edwin Swords
Residence: Lewisville
Occupation: Customer relations
Sexual identity: Gay
Siblings: One older brother and one older sister.
Dexterity: Left handed.
Finger comparison: Very close, but masculine ring finger looks slightly longer than index.
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Who: Marina Browne
Residence: Oak Lawn
Occupation: Sales representative
Sexual identity: Lesbian
Siblings: Marina has a twin sister.
Dexterity: Left handed
Finger comparison: Close call, but feminine Marina’s ring finger appears slightly shorter than her index finger.
Result: Suspicious. The fact that Marina has a twin probably throws the entire test off course. Who knows what happened to the androgen levels in her mom’s crowded womb?
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Who: Denise Rast
Residence: Texarkana
Occupation: Engineer
Sexual identity: Lesbian
Siblings:
No older brothers or sisters.
Dexterity: Right handed
Finger comparison: Masculine Denise’s ring finger is longer than index finger. Lesbian, no older brothers.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, September 15, 2006.