|
from What do clinical studies say?
Researchers Study Sexual Orientation,
Body Motion And Morphology
October 10, 2007 - Researchers from New York University and Texas A&M University have published the results of three studies on the ability of individuals to discern the sexual orientation of others by body type and motion.
The study, "Swagger, Sway, And Sexuality: Judging Sexual Orientation From Body Motion And Morphology," was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (Vol. 93, No. 3, 2007, pgs. 321-334).
The authors report the results of three studies to discover if a person's body motion and shape can be perceived as being heterosexual or homosexual by others. "Social perception relies on a variety of physical cues, but the perception of biological sex and gender appears to rely heavily on two cues that are sexually dimorphic and may therefore be perceived to be gender typical or gender atypical. The body's shape - specifically, the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) - is sexually dimorphic and has been related to judgments of biological sex. ... The body's motion - specifically, its gait - is also sexually dimorphic and has been related to judgments of sex and gender."
This research found that when judging sexual orientation, observers rely on cues that include mannerisms and walk motion. "We found that the perception of sexual orientation rests, at least in part, on the perception of the body's shape and motion. People appreciate the stability of these cues, and they use them to discern the sexual orientation of others."
Additional Reading: Interview with Louis A. Berman, author of The Puzzle: Exploring the Evolutionary Puzzle of Male Homosexuality.
Updated: 8 February 2008
|
