Women attracted to gay men
Studying the elusive “fag hag”: Women who like men who like men
This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the composer, not necessarily those of Scientific American
As a decades-long fan of The Golden Girls, I was saddened to acquire of the death of Rue McClanahan last week. In fact, I ponder I genuinely shed a palpable, noticeable tear, which is something I can’t remember ever doing on the death of a star, with the exception perhaps of Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty. It sounds rather homosexually cliché, I know, but my partner, Juan, and I contain gotten into the habit of watching an episode of The Golden Girls every night before bed. And along with the other “girls,” as we call them, Rue’s character Blanche Devereaux—the libidinous southern belle with an insatiable appetite for affluent cheesecake and prosperous men—has become something of an pretend, smile-inducing friend in our home. Fortunately, Blanche’s carnal soul is burned forever on our DVDs. But the news of McClanahan’s death inspired me to read more about her in authentic life—well, at least to
This article first appeared on The Conversation.
For years, friendships between straight women and gay men have been a subject of pop culture fascination. Books, television shows and feature-length films acquire all highlighted this unique partnership, noted for its closeness and depth.
But with society's attitudes toward gays and lesbians changing, it's become all the more crucial to build a holistic sympathetic of the relationships between queer and straight people.
As a researcher in social psychology, I've often wondered: Why do straight female-gay male relationships function so well? Why are vertical women so drawn to having gay men as friends? And when do these relationships typically form?
During the course of my research, I've discovered that the most interesting, compelling—and, arguably, most theoretically coherent—explanation is through the lens of evolution.
Specifically, I trust evolutionary psychology and human mating can help explain why relationships between straight women and lgbtq+ men tend to flourish.
A protected bet
At first glance, this explanation may seem quite counterintuitive. (After all, straight women and same-sex attracted men don't mate
Facing your preferences
A recent study from a researcher at Harvard University finds that gay men are most attracted to the most masculine-faced men, while straight men prefer the most feminine-faced women.
The findings suggest that regardless of sexual orientation, men’s brains are wired for attraction to sexually dimorphic faces — those with facial features that are most synonymous with gender.
The explore is published online in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, and was led by Aaron Glassenberg, while completing his master’s degree in the Department of Psychology at Harvard. Glassenberg is a doctoral student in organizational conduct in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Business School. Glassenberg’s co-authors are David Feinberg of McMaster University in Ontario, Benedict Jones and Lisa DeBruine of the University of Aberdeen, and Anthony Little of the University of Stirling, both in Scotland.
“Our work showed that gay men set up highly masculine male faces to be significantly more attractive than feminine male faces. Also, the types of male faces that gay men found attractive generally did not mirror the types of faces that straight women establish a
Re: i'm a female & i'm (sexually) attracted to male lover guys
Unread postby Sam W »
Got it, so it does sound favor a big part of this simply has to perform with a certain type of guy (but not the only type of guy) you detect attractive.
When you want to be a guy in those moments, what is it, specifically, that you want? Is it to be capable to engage in certain things sexually? To have a certain role in a sexual dynamic? Something else? And when you tell this happens when you see adorable gay guys in your surroundings, are those guys who you know are gay, or who look a certain way?
With fetishizing or objectifying people, that depends on whether you observe these guys as individual, unique humans or more as a blank slate that you can project your desires onto. It's also sound to reflect about what's attracting you to them and how much of it might be based on stereotypes about that specific group (it might be the case that none of it is) rather than the realities of that individual person.
And you to whom adversity has dealt the final blow/with smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go/turn to and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain/and enjoy the Mary Ellen Carter