Open Collections

Feldstein, Kate

University of British Columbia

The term gaydar—a portmanteau of gay and radar—is synonymous with inferring someone’s sexual identity. The snap judgements underpinning the concept are largely based on phenotypical characteristics and cultural stereotypes. The most significant theoretical concern with concepts like gaydar is the elision of interactions, which undermine agency from the process of identity management. Drawing on the analysis of 30 interviews, I offer clocking as a framework for how sexual and gender identities are disclosed and recognized in interpersonal interactions. My findings show two ways that identities are clocked. Firstly, identity appraisals are multivocal, blending stereotypical cues and symbols with signals you would not be able to pick up on outside of an interaction. Secondly, identity appraisals involve using information from an interaction to rule out normative social identities, like heterosexuality, rather than confirming specific minority identities. More broadly, these findings contribute insights into how individuals perceive markers of gender and sexuality when interacting with others, which advance literatures on gaydar, coming out, and identity disclosures.

Text

2025-04-25

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90789

Sociology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/