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How good do you think your gaydar is? For some guys, it’s a superpower; for others, it’s more like a chaotic guessing game with no prize at the end. One moment someone’s giving flirty eye contact and helping you with your weights, and the next moment they’re casually mentioning their wife like it’s the plot twist none of us asked for. If your gaydar has left you humiliated, confused, or betrayed, don’t worry—you are so not alone.
Such is the case of this gay man who took to Reddit to share his story and ask, “I think my gaydar is officially broken. Yours?” Further, he explained the moment in painful, hilarious detail:
I went to the gym today, saw this insanely handsome guy, full eye contact, smiles, even helped me with the weights. I’m like, “OK, he’s definitely gay.” So, I shoot my shot and say, “You’ve got perfect form, btw.” He smiles and goes, “Thanks, bro, my wife says the same thing.”
So yeah, I’ll be hiding behind the treadmills for the rest of the week haahhahaha
It’s not my first time; [what about] you?
The responses showed he was not alone. That being said, one of the most common reactions was pure admiration mixed with fearlessness. As one guy admitted, “I never had the balls to try this.” For many, simply making the first move is already a leap worthy of applause, even if it ends in, well, a wife.
One guy summed up the struggle perfectly with a confession many of us can relate to. He said, “My gaydar is useless. Any man who is sassy, gentle, skinny, Italian, or otherwise attractive sets it off. It’s not really capturing sexuality at all.” And honestly? A lot of readers admitted their gaydar works the same way.
In addition, this comment hit too close to home for anyone who’s been betrayed by a soft voice and quirky humor: “Or nerdy. I’ve learned nerd voice is similar to gay voice.”
Then there was the optimist in the room, ready with the plot twist: “A wife doesn’t mean he isn’t bi.” Which is true; sexuality isn’t always visible, linear, or obvious. Still, the man said “wife,” not “husband and wife,” so… maybe we shouldn’t get our hopes up just yet.
Meanwhile, an exhausted gay man shared his coping mechanism: “I don’t even try these days anymore. Everyone is straight by default to me unless stated otherwise.” A bold strategy, not to mention emotionally safer.
But perhaps the most insightful response came from someone who has clearly survived this war before. He advised, “Gaydar works better when you try to know the person first. Additionally, as said by other posts, his reply just means that he thanks you for the compliment but is not interested.” He added that in the U.S., subtle rejection is practically an art form. No lie detected.
And then there was the poor man who thought his moment had finally come. He shared:
I was in the gym changing rooms with someone I knew from the gym. He just gets naked in front of me mid-conversation and stands talking to me. His dick is getting a little hard, and he’s still not dressed… I say to him something like ‘If you’re going for a shower, how about I join you and show you how strong my tongue muscle is.’
His reply?
‘No thank you.’
The universe gives, and the universe quickly takes away.
Having said all that, what about you, Adam4Adam blog readers, how accurate is your gaydar really? Are you a master of detecting the subtle signals, or are you out here getting blindsided by straight men with perfect smiles and even better manners? Do you rely on instinct, cues, vibes or do you just assume everyone’s straight until proven otherwise? Share your funniest misreads, your fails, your wins, your most embarrassing, or most unexpected gaydar fails below. The rest of us will laugh, cry, and relate right along with you.
My gaydar sucks.I fail often. It’s gotten so I know I missed chances but, why? Bumbed…
My gaydar tends to be nothing more than wishful thinking.
Join the club dude! I’ve kind of come to the conclusion.
Dude I can top that I don’t have to mess with the outside str8 world. I seem to have that issue in gay joints, of all places!
My gaydar used to be very good but not so much anymore. With the “soft boys/soft men” trend, man buns, etc, it’s more difficult to tell these days.
It’s harder than ever nowadays to tell if one is gay,with so many men,especially young guys acting girlish,even the ones having kids,they can be Bi-sexual(gay also)there is no in between!Some wait to they are older in life to bust out the closest!I truly miss the days of old,when it was kind of a shock to find out and a blessing,you want to taste his goodies,lol!!
GayDar can be a dangerous power! It can clue you in as to whom is Gay but the power also can get you rejected if the other person isn’t interested. Sometimes, allow GayDar to do its thing, but allow common sense to dictate the ambush!
I have the worst gaydar ever.
Can’t be worse than mine.
Perhaps I’ve helped ruin many guys’ gaydars. Bi-married and totally in the closet. I go to such great lengths to make certain nobody in my straight world can detect that they’re dealing with someone who’s had lots of gay sex. I sincerely hope I’m successful at it.
I am exactly the same way, it’s to the point my family thinks I’m the straightest man on the planet, I’ve always heard that it’s the most freaky guys and the guys with multiple women, that is closet/DL , and that’s me, I still love women (obviously I’m married) and I still love pussy, I just happen to enjoy sucking on other men dicks and I just happen to enjoy being a submissive bottom, But it’s more and more of us married straight acting guys out here these days, and most of us are bottoms, So with that being said,… Read more »
It’s the same as it’s always been. Spectacularly bad LOL
I don’t have a gaydar and would never try to pick someone up in public. Back in college, my group project mate in Accounting class tried to pick me up and shot his shot. When he dropped his line, I was so shocked I didn’t know what to do. We were in the library with two other girls in our group, as we were wrapping up the project meeting. The girls said they had to get home as it was getting late. After we finished the group project meeting everyone said later, and the two girls left. The two of us… Read more »
I don’t have a gaydar and would never try to pick someone up in public. Back in college, my group project mate in Accounting class tried to pick me up and shot his shot. When he dropped his line, I was so shocked I didn’t know what to do. We were in the library with two other girls in our group, as we were wrapping up the project meeting. The girls said they had to get home as it was getting late. After we finished the group project meeting everyone said later, and the two girls left. The two of… Read more »
Mine seems to be 50/50 at best.
My gaydar is pretty good. If walking down a street (or in other public places) and I make eye contact with a guy, I take 3 more steps then turn and look. If he does the same thing, he is gay or at least interested. Also when I look into a guys eyes I can tell if he is gay. If I look in a gay mans eyes I see “something”. If I look into a straight mans eyes I see “dead air space”. I will say I have seen so called straight married men and made eye contact and… Read more »
LOL! The latter would make a great joke! Gay or Str8.
My gaydar is so broken, I literally had a total stranger ask me out to dinner and I blew it! He was a stud too!
Sadly that rather can and does happen.