Your finger length and your sexual preference!
October 19, 2008
Index fingers of most straight men are shorter than the ring fingers; most straight women have the same length or index longer. Gay men and lesbians tend to have reversed ratios.
We all know that the body length of males is usually longer than the body length of females. Scientists call this difference between the sexes: a ‘sexually dismorphic trait’.
The picture below describes some details of this male-female dimorphic trait: about 75% of men are longer than about 75% of females.
John Manning reported in his first book, titled: Digit Ratio that a likewise ‘sexually dimporphic trait’ is noticed in the hands. In the hands of men, the index finger tends to be shorter than the ring finger. And in the hands of women the index finger tends to be the same size (or slightly longer) than the ring finger.
The picture below describes some details of this ‘sexually dimorphic trait’ in the hand: in about 75% of men the ring finger is longer than the index finger; however in females the percentage is about 50%.
Interestingly, John Manning also has pointed out that various studies have indicated that the relative lengths of our fingers offer a hint related to the sexual preference of a person!
For, as expected the index fingers of most straight men appear to be shorter than their ring fingers, while for most straight women the length of both fingers is closer to equal, or even reversed in ratio. But some researchers have noted that gay men are likely to have finger-length ratios more in line with those of straight women, and a study of self-described “butch” lesbians showed significantly masculinized ratios. An overview of these results is presented in the picture below:
An overview of the scientific sources which have found a link between finger length and sexual preference:
* The effects of sex, ethnicity, and sexual orientation on self-measured digit ratio (2D:4D). – 2007
* Digit ratio (2D:4D) in homosexual and heterosexual men from Austria. – 2005
* 2nd to 4th digit ratio and a universal mean for prenatal testosterone in homosexual men. – 2003
* The ratio of 2nd to 4th digit length and male homosexuality. – 2000
* Finger length ratios and sexual orientation – 2000
Illustration from the last study (Williams, 2000):
Finger length & DIGIT RATIO hand news! 
November 14, 2013 at 5:03 pm
I’m a gay male and my index fingers are considerably shorter than my ring fingers…..
November 11, 2013 at 12:57 am
Researchers should give the percentage probability of males being gay with equal or longer index fingers, which would avoid comments about misreading the study. Percentage probabilities of being gay should also be given for hair whorls, fingerprints, hand sizes etc.
October 28, 2013 at 12:52 pm
What was the size of the study population, was it blind or double blind. Tney dont give this info. If it was a proper study they would have at least 1000 participants. They dont tell you this because they probably interviewed 50 kids on a college campus and paid them. Thats like saying green m&ms make you horny
August 24, 2013 at 9:28 am
I’m a women and what if you index finger is longer than your ring finger on your left hand?
August 24, 2013 at 9:29 am
Well on both my hands
April 22, 2013 at 3:00 pm
I think this is complete and total bunk. I have a ratio on my right hand of 0.993 and on my left hand of 0.984. Dispite this I Have a very masculine face and deep voice. I have very good mathmatical and spacial skills, go figure.
April 1, 2013 at 1:04 am
I’m a girl and on each hand my ring fingers are slightly taller than my pointer fingers, not drastically but taller. I’m sure I’m a heterosexual. Whats the deal?
August 24, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Hello Georgia,
Your description sounds normal at first sight, but the proof of the pudding is inside the exact 2d:4d digit ratio numbers – which you didn’t share.
Anyway, thanks for asking!
🙂
February 19, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Hello, i am female and my indexfinger is longer than my ringfinger (on both hands). What does that mean?
February 28, 2013 at 10:44 am
Hello Alex,
For a female it is relatively normal to have a longer index finger (than ring finger). It’s a hormonal issue that is connected with many aspects of life, but to mention a few: a high 2d:4d digit ratio in women indicates for example that you are likely not (very) good in performing visuo-spatial tasks… and you are probably better in tasks that require empathic skills or language related skills.
By the way, at this blog you will find various other themes that are linked with the 2D:4D finger length ratio – so it might be helpfull to read further!
I hope this answer is specific enough? 🙂
January 8, 2013 at 9:35 am
my both 2nd and 4th finger is same.what does this mean?
January 18, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Hello manmohan,
The answer to your question depends on whether you are a male- or female:
– If you are a male… then you have a HIGH 2D:4D digit ratio
– If you are a female… then you have a NORMAL 2D:4D digit ratio
(But digit ratio also varies with among races, so one could make likewisely various considerations)
Does this answer your question?
September 22, 2012 at 5:18 pm
People are reading this study wrong. The study is saying that it has found that finger length CAN be related to sexual orientation (because of hormone levels in the womb and how they trigger finger development). It is NOT saying that this is the ONLY thing that determines finger length. Therefore, simply because this finger length theory may show that homosexual males tend to have longer index fingers, it does NOT indicate that ALL men with long index fingers are gay. Please learn to interpret your data before going around and embarrassing yourself.
July 24, 2012 at 4:03 pm
[…] His Fingers I also heard the finger thing with regard to whether people are gay or straight. http://fingerlengthdigitratio.wordpr…al-preference/ Quote | | « Previous Thread | Next Thread […]
April 28, 2012 at 9:26 pm
my index finger is shorter than my ring finger and i’m a straight female. But, people are trying to convince me im not because of this study…………………
July 5, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Don’t worry jacqueline… it’s just quite natural for women to have an index finger length slightly smaller than the ring finger length. And the reliability of this indicator for sexual orientation in individuals is actually pretty low.
March 20, 2012 at 12:04 am
I am the 3rd son with counter clockwise hair whorls, longer index finger, and more prints on my left hand. What do these tell me?
June 27, 2012 at 4:27 am
That you’re gay. This article explains how a longer index finger is seen in gay men. Other studies on finger length show that the amount of “gay-hormone” delivered to a fetus in the womb increases after each boy that’s carried in the womb– in other words, the more boys a woman carries, the gayer they get. However, homosexuality is not determined by one factor alone– there are plenty of other factors that could override this and make you straight or whatever! Only a small part of your personality is related to finger ratios.
March 13, 2012 at 1:44 pm
My index finger is longer… and I’m bi. Shit, hope nobody checks.
March 5, 2012 at 5:28 pm
[…] old nugget of “pop” science regarding finger length and a penchant for homosexuality. Conventional wisdom has it that having a longer fourth digit (from the thumb) than second digit is correlated with […]
February 9, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Just checked my partners fingers and he has a longer index finger eeeek !
February 12, 2012 at 4:15 pm
” eeeek!”…?
Beyond sexual preference, high 2D:4D could also indicate social qualities related to ’empathy’ or a high potential regarding his ‘verbal skills’.
Since we are only debating ‘statistically significant results’… one should not apply the links between digit ratio and sexual orientation to every individual.
I hope this makes sense!
January 25, 2012 at 2:21 am
I don’t think this is true.
January 26, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Well Anonymous… it is true, and in 2012 a new Japanese study became available showing that some of the earlier findings are also confirmed in a sample of identical twin pairs (discordant for sexual orientation), you can check out the details via:
http://www.handresearch.com/news/digit-ratio-sexual-orientation-japanese-twins.htm
September 8, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Haha, I read someone’s comment above.. I don’t think your finger lengths make you gay, straight, or bisexual.. My finger lengths are along the lines of those, here, described as a lesbian… I used to consider myself a lesbian, but I now don’t really look at gender when I’m choosing a mate. I just look at whether or not the human being can compare to myself. I don’t necessarily think that this is a hard-fact science. However, some of these studies were very well conducted. I think human sexuality is a very under-understood phenomenon.. I also think it isn’t ever one-hundred percent set in stone for any one person at any given point in time. I think it changes as you change – as you mature and as you learn more about yourself and as you accept and understand yourself and the world around you.
June 11, 2011 at 10:13 pm
My index is longer on my left and my ring is longer on my right. I’m straight, but it would be comical if I were bi.
June 6, 2012 at 10:12 pm
I’m the reverse. My index finger is longer on my right hand, but my ring finger is longer on my left hand. I’m gay, but as I looked at my hands I thought, “Hmm…here’s my gay hand, and here’s my straight hand.” LOL! Maybe the right hand is more indicative than the left. Interesting research!
June 6, 2011 at 7:23 pm
[…] our finger lengths to see who was gay. I can never seem to remember which one makes you gay, but this article might help if you are questioning your […]
April 20, 2011 at 3:01 pm
ahhh,sial aku ga lesbi!!!
#gila haha
April 20, 2011 at 1:22 pm
[…] read this article which will explain more better about this Fun Test […]
March 21, 2011 at 3:40 am
This whole thing doesn´t make sense in a wider perspective. first of all the laze categories this makes of “assertiveness”, “verbal commnication” and other cultural phenomena. but also factical. or is testosterone related to other evolutional traits too like feet etc? based on my own characteristics Im just all over the place, a woman with extra high ratio (1,05), I know Im very fertile and have high levels of estrogene, high whr etc. Im very hetero and sexually attracted to men, and it doesnt matter that much but I do like longer limbs, longer fingers in men. but Im very adventurous, ambitious and have excellent spatial intelligence, 3d objects and are good at structuring/ aiming at things , planning, sports etc. (do this spatial pattern thing for work, academic and artistic work) Im also very sensitive, emotional, caring etc and a bit neurotic ( short pinkie?). I have got pretty long arms (testosterone right?) but otherwise small “feminine” limbs and very small wrists and calves. my energy is high but I am calm and serene when I want to. I dont get it, finger ratio could hardly determine much of the whole sexual dismorphic theme
March 21, 2011 at 3:44 am
I do not count the male finger length ratio in 2d 4d though. fingers longer than my own-attractive.
November 5, 2010 at 12:13 am
[…] MORE ABOUT EARLIER RESULTS: • Primate finger length linked with social behavior • Human finger length & sexual orientation • Evolution of the human hand & palmar […]
November 4, 2010 at 2:55 am
[…] MORE ABOUT EARLIER RESULTS: • Primate finger length linked with social behavior • Human finger length & sexual orientation • Evolution of the human hand & palmar […]
March 5, 2010 at 12:53 pm
It’s good that you were careful enough to say “most” in the text, but that qualifier should’ve been in the diagram too. My ring fingers are each 67 mm long, and my index fingers each 70 mm long, but I’m a straight male.
March 5, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Thanks Jojo,
Despite you’re having a ‘feminised’ digit ratio, you can indeed be perfectly “heterosexual”. Did you notice the word ‘tend’ in the accessory text that is presented with the pictures…!? I hope this now makes sense in the perspective of the word ‘most’ – that you already found!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, the details make the story!!
December 29, 2008 at 4:30 pm
[…] Originally Posted by Paulinator check the hand all men have a longer ring finger than index finger. thats a tell tell sign if she is a real women or a man. I think he is referring to this: Your finger length and your sexual preference! Finger length & DIGIT RATIO hand news! […]
November 5, 2008 at 5:25 pm
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