Length of your ring and index fingers 'could reveal your sexuality'

The length of your fingers could indicate someone's sexuality, researchers say
Jeremy Yap/Unsplash
Jacob Jarvis17 October 2018

The length of a person’s index and ring fingers could indicate their sexuality, new research suggests.

According to the new study, those with a ring finger longer then their index finger are more likely to be homosexual and those who are the same length heterosexual.

Academics looked at the hands of 32 pairs of identical twins, 18 female and 14 male, in which the twins both had different sexualities.

They found lesbian siblings had more “male typical” hands than their heterosexual relations, linked to the described finger length.

The same was noticed in male twins, though the difference was "not viewed as significant".

Dr Tuesday Watts, of the University of Essex, worked on the study with Dr Gerulf Rieger.

She said: “Because identical twins, who share 100 per cent of their genes, can differ in their sexual orientations, factors other than genetics must account for the differences.

“Research suggests that our sexuality is determined in the womb and is dependent on the amount of male hormone we are exposed to or the way our individual bodies react to that hormone, with those exposed to higher levels of testosterone being more likely to be bisexual or homosexual.

“Because of the link between hormone levels and difference in finger lengths, looking at someone’s hands could provide a clue to their sexuality.”

In regards to the more “male typical” hands those with them are more likely to have been exposed to more testosterone in the womb.

Typically in women the index and ring finger are of similar length, though with men they are more often different.

Their findings were published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour.

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