How accurately do humans identify biological sex?

[Acorninspring]

I often see the claim that people are very good at identifying biological sex, regardless of what gender someone is presenting as. I agree with this. However, I did wonder if we actually had any empirical evidence to back it up? Any research studies etc? It would also be interesting, if for example, men and women were significantly different in their ability to identify biological sex.

We've evolved to be good at detecting biological sex, as a way of ensuring propagation of the species, and of reducing conflict within social groups.
Its why the description 'androgynous' exists. If androgynous were the standard we wouldn't need a word for it. People who looked wholly masculine or feminine would be the outliers that needed a description.

There isn't a single species on the planet that cannot detect their biological sex.

I remember reading an article about some research that suggested that the first thing you erceive is a person’s gender/sex ( at this stage I dont remember which). Essentially on being given a brief glimpse of a new person, there study showed that people had time to clock whether the person was male or female but didnt always remember quite noticeable other features such as hair colour

On the other hand I worked with someone for months without suspecting she had previously been a he...

It would be very interesting and timely research. I don't know of any though.

With children I would think very inaccurately. I certainly would go on clothes, hair etc until puberty. After that I think pretty well. I was trying to sport the women in the trooping of the colour even though they were all dressed identically I and I think I can.

Any research studies etc?

There are too many variables to make any kind of study reliable.

People often say that their animals can, some pets who have been mistreated don’t like men for example. If often wondered what a cat or dog is looking for, or is it smell.

With children I would think very inaccurately

I Googled boys aged 5 and girls aged 5. The boys had short hair, not just short but mini-me versions of the sort of hair cuts adult males have. They were wearing mini-me versions of the (generally) dull clothes adult males wear.

The girls had long hair or, if short, mini-me versions of adult female cuts. Their clothes were much nicer-not just dresses and skirts but nicer, brighter colours.

I don't think if these markers were there one could tell.

On the other hand I worked with someone for months without suspecting she had previously been a he...

When it comes to people who have had surgical and medical interventions it's a completely different matter because they have deliberately taken steps to take on the characteristics of the opposite sex.

It takes a lot for a person to pass as the opposite sex. Most who try never completely acheive it.

In the general population adult humans are very clearly either male or female looking. Children are naturally androgynous so you can only tell through gender markers such as short hair / blue, long hair / pink etc. It's easy to swap clothes and hairstyles on children to confuse all the adults as to what sex they are.

I don't think if these markers were not there one could tell.

Yes, I agree about children and it being from puberty. It would be difficult to do and control the variables I agree, I was just wondering whether anyone was aware of any studies that had tried. Thanks for the replies.

I don't think if these markers were not there one could tell.

It doesn't matter with kids though does it, because they are not mating with each other? That's why post puberty the differences become much more obvious isn't it?

I'm not sure scientific studies are needed. It'd be one of those "Oh look scientists have discovered that humans need water" moments.

It's the little incongruities that you notice, the size of their knuckles, the slenderness of a wrist, the shape of hips, or size of feet.

I think we notice it the same way you can sense someone is gay (I hate the term gaydar but that's basically what but is) when you first see them.

Not all people are observant as others, and some people don't pick up on it, but I think most people do.

I have read that human infants start to be able to distinguish between male and female faces (and have a preference for female faces, especially their mothers) at about 3-4 months of age. Don’t have a link though.

It’s been a while since I did developmental psych, but from what I can recall from birth babies can recognise and distinguish faces. They can also distinguish by sex. If a baby’s primary care giver is female, the baby will prefer strange female faces over strange male faces. Older children (like 5 to 7) are not good at recognising the sex of other children (when all stereotypical cues are taken away), but they are very good at identifying male and female adult faces. It seems that our basic face recognition ability (knowing that something is a face) is innate- we are born with it. What kind of faces we recognise, however, may be learned. For instance, there’s a period where babies are very good at distinguishing monkey faces (human adults can’t do this). If the babies are regularly trained to recognise monkey faces, they keep that ability for life. If they aren’t trained, they lose it at one year. But in short, our brains are exceptionally good at recognising and distinguishing sexed faces from a young age.

Anecdotally - I would say quite well.

I am hetersexual in the old fashioned sense that I like the sort of body you find on a penis-person (generic) and in fact am quite keen on the acual penis when enjoying a sexual interaction.

I have over the years successfully managed to only pull people who had a dick not a cunt when I got them home. Like 100% accurate, never made a mistake .

With my husband, I was even more certain, as after some of our sexual interactions my tummy got big and then some time later a baby came out. This, I believe, is quite a strong pointer that as a woman, you've been fucking a man.

The pretence that human beings generally don;t know and can't tell what sex other human beings are is laughable.

Mammals can tell what sex others of their species are - it's pretty key. Humans knew that there were males and females and which was which before we had language. And no of course I can't prove that, but it's just totally fucking obvious.

I have read a few studies when I've clicked through from conversations I've seen/been involved with on social media but I'm afraid I haven't saved any to provide links. The person to ask is that Logical Marcus fellow on Twitter.

There are many articles on google scholar. Facial recognition is an important area not just for general interest, but for the police, border control, building security. This is of course to teach machines, but there are areas of overlap in the research because of course human and machine are detecting the same differences. Whatever use its put to research needs to include sex and age and race data to make it more accurate. Plastic surgeons would also use the information to help their trans clients.

I think you've got two things going on here, firstly the prefrontal cortex brain, which looks at someone and works out they are male, female or is not sure based on fairly superficial characteristics, and secondly the limbic/ emotional bit of the brain, which is making much faster judgements that are not, at least initially, conscious. This may include is this person a threat, or am I attracted to this person, which may be sex specific. This will pick up on how someone moves, expresses themselves, talks etc. As humans we are constantly scanning our environment for threats women we are socialised through our direct experience and what we are told to recognise that (some) men are threatening to us, so I'd say in most cases we recognise it pretty quickly.

I have over the years successfully managed to only pull people who had a dick not a cunt when I got them home. Like 100% accurate, never made a mistake.

Same here, but I do know blokes that are so thick, with such crude, inaccurate responses that they have been fooled by transvestites.

One such male I know said it was a dream seduction - not a word spoken - and when the bloke open his mouth and a blokes voice and "Hi I'm Bloke''s Name" popped out, all he felt was crushing disappointment. I think this ludicrous, crass inaccurate aspect of some men''s sexuality is why they are fooled or believe they pass.

DH says the response to certain triggers can be so powerful that it is not inconceivable for a bloke to be turned on by a crude mouth drawn on paper with red lipstick and crude eyes drawn with mascara to bring out that response, if make up is a bloke''s thing.

I also think the cases of people being 'fooled' is by the duper understanding the psychology and responses of the duped through being the same sex - they know how to push their buttons in the way the opposite sex usually doesn't.

PermissionTo Speak -

Yes that is interesting. Like that guy on Big Brother when he came out with his woman-stuff on, the men were all agog.

I think this is a result of men (well all of us) being fed an idea of women as sexual objects with XYZ "triggers" which are nothing to do with being male or female - the accoutrements. Big hair, lots of makeup, short skirt. Lingerie. Certain poses. We are all constantly fed images of "sexy lady" which if copied by a man well enough, and he has a face and body that are not too overtly masculine in the first place, will trigger this response. The trigger things + not really seeing women as people but as a selection of body parts - hair, tits, arse. It's a consequence of extreme dehumanisation and sexualisation.

Clearly it wouldn't work if the men and women were all naked / or even dressed in neutral clothes with no makeup. And talking :D

Animals that reproduce sexually have to have a way of recognising the opposite sex - for maximum efficiency of passing on genes.

Whilst there is probably some kind of normal distribution of these features but in general adult males are taller and have bigger feet and hands, a bigger musculature, have narrower hips and wider shoulders. Closer up facially they have wider jaws and a more pronounced eyebrow ridge probounced Adam’s apple and obvious facial hair growth even if shaved.
Any trans women who “pass” have usually had facial surgery of some kind and even then they can’t disguise their height, their feet, hands broad shoulders etc.

I think we notice it the same way you can sense someone is gay (I hate the term gaydar but that's basically what but is) when you first see them.
I tried a google search on the op's question and totally disappeared down a rabbit hole in that august journal The Scientific American-some dingbat did a 'study' on gaydar that showed a higher than statistically predicted ability to gaydar. How much higher we weren't told, the sample size was small, no test for standard deviation(yawn) and the article quoted the Urban Dictionary ffs! It was seriously homophobic. And gay chaps you're next-you've been warned. The 'scientist' wrote this book. screenshots.firefox.com/blxVnn1MzSTOF0yG/www.goodreads.com Explains alot.