Your hands may hold a clue to your sexuality, a study suggests.
Those who have a noticeable difference in length between their ring and their index finger are more likely to be gay, researchers say.
In women these fingers are typically of a similar length.
But lesbians and bisexual women have ‘masculine hands’, usually with a longer ring finger on their left hand, according to researchers at the University of Essex.
Men typically have ring fingers and index fingers that are of different lengths. But, unexpectedly, in homosexual or bisexual men this difference is likely to be even more marked, giving them hands that are more ‘masculine’.
Psychologists compared the hands of 18 sets of female twins with differing sexualities. They also compared 14 sets of male twins with differing sexualities.
Dr Tuesday Watts, who led the study, 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, with those exposed to higher levels of testosterone being more likely to be bisexual or homosexual.
‘It does seem that across most men and women, those who are exposed to more testosterone develop a male-typical body and mind, and those exposed to less testosterone develop a female-typical body and mind.
‘Because of the link, looking at someone’s hands could provide a clue to their sexuality.’
The study is published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour.