Social Question

prasad's avatar

Which finger of your hand is longer, the ring finger or the index finger?

Asked by prasad (3859points) October 29th, 2009

I’ve observed that the ring finger of hand is longer than the fore/index finger in boys/males; whereas in girls/females, the index finger is longer than the ring finger.

Well, I’m asking this to find out whether my observation is right.

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68 Answers

J0E's avatar

Ring finger.

pinkparaluies's avatar

I’m a lady and my index is longer :)

jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities's avatar

My hands suggest that your observation is indeed correct.

grumpyfish's avatar

Just checked Mrs. Grumpyfish and her ring finger is ever so slightly longer on both hands, and me (Mr. Grumpyfish) also has a noticably longer ring finger on both hands.

patg7590's avatar

boy=ring for me
i never noticed that before

MissAnthrope's avatar

The length of the ring finger is tied to testosterone levels, so naturally, mens’ ring fingers would generally be longer than their index fingers.

Interestingly, this can also be an indicator of whether someone is gay or not. I have a vague memory of someone doing a study on this.

jbfletcherfan's avatar

My ring finger is the exact same length as my index finger on both hands.

grumpyfish's avatar

@MissAnthrope http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sex/articles/testosterone.shtml ?

Which apparently says that it’s theorized that the ring finger length has to do with testosterone in the womb, not throughout your life =)

MissAusten's avatar

I’m female, and my ring finger is just slightly longer than my index finger. Does that mean I might grow a mustache someday?

MissAnthrope's avatar

@grumpyfish – Yeah.. And this.

LOL.. just noticed my link says “homo finger”.

And just to throw it all out the window, I’m female and gay and mine are about the same length, I think my index may be slightly longer.

LC_Beta's avatar

I’m female, and my index finger is longer.

blondie411's avatar

my ring finger is just slightly longer than my index finger too….is that a problem?!

gussnarp's avatar

I can’t tell. Don’t have a ruler. It appears that my index finger extends farther along my middle finger than my ring finger when my fingers are all together. But when spread out it appears that my ring finger is longer. Measuring from the hand to the end of the finger I think the ring finger is longer.

erichw1504's avatar

Male. Ring finger is longer. @blondie411 Yes, that is a serious problem. See a doctor.

SuperMouse's avatar

I am a girl and I must have been exposed to tons of testosterone in the womb because my ring finger is quite a bit longer than my index finger (on both hands). I wonder if the fact that I was the first female occupant of my mother’s uterus after three males, had something to do with the testosterone levels.

blondie411's avatar

I wonder how weird it’s going to be when I go checking everyone’s hands later today…oh nothing just a fluther experiment.

virtualist's avatar

When I measure from the center of the knuckle up to the tip of my finger for each of the ring and index finger , mine are each about 10.3 cm long.

If I just hold my hand up and look at the tips of my fingers then it ‘appears’ as if the ring finger is about 4–6mm longer. This is the incorrect way to judge length of the fingers

MissAnthrope's avatar

After seeing it a bunch of times so far in this thread, boy, “finger” is a weird word.

patg7590's avatar

noting who is most likely to be gay from this thread…

@MissAnthrope bwhahaha yes it is

blondie411's avatar

what happens when both fingers are about the same??

jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities's avatar

@blondie411 You need surgery. Call 911 immediately!

blondie411's avatar

hmmm wonder if this is covered under my insurance… I can just imagine the conversation…“you don’t understand doctor I need to prove i’m a girl and my finger length will do that!”

oh no the finger length the same was a friend of mine who says all his fingers are the same length so the theory has some holes…

JONESGH's avatar

I’m a guy. Ring finger is longer

oratio's avatar

@blondie411 All his fingers are the same length? Damn.

patg7590's avatar

@blondie411 yes, please call 911, and then wait for the cops to come pick you up.

blondie411's avatar

@oratio yup he’s got the stubby kind…don’t judge we can’t pick out our fingers

hey i didn’t go into my two pinkies are different sizes but that might be from when i broke one at the growth plate…oh fluther now i’m sad

jbfletcherfan's avatar

@blondie411 At last! I thought I was the only one who had them the same length. Thought I was weird or something. I have long fingers & my mom always said I have ‘piano fingers’. She was right, I guess, as I DO play the piano.

cookieman's avatar

Ring finger.

Possessing a schlong.

gussnarp's avatar

@jbfletcherfan But would you play the piano if you hadn’t always been told you had piano fingers?

patg7590's avatar

@cprevite possessing a schlong made my day

MissAnthrope's avatar

@cprevite – (potentially TMI, so look away if you don’t want to know) Well, I possess a schlong, too.. you don’t specify if it’s attached to you or not.

MissAnthrope's avatar

Now that I’ve caused the conversation to come screeching to a halt.. more interesting info about testosterone and finger length.

Other studies looking at finger length ratio have suggested that, in men, a long ring finger and symmetrical hands are an indication of fertility, and that women are more likely to be fertile if they have a longer index finger.

jbfletcherfan's avatar

@gussnarp oh yeah. I would have. :-)

Jude's avatar

Female/gay – index finger is a smidge longer.

jbfletcherfan's avatar

@cprevite Fill us in on this ‘schlong’ thing. or is this another fluther term that I’m not familiar with?

RedPowerLady's avatar

Female and ring finger is longer. And that crap posted about me being less fertile is untrue, or would you like to ask my ever so expanding stomach yourself?

patg7590's avatar

@jbfletcherfan pretty sure its a dick lol

MissAnthrope's avatar

@RedPowerLady – It doesn’t say women with longer ring fingers are infertile, just less fertile.

cookieman's avatar

@MissAnthrope: It is currently attached. Presumed to stay that way (I hope).

@jbfletcherfan: I don’t think my wife would approve if I “filled you in”. ;^)

ABoyNamedBoobs03's avatar

my index finger is longer by about half an inch or so, I have freakishly long fingers as a whole though.

avvooooooo's avatar

Female, distinctly longer ring finger on the left hand, slightly longer on the right hand.

Kinda weird, now that I think about it. But no weirder than the index fingers being crooked and pointing away from one another if you try and line the knuckles up. Like a “Y.” :P

wilma's avatar

Female; and mine are close in length, with the index being slightly longer.

@avvooooooo I also have the Y thing with the index fingers, and very crooked pinky fingers. That runs in my family.
@cprevite snicker!

jbfletcherfan's avatar

@patg7590 LOL…..ANOTHER slang term for the penis, huh? Okay.

@cprevite I could ask her….......:D

tedibear's avatar

Female, straight, longer ring finger (by about ¼” when measured separately, not just compared when together) and come from a long line of fertile people. :~)

Sarcasm's avatar

My index fingers are either shorter or the same length of my ring finger.
(depending on how I hold my hands. If I stick my fingers out how is natural, ring finger is longer. If I make sure that my fingers are going out in a straight line, along the length of my hand itself, they’re the same length)

RedPowerLady's avatar

@MissAnthrope I still beg to differ :)

kruger_d's avatar

female—ring finger longer

Likeradar's avatar

Weird, I just checked and each hand is different.
Right hand- index is very slightly longer.
Left hand- Ring is quite a bit longer.

I’m a she.

rangerr's avatar

Each hand is different.

ccrow's avatar

Female, straight: both ring fingers slightly longer than index fingers(like 2mm or so). If that means I was less fertile than I might otherwise have been… I shudder to think.

aprilsimnel's avatar

Longer ring fingers on both hands, with the left one more obviously so. I’m female.

loser's avatar

My ring finger is longer.

tinyfaery's avatar

Female. My index and ring fingers are exactly even.

I’ve always heard the gay explanation when it comes to finger length. If it’s true then I must be (and I am) bisexual.

MissAusten's avatar

Well, I certainly don’t have any fertility problems, unless you count being too fertile as a problem. It’s far too easy for my husband to knock me up. ;)

The only other people around whose fingers I can look at are my kids. My 4 year old son’s index finger is longer than his ring finger, but that might change as he grows. My six year old son’s ring finger is longer than his index finger, and my daughter’s index finger is longer than her ring finger.

I hope I remember to look at their hands in several years, after puberty, to see if their fingers have changed. That would be interesting to see.

JLeslie's avatar

My ring finger is longer. Female.

rooeytoo's avatar

I’m a little late but on my right hand index finger is oh so slightly longer but on my left hand the ring finger is definitely longer.

Female and according to your theory that should make me bi…...

But I’m not, straight am I.

aprilsimnel's avatar

There’s some theory of sexuality over which fingers are longer than which? I like men. Does that mean anything?

patg7590's avatar

Aaahh!!! ok…my wife has a longer index finger on her left hand, and a longer ring finger on her right hand…
is she an alien???

avvooooooo's avatar

@patg7590 Do her farts smell like cookies? If not, you’re probably safe.

Psychedelic_Zebra's avatar

unfortunately, there is no way to be sure fingers are placed at exactly the same point on the end of our hands. Short of cutting my fingers off with an axe, and then placing them side by side to measure them, I am sorry to reply that i cannot give you the answer you seek. Should another male come along that doesn’t mind if I take an axe to his hands, then I will report back to you.

Psychedelic_Zebra's avatar

@SuperMouse must have been the fumes left behind by all those boys.

Jack_Haas's avatar

Male but longer index. Not into sex with dudes but being french, more likely to be gay.

DrasticDreamer's avatar

Female, longer ring fingers.

patg7590's avatar

@avvooooooo that is scary…how did you know that???

Dr_C's avatar

Some might be surprised to read that this has actually been studied from many different perspectives. Like @grumpyfish said here, intrauterine exposure to testosterone has been linked to finger length (example here).

Some studies have even gone as far as to study finger length ratio as a possible determining factor in homosexuality (here and here).

oratio's avatar

This sounds an awful lot like phrenology, and “Hi there, I see by your shoe size that you have a humongous penis”.

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