Women "Advertise" Fertility

Dik Zak writes with word of a paper published in the journal Hormones and Behavior. A study found that women take greater care over their appearance when they are at peak levels of monthly fertility. The researchers took two photos of each of 30 women, one near ovulation and one at the other end of her cycle. They then showed the paired photos (with faces obscured) to a group of observers, who were asked to judge in which photo the women were trying to look more attractive. The observers chose the "high fertility" subject nearly 60% more of the time than would be expected by chance.

Comments

Researchers should pay more attention

[Anonymous Coward]

There's a reason other than "randomness" that your wife bothers you more at times. It's not just because she thinks that you need "a break from your work". Open your eyes, men! She wants something from you!

My wife and I figured this out ages ago. She's all over me during ovulation. Anyone who's married and paying attention should also be able to notice this. But then again, how many guys know their wife's monthly schedule? Hmm.

--Posted as AC for privacy

Re:Researchers should pay more attention

[PFI_Optix]

I learned something very early with my wife: when she hits ovulation, she's less interested me when I'm clean-cut and smelling good and all that and more interested in me when I haven't shaved, have been working outside all day, and am wearing some pretty rough-looking clothes.

The theory is that she goes for rugged-looking me because it makes me look stronger and tougher and so I look like a better choice for reproduction. "Strong man make strong babies" or something like that.

Knowing when she ovulates means knowing which days I can skip shaving and don't have to clean up before giving her a kiss after doing yardwork.

Re:Researchers should pay more attention

[Anonymous Coward]

This "theory" has been proven by science. Studies have shown that when women are more ovulating, they crave more "high-testosterone" features from their men, usually more square jaws, stubble, muscles, symmetry, and such. In other words, this is the time that a wife of a Slashdotter is more likely to cheat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/376321.stm

There's a reason for that

[ElleyKitten]

When I'm at "the other end of my cycle" aka, my period, I'm bleeding and bloated and cramping and my face is breaking out, and looking pretty is not exactly high on my list. When I'm not, looking pretty is much less of a hassle. So, not exactly rocket science here.

Re:There's a reason for that

[gfilion]

When I'm at "the other end of my cycle" aka, my period, I'm bleeding and bloated and cramping and my face is breaking out, and looking pretty is not exactly high on my list. When I'm not, looking pretty is much less of a hassle. So, not exactly rocket science here.

They did a similar study a while ago in a bar. They would ask female volunteers to give a saliva sample and have their picture taken. Then they calculated the area of the body that showed skin and found a correlation between "showing more skin" and ovulation. So it's likely more than just wanting to feel pretty, I mean you don't go in a bar if you feel "bloated and cramping". To me it looks like women are more horny why they are ovulating, which makes perfect sense if you think in terms of evolution.

Where are the pictures?

[SuperStretchy]

Too bad we can't actually the results. Then we could judge for ourselves.

My wife ways ...

[Tim Ward]

... "only years later did I work out that all my successful driving tests, interviews etc were at times when I was fertile".

Re:No, 60% more

[StikyPad]

Much more interesting is women's tendencies to forget to take birth control, and to have affairs during ovulation.

[W]hen women have sexual affairs with someone other than the husband or boyfriend, the affair often occurs during ovulation, the woman and her partner typically use no birth control, and the partner chosen by the woman has some quality that the husband/boyfriend lacks (Baker & Bellis, 1993; Bellis & Baker, 1990).

Re:About Statistical Significance

[Jerf]

I am a statistician, and reading through the comments hear, am saddened that many readers claim that "statistical significance" could not have been achieved in this study because of a sample size of 30 women.

I blame schooling for this. Not counting my actual statistics classes, whenever I was asked to criticize a paper I always got credit for complaining that the sample size was too small, even when I knew I was completely full of shit and even when the various measurements of significance were sitting right there in the paper.

All you've got is the lone statistics course fighting even the other professors at a University, who apparently apply the statistical significance tests by rote, but don't really "believe" in them (or understand them to any degree). It's not hard to guess which will "win".

So Is It Fair To Deduce From This Study

[MCTFB]

that if women dress more attractive when they are most fertile, as well as the fact that fertility for women falls sharply after age 30, that women generally don't give a crap about their appearance past age 30?

Doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me, since women seem to put on more makeup, as well as visit the plastic surgeon more often as they get older. The vanity of women seems to increase with age if you ask me.

Interesting...

[inviolet]

A study found that women take greater care over their appearance when they are at peak levels of monthly fertility.

Interesting, but hardly surprising. It reminds me of a cool evolutionary-psychology speculation about why women get bitchy when their periods start. The start of a period indicates that her partner has failed to impregnate her, so in terms of natural selection, that is the time to seriously reconsider the relationship.

In any case, it is deeply alarming to see such mounting evidence that most of our "free choices" are impelled from below, from the parts of our brains that still believe we are living in the jungle.