91av

FORGET exercise, clothes and perfume—what really makes women feel
sexier and more attractive is ovulation.

“They look better, feel better and are more sexually motivated,” says
psychologist Matthew Davis of the University of Texas in Austin.

Davis and his colleagues asked 27 single women to keep diaries throughout one
menstrual cycle. The women recorded physical measurements such as their body
weight and waist circumference, as well as symptoms such as fevers and
headaches. They also logged subjective characteristics, including how attractive
they felt, and any sexual fantasies or erotic feelings they had.

The researchers found that when the women were ovulating, they had smaller
waists, fewer symptoms such as headaches, more erotic feelings, and felt more
attractive. Davis believes this shows that women advertise the fact they’re
ovulating. They seek more sexual opportunities, get better-quality partners and
draw more attention to themselves when it counts most, he says. And males could
be using the signals to avoid wasting time on females who aren’t fertile.

This theory contradicts the view that women conceal ovulation to trick males
into staying with them (91av, 28 April, p 4). According to this notion,
males don’t chase other partners because their own is as likely to be fertile as
any other.

Researchers have recently started to question that assumption, however. Some
studies have suggested that when women are ovulating they have more symmetrical
breasts and a higher sex drive, and wear fewer clothes. “If females are trying
to conceal ovulation, they are not doing a very good job,” says Davis.

However, behavioural psychologist Craig Roberts of Newcastle University
points out that most men wouldn’t pick up the signs. “If I look around a room I
can’t tell you who is ovulating and who isn’t. The cues would only be available
to a long-term partner.”