Egg-spensive fashion
By Steve Robinson
Scientists have been aware of cues for the onset of female ovulation in the animal kingdom for some time now. Some animals release powerful scents, whilst others display bright skin colours.
Until recently human ovulation has been notoriously difficult to detect using such cues. However, a group of U.S. researchers recently announced that they have unveiled a distinctly human trait that can reveal when women are experiencing their most fertile period of the menstrual cycle – their dress sense.
A study conducted in the ‘States showed that young women dress more fashionably during their fertile period than in the rest of the month.
The women also wore ‘flashier jewelry’, as judged by the test assessors - a panel of men and women who judged the subjects based on photographs of them taken at different points in the menstrual cycle.
The study goes some way to discrediting the view that humans are somehow unique among animals, and that females do not give some indication of their fertility.
The team that conducted the survey – who published their findings in the journal Hormones and Behavior – said their study showed these indications were present, even if men and women were not consciously aware of them.
The subjects were photographed twice during the month, once in their fertile period and once outside it. In order to ascertain whether the photo was taken in the correct fertility period, urine tests were performed – a standard way of detected the hormones associated with the fertile period.
The photographs were then presented to the viewing participants with the faces blackened out. The researchers asked the volunteers in which of the two photos the woman was making an effort to look attractive. These participants chose the ‘fertile’ photograph 60% of the time.
"This is well beyond chance.” The team’s leader, Martie Haselton said. “They were pretty consistent.”
"One of the things we found pretty interesting is that people sort of have their personal style, almost like their uniform," she added. "The women would show up to the lab wearing something pretty close to what they wore before, but embellished."
Though the team found evidence that the women were dressing more fashionably, there was little to suggest that their clothing was more provocative.
"We did see a little bit more skin.” Haselton noted. “It was my impression that the women were just dressing a little bit more fashionably but not sexier."
It was also Haselton’s team that had previously reported that women were more partial to flirting and eye-up attractive men during this fertile period. It seems that human cues to female ovulation are not quite as subtle as we might have imagined.
Until recently human ovulation has been notoriously difficult to detect using such cues. However, a group of U.S. researchers recently announced that they have unveiled a distinctly human trait that can reveal when women are experiencing their most fertile period of the menstrual cycle – their dress sense.
A study conducted in the ‘States showed that young women dress more fashionably during their fertile period than in the rest of the month.
The women also wore ‘flashier jewelry’, as judged by the test assessors - a panel of men and women who judged the subjects based on photographs of them taken at different points in the menstrual cycle.
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The team that conducted the survey – who published their findings in the journal Hormones and Behavior – said their study showed these indications were present, even if men and women were not consciously aware of them.
The subjects were photographed twice during the month, once in their fertile period and once outside it. In order to ascertain whether the photo was taken in the correct fertility period, urine tests were performed – a standard way of detected the hormones associated with the fertile period.
The photographs were then presented to the viewing participants with the faces blackened out. The researchers asked the volunteers in which of the two photos the woman was making an effort to look attractive. These participants chose the ‘fertile’ photograph 60% of the time.
"This is well beyond chance.” The team’s leader, Martie Haselton said. “They were pretty consistent.”
"One of the things we found pretty interesting is that people sort of have their personal style, almost like their uniform," she added. "The women would show up to the lab wearing something pretty close to what they wore before, but embellished."
Though the team found evidence that the women were dressing more fashionably, there was little to suggest that their clothing was more provocative.
"We did see a little bit more skin.” Haselton noted. “It was my impression that the women were just dressing a little bit more fashionably but not sexier."
It was also Haselton’s team that had previously reported that women were more partial to flirting and eye-up attractive men during this fertile period. It seems that human cues to female ovulation are not quite as subtle as we might have imagined.
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