Best dressed women have babies on their mind


Working with a group of 30 women aged 18 to 37, Martie Haselton of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues took two full-body photographs of each woman, one close to ovulation when the woman was highly fertile, and one at a point of low fertility in the menstrual cycle.


DRESS to impress, goes the maxim. "Dress to conceive" might be more accurate. Women take greater care over their appearance when they are at peak levels of fertility.

Working with a group of 30 women aged 18 to 37, Martie Haselton of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues took two full-body photographs of each woman, one close to ovulation when the woman was highly fertile, and one at a point of low fertility in the menstrual cycle. Volunteers were then invited to decide which of the two photos showed the woman trying to look more attractive. They chose the woman in her "high fertility" photo some 59.5 per cent of the time more often than would be expected by chance (Hormones and Behavior, vol 51, p 40).

Though not in the same class as the obvious physical cues other primate females give when they are ovulating, it is the first evidence that women openly advertise their fertility. Interestingly, all the women in the study group described themselves as being in committed relationships with men. So why go to the trouble of dressing up? Perhaps to attract other men.

"Women with high fertility tend to feel attracted to men other than their primary partners," says Haselton. For the reasons why this might be so, see below...
From issue 2586 of New Scientist magazine, 13 January 2007, page 15
* digg this
* reddit submit
* Add My Yahoo
* Newsvine
* DEL.ICIO.US

More Sex and Cloning Stories

* Best dressed women have babies on their mind
* How genetic differences keep us together
* Amniotic fluid supplies 'repair kit' for later lifePremium
* Extreme childbirth: FreebirthingPremium
* Festive special: Mind the mistletoePremium

More Stories

* Explore: sex
* Explore: being-human

DRESS to impress, goes the maxim. "Dress to conceive" might be more accurate. Women take greater care over their appearance when they are at peak levels of fertility.

Working with a group of 30 women aged 18 to 37, Martie Haselton of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues took two full-body photographs of each woman, one close to ovulation when the woman was highly fertile, and one at a point of low fertility in the menstrual cycle. Volunteers were then invited to decide which of the two photos showed the woman trying to look more attractive. They chose the woman in her "high fertility" photo some 59.5 per cent of the time more often than would be expected by chance (Hormones and Behavior, vol 51, p 40).

Though not in the same class as the obvious physical cues other primate females give when they are ovulating, it is the first evidence that women openly advertise their fertility. Interestingly, all the women in the study group described themselves as being in committed relationships with men. So why go to the trouble of dressing up? Perhaps to attract other men.

"Women with high fertility tend to feel attracted to men other than their primary partners," says Haselton. For the reasons why this might be so, see below...
From issue 2586 of New Scientist magazine, 13 January 2007, page 15

Posted: Cum - Ocak 12, 2007 at 03:46 PM          

©