Study shows that the menstrual cycle affects the tastes of women for men. This variation would come to us from our ancestors who thus selected men with the best genetic potential.
If your sweetheart no longer loves you, it may be the fault of a behavior inherited from our distant ancestors. Researchers at the University of Los Angeles – UCLA have analyzed dozens of studies examining how women’s tastes for men change according to their menstrual cycle. Their findings suggest that “women who are ovulating prefer partners who possess sexy features” – such as a manly body and facial features, dominant demeanor, and a distinctive scent – characteristics that are not particularly sought after in their mother. long-term partner.
Women’s sexuality influenced by reproductive hormones
These results would tend to show that the desire of women for manly characteristics does not last for a whole month, but only during the few days when the woman is most likely to pass on her genes. “Until about ten years ago, we all thought that the sexuality of women was radically different from that of all other animal species, we felt that unlike other hopes, the sexuality of women is insensitive to the hormones of reproduction, ”says Martie Haselton, professor of psychology and communication studies at UCLA. “Then many studies started to challenge this popular wisdom”. However, this is the first time that a study of this type has proven the variation in the attraction of women during their menstrual cycle.
Well-known behavior in mammals
The findings of this meta-analysis, which will appear in February in the Psychological Bulletin, could create many debates. But it is in any case a well documented element in mammals as diverse as rats and orangutans. For example, female chimpanzees are known to prefer having sex with more than one sex partner during their fertile period, a strategy that may allow them to improve the chances of survival of their offspring. Outside of this phase, they are less likely to develop this kind of behavior.
To explain the willingness to change partners in women, one of the hypotheses formulated by the researchers would be that this strategy served the reproductive interests of our ancestors, the female being attracted to the male with the best genetic apparatus. A strategy that lost its relevance when modern medicine significantly reduced infant mortality.
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