'Time Of Month' To Fool Around?
Some men cheat on their partners. So do some women. Now researchers say it is more than a wandering eye that might cause a woman to stray.
Feelings of lust actually may be rooted in women's biology, according to a small study of 38 college women to be published online Wednesday in the scholarly journal Hormones and Behavior.
Previous research has found that women at midcycle report greater sexual attraction to men other than their partners. That is a result of the ancestral belief that good looks often equal good genes for offspring, so although the partner may be a good long-term mate and represent sought-after qualities in a father, a more physically attractive man may spark desire in ovulating women, she says.
"Those with stable but relatively unattractive guys are particularly attracted to other men at midcycle," says Steven Gangestad, a psychology professor at New Mexico who helped analyze the data. "If a sexy guy is the primary partner, they don't show the effect. This is about the men."
Haselton is not saying, 'Go fool around on your guys in the middle of the month,' " says Daniel Fessler, director of the UCLA center. "She's saying, 'Women have changes in what they're attracted to in ways that are predictable.' "