Are Women More Attracted to Masculine Men During Their Fertile Period? Here's the Truth

People can be attracted to one another based on several factors. Some are attracted to an individual’s personality, looks, physical appearance or intelligence. But do you think that during woman’s most fertile period they are attracted to a type of men? It’s long been thought that hormones and our cycle influence what type of faces we’re attracted to. A new study shows that hormones don’t seem to affect who we’re attracted to in ways that we once thought they did.

The findings published in the journal Psychological Science run counter to the common assumption that sexual selection pressures lead women to prefer more masculine mates who are fitter when they are most fertile and most likely to conceive. Study conducted by lead researcher Benedict Jones of the University of Glasgow said, “We found no evidence that changes in hormone levels influence the type of men women find attractive. This study is noteworthy for its scale and scope – previous studies typically examined small samples of women using limited measures. With much larger sample sizes and direct measures of hormonal status, we were not able to replicate effects of hormones on women’s preferences for masculine faces.”

Researchers conducted the study on nearly 600 heterosexual women to participate in a series of weekly test sessions. During each session, the participants reported whether they were in a relationship or using hormonal contraceptives and were given a facial preference test. As expected, women were more attracted to masculine faces, but researchers didn’t find that hormones or being on the pill made any difference in the faces they were attracted to. Fertility-related hormones such as estradiol and progesterone levels did not vary in women’s preferences.

This study comes as a relief because there has been some concern that normal birth control can disrupt relationships. If birth control alters your hormones after what kind of face you’re attracted to, you could end up feeling less attracted to your partner when your hormones are disrupted. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Although the study was conducted on larger sampling it still lacked diversity. All the women and photos of men in the study were white. Jones said, “Looking at people in other countries and cultures would be important, as would looking at the effects of hormonal changes in older women.” The study was also conducted only on straight women.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2018 12:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).