From J. C. Ellison
Helen Thomson’s article on Darwinian dating was great, but it missed a woman’s core courtship tool: high oestrogen levels (12 February, p 36).
When she is fertile a woman has more symmetry in her ear lobes, nostrils and breasts; she dresses in a more alluring manner and her body language is encouraging of courtship.
I recall reading of an experiment in which women who didn’t know their menstrual cycle very well photographed themselves every day to record the outfits they wore. The researchers were able to work out their cycle: on fertile days, whether going out or to work, their clothes were much more flirty than on other days. The women in the survey were quite surprised.
Baboons have red rumps, but we are more subtle.
Advertisement
Still, it works: when we women go hunting on fertile days we get a better pick-up rate.
Mirrabooka, Western Australia
