Does Ovulation Make Us Slutty?

It turns out we have one more thing in common with monkeys. No, we don't actually swing from the trees crowing about our need for a mate each time we ovulate, but our body does emit signals that make men pay more attention.

According to the latest issue of Scientific American Mind, recent studies have shown that women appear—and even smell—better to males while at their most fertile. A University of Mexico study found that female strippers even score twice as much in tips if they gyrate while ovulating. But apparently we don't strut our stuff on a conscious level: Another new study by Meghan P. Provost, a psychologist at Mount Sinai Vincent University in Halifax shows that women's walks were more attractive to men when they weren't in the fertile phase of their cycle.

The experts go on to debate why this might be, but the bottom line, one concludes, is that, ovulating or not, women are just plain picky about mate selection. Swinging our hips walking down the street would signal availability to all mankind, whereas those of us gunning for a mate will save our striptease for the right guy.