| Female Behaviour Pre-programmed by Evolution |
| Curvy women are cleverer too It was already known that men find curvy women more attractive and that they live longer. Now research suggests that women with an hourglass figure are brighter and have cleverer children, too. TimesOnline Nov 2007 The study found that women with large hips and small waists are more intelligent than those with either apple-shaped or linear bodies. The paper, to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour this week, suggests that such women give birth to more intelligent children - possibly a result of higher levels of omega3 fatty acids on the hips. The researchers believe that the results offer a new explanation for why many men find curvy women more alluring. Nigella Lawson, the cookery presenter and Oxford University graduate, has one of Britains most famous hourglass figures, while Rachel Weisz, the curvy actress who won an Oscar for her role in The Constant Gardener, completed an English degree at Cambridge University while embarking on the first stages of her acting career. In the research, scientists at the Universities of Pittsburgh and California, Santa Barbara, used data from a study of 16,000 women and girls, which collected details of their body measurements and their scores in cognitive tests. They found that those women with a greater difference between the waist and hips scored significantly higher on the tests, as did their children. Such women are not necessarily skinny. What is important is that their waist should be smaller than their hips, with the ideal ratio being between 0.6 and 0.7. The researchers suggest that the fat around fuller hips and thighs holds higher levels of omega3 fatty acids which are essential for the growth of the brain during pregnancy. Fat around the waist may have higher levels of omega6 fatty acids, which are less suited to brain growth. Waist fat can also be a contributory factor in diabetes and heart disease. Thinner or linear-shaped women would simply lack enough of either type of fat. Although these theories await confirmation, Paula Hall, a sexual and relationship psychologist with Relate, said: Having research that proves you can be sexy and intelligent is really positive. It shows that curvy women may be better at things other than raising children and doing cooking and housework. The research may also explain why children born to teenage mothers do worse in cognitive tests: their mothers may have had insufficient stores of the best fatty acids. The cognitive development of their children is reduced, and their own cognitive development is impaired compared with those mothers with a later first birth, say the researchers. The study noted, however, that children born to teenage girls with traditional hourglass figures seemed to be protected from this phenomenon and did better in tests. A number of scientific studies have shown that men are hard-wired to find women with a greater waist-hip differential the most attractive. No one has yet been able to explain this, although theories include enhanced fertility, better childbearing abilities and longer life expectancy. Dr Harry Witchel, a senior lecturer in physiology at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School and a body language expert on the television programme Big Brother, said: Until this point the only thing we have accepted is that they [curvy women] are at an advantage in contemporary western society. What these people are saying is that they also have an advantage biologically. |
| 'Hormonal' women most attractive
Women with high levels of the sex hormone oestrogen have prettier faces, research suggests. BBC News Nov 2005 The findings make evolutionary sense - men are attracted to the most fertile women, the University of St Andrews team told a Royal Society journal. Oestrogen levels during puberty can impact on appearance by affecting bone growth and skin texture, they said. But make-up masks this effect, allowing less attractive women to compensate for their lack of natural mating cues. It makes sense for men to favour feminine fertile women - those that did would have had more babies Psychologist Miriam Law Smith The team of psychologists at the University's Perception Lab photographed 59 young women's faces aged between 18 and 25 and analysed their sex hormone levels. They then asked 30 volunteers - 15 male and 15 female - to rate the faces according to attractiveness. Both male and female volunteers rated the faces of the women with the highest hormone levels as the most attractive. Feminine features These faces tended to have classically feminine features, such as larger eyes and lips and smaller noses and jaws. However, when the women in the photographs were wearing make-up, no relationship between attractiveness and oestrogen was found. The researchers believe that, while make-up improves facial appearance, it may be masking cues normally seen in the face. Women are employing a deceptive strategy. They can fool the male visual system with make-up Dr Tony Little from Liverpool University Head of the study, Miriam Law Smith, said: "Women are effectively advertising their general fertility with their faces. "Make-up can improve appearance across the board, but it will obviously help people who are less attractive more." For example, eye make-up can be used to make the eyes appear bigger and foundation can make the skin look clearer. "Our findings could explain why men universally seem to prefer feminine women's faces. "In evolutionary terms, it makes sense for men to favour feminine fertile women - those that did would have had more babies," she added. Dr Tony Little, a lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Liverpool, said: "It's a very interesting study. "The findings make sense. There are clear benefits to choosing particular types of female faces. Oestrogen is related to fertility. "The findings about make-up are also interesting. The implication is that women are employing a deceptive strategy. They can fool the male visual system with make-up." He said his studies with co-worker Craig Roberts showed female attractiveness also fluctuated throughout the menstrual cycle, peaking at a woman's most fertile days. |
| 'Menstrual' brain changes seen
Women use their brains differently at different times of the month, research suggests. BBC News 25 Oct 2005 Brain scans revealed mental processes can change across the menstrual cycle. Just before a period, at the time when some women experience premenstrual syndrome, activity in brain regions that help control emotions increased. After menstruation the activity went down, a US team from New York told Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Cyclical changes Although the researchers looked at 12 women with no outward menstrual mood changes, they say their findings could be important for understanding why some women have a particularly hard emotional time around menstruation. PMS is believed to affect between one-third and one-half of women between 20-50 years of age. Women with PMS may experience depression, irritability and a propensity towards outbursts of anger as well as physical symptoms such as cramps and bloating. It confirms that the psychological health of women patients must be assessed in relationship to the menstrual cycle Chris Ryan of the National Association for Premenstrual Syndrome In the study, Dr Emily Stern of Cornell University, along with colleagues from the Rockefeller University, used MRI scans to monitor the brain activity patterns of women as they were asked to read words with negative, neutral or positive connotations. The 12 women were asked to perform the same task premenstrually - one to five days before their period was due - and then postmenstrually - eight to 12 days after their period. Premenstrual syndrome During the premenstrual phase the women showed much greater activity in frontal brain regions that help control emotions when they were reading the emotive words. Postmenstrually, this increased brain activity had disappeared. The researchers say it is possible that the brain changes might have allowed the women to maintain a consistent emotional state and compensate for the surging hormones that occur around menstruation, which some suggest are involved in PMS. It might be that women who experience particularly severe emotional symptoms as part of PMS lose this control. They plan to test this by looking at women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) - an extreme form of PMS. They also suggested that doctors consider what phase of the menstrual cycle a woman is in when trying to interpret any brain scan results. Chris Ryan, chief executive of the National Association for Premenstrual Syndrome, said: "This study, although of a small sample, adds to the compelling evidence that the menstrual cycle is a key factor affecting the psychological well-being of women of reproductive age. "It confirms that the psychological health of women patients must be assessed in relationship to the menstrual cycle." |
| Fertile women rate other women as uglier Women judge the attractiveness other women more harshly when at their most fertile, suggests a new study. The phenomenon could be a strategy to devalue potential rivals, says the psychologist behind the work - being bitchy about others could help a woman win the attention of a desirable man. 18 February 04 NewScientist.com news service Theories of sexual selection in most species usually concentrate on how
males compete for females. But recent theories for humans suggest there is
intrasexual competition among females as well, as males can vary markedly in
their abilities as providers and protectors. |
| What do women really want in bed?
Nikki Gemmell on why complete sexual honesty is something very few people can cope with July 10, 2003 Guardian George Orwell listed four writers' motives: sheer egotism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse (the desire to record things as they are, for posterity) and political purpose (the desire to push the world in a certain direction). I have a much simpler reason for writing: to be in control. As a wife and a mother, as a woman, my desk is the only place where I have complete control in my life. It is also, ironically, the only pocket of my life where I can be utterly truthful - especially in terms of sex. It is hard, in a relationship, to be completely honest: to show your partner your secret self. Vita Sackville West described herself as an iceberg, and said her husband could only see what was above the water's surface. She speculated it was the reason their marriage worked. What relationship can survive the harshness of absolute candour? I can't stand giving blow jobs, but I have never said that to a lover; for years I have dutifully kneeled. Many girlfriends feel the same. One describes it as a chore in the same way she describes defrosting the fridge. Yet, of course, she has never told her husband this. Why is it still so hard for women, basking in the glow of so many feminist advances, to be more honest about sex? To say such simple things to their sexual partners as: "No, I didn't have an orgasm." Or, "I find it incredibly monotonous when you make love to me, and sometimes it hurts." Why are women still so subservient to their partner's pleasure at the expense of their own? Why aren't we more in control? Because we don't want them to turn away from us, perhaps. We don't want them to find the woman who loves giving blow jobs (yes, they do exist). Because we want our partners to think we are someone else. Because sometimes we are willing to put up with a lot, to keep a relationship steady, to have children. Is complete sexual honesty the last frontier that feminism has to tackle? I loved the idea of diving under the surface of a woman's life, a seemingly contentedly-married woman, and exploring her secret world. In my book I wanted to say all those things we may think, but never actually say - especially to our lovers. I had fully intended to put my name to The Bride Stripped Bare when I began, but soon found I was censoring myself: afraid of too much honesty, afraid of hurting the people closest to me, and afraid that no man - husband included - would ever want to sleep with me again, knowing that they were being so judged. I was judging the dishonesty in my own sexual life most of all. The aim was to be as merciless in print as a Chuck Close painting or a Ron Mueck sculpture - but as far as I know, those artists do not often turn their extremely critical eye upon themselves. Now I know why. I am not someone who is completely relaxed about nudity, have never been comfortable in a bikini. And like many women in a swimsuit, I'm afraid of revealing too much. But when the idea of anonymity came to me, everything clicked. I was suddenly like a woman on a foreign beach who is confident that she doesn't know a soul and parades her body loudly and joyously, without worrying what anyone thinks of her. I had opened a door to a reckless, exhilarating new world, and could say whatever I wanted. Like, I have never climaxed during vaginal sex. And I was 30 before I had my first orgasm and I have lied, often, about whether I have had one. And I am often thinking of another scenario entirely as I am being made love to, that has nothing to do with the man inside me. And for years I wasn't sure I was going about it the right way, because I was getting so little from the experience. And it was such a relief to read that Marilyn Monroe had said, "I don't think I do it properly." What's all this about big penises? I would much prefer a snug fit than one that makes me feel that I am being split apart. And, actually, I really don't like my breasts being fondled and a lot of women I know feel the same. Anonymity gave me the freedom to voice, for the first time, exactly what I wanted when it came to sex. I found the freedom to vent all those doubts I had felt for so long - and to write about a woman finding a way to be in sexual control. Finding a way to have exhilarating sex, the kind that can transport you to another plane. I wasn't sure, though, that I wanted my husband to know of this woman. I'm seen as a good, sweet wife. I didn't want to let him down. Naively, perhaps, I thought I could get away with it: no one would know it was me behind the book. It also meant I wasn't afraid of it failing. It seemed such a strange hybrid of novel, memoir, treatise and sex manual; I wasn't sure it worked. I was a very new mother, and I had lost my professional confidence. I was exhausted, and my brain didn't work in the way it used to. Then the story broke about the authorship, just after the book had been sold to its publisher. Suddenly I lost control; journalists were camping on my doorstep and doorstepping my husband (to this day my publishers, agent and myself don't know how they found out). I couldn't lie about the its authorship, for Bride, above all, was about honesty. One reader wrote, "I would never have had the courage to have said what you did - it's so raw, so open. You're very brave." I laughed when I received this, for, of course, I would never have had the courage to say what I did either if I had thought my name would be attached. I still have my husband to deal with. He has just read my book. We haven't made love since, because he is feeling raw and vulnerable. But also, I must say, more than a little turned on. I hope the book works; I hope honesty works. I don't know yet, it is too early. I am not sure if our relationship can survive the spotlight of so much frankness. Perhaps I would need to read his side of the story: a man's secret life. To know what he really wants from sex, but has never dared say. At least to his wife. The Bride Stripped Bare, by Anonymous, is published by Fourth Estate, 15.
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