User:Francesca alyse/sandbox

I am in a group with Natasha and Emma & Martha. We are currently editing the wiki page Body Odour and Sexual Attraction

This is my section on the menstrual cycle & contraception for Body odour and sexual attraction

Body Odour and Sexual Attraction
Women’s fertility levels shift dramatically throughout the menstrual cycle, so the period surrounding ovulation is extremely important from a reproductive standpoint because it represents the peak period of reproductive fertility As conception is most likely to occur during a woman’s brief fertile period, evolutionary theories suggest that men possess adaptations designed to maximize their reproductive success during this period Women’s fertility shapes male mating behaviour, many studies have shown that being exposed to the scent of women’s fertility led men to display greater implicit accessibility to mating-related concepts and males judge the odours of women during the follicular (ovulatory) phase as more pleasant and sexy than odours during the luteal (non-ovulatory) phase, Olfaction, therefore, transmits information relevant to human mate selection, by which men are capable of detecting shifts in women’s fertility

There is now also considerable evidence from psychological studies that women’s preferences for varied male traits change across the menstrual cycle Hormonal fluctuation across the menstrual cycle explains temporal variation in women’s judgment of the attractiveness of members of the opposite sex as the psychological processes that shape the formation and maintenance of human romantic relationships are influenced by variation in hormonal levels

Because of the level of hormones in oral contraceptives, they have the potential to alter women’s partner preference for a range of male traits -this could have important consequences on sexual relationships, as it alters women’s attraction to their partner and, potentially, to other men If a woman’s use of oral contraceptives is congruent, meaning she was using oral contraceptives when she met her partner, her current preference will more closely match the preference that shaped her partner choice in the first place, and the desire is higher than that of a woman whose use of oral contraceptives is in-congruent  The resulting factor is that women’s partner preferences are influenced by oral contraceptives use, meaning that attraction towards an existing partner changes over time if a woman initiates or discontinues oral contraceptive use