Say it again, Sam: The female voice sounds sexiest when a woman is at her most fertile

The female voice is at its sexiest during the point in the menstrual cycle when a woman is at her most fertile. That's the word from a team of psychologists at the State University of New York at Albany, who recently published their findings in the research journal Evolution and Human Behavior.

The researchers recorded the voices of women at four different points during their menstrual cycles. Both male and female listeners agreed that each woman's voice was most attractive when she was at her most fertile.

This study is the latest to document at the intersection of biology and human behavior, when it comes to the mating game.

Previous studies have reported that women prefer men whose bodies are symmetrical (because these men tend to have healthier genes) and that women are able to hone in on gene symmetry on the basis of odour. (One researcher asked women to smell sweaty T-shirts in order to rate male attractiveness. Just for the record: the men were out of the T-shirts.)

Other studies have noted that women change their minds about what they want in a man as the menstrual cycle progresses. Prior to menstruation, the shopping list for Mr. Right starts out with "masculine features." After ovulation, more feminine features will do just fine.

Meanwhile, studies about the mating habits of men have found that men prefer women with symmetrical faces and bodies (biological markers for good genes and good hormones which, once again, we as a species are hard-wired to take note of, whether we realize it or not).

And as for the mating dance itself, researchers have found that women are more likely to dress more seductively when they are at their most fertile; while men are known to prefer the scent of fertile women (thanks to biological hardwiring designed to ensure that babies continue to get produced, whether someone is consciously thinking hot sex or fatherhood) and to be more jealous of other men (knowing that the female preference for more masculine men kicks in during a woman's most fertile days).

It's no wonder so many movies, novels, TV series and love songs have been inspired by love triangles, unplanned pregnancies, and other biologically-fueled acts of passion. (Which reminds me: the countdown to the debut of Sex and the City: The Movie is on.)

Now over to you. What do you make of these types of studies? Do parts of them ring true? Do other parts sound stranger than fiction? If you were going to do a study along these lines, what research questions would you be asking?

Related:

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