Self-perceived and observed variations in women's attractiveness throughout the menstrual cycle—a diary study

Abstract

Some empirical evidence suggests that women's sexual motivation varies throughout the menstrual cycle, showing a peak prior to ovulation. One potential byproduct of this increased desire might be a provocative clothing style during the fertile days of the cycle. We conducted a longitudinal diary study with 40 normally ovulating women throughout one complete menstrual cycle and analyzed their reported clothing style and self-perceived attractiveness. We also instructed our participants to take one photo with single-use cameras daily. These photos were rated independently by male raters with respect to clothing style and physical attractiveness to test whether men can perceive the hypothesized variations. We found significant main effects for fertility, suggesting women perceive themselves and are perceived by men to be dressed more provocatively during the fertile compared to the low-fertile phase of their menstrual cycle. Results are discussed in light of these findings.