Estrus In Women May Not Be Lost

Estrus is a phase of increased female sexual receptivity, proceptivity, and attractiveness that is common amongst mammalian species ( [Lange et al., 2002] and [Lombardi, 1998] as cited in [Miller, Tybur, Jordan, 2007] ). Its purpose appears to be designed to obtain sires of superior genetic quality ( [Gangestad et al., 2005] and [Thornhill, 2006] as cited in [Miller, Tybur, Jordan, 2007] ). Today, estrus in female humans has been said to have disappeared or been hidden over evolutionary time ( [e.g. Burt, 1992] as cited in [Miller, Tybur, Jordan, 2007] ). Correlational research assessed whether women’s ovulation cycles affected the amount of tips that lap dancers earned at a gentlemen’s club in Albuquerque. Through the study they found implications for human evolution, economics and sexuality and that it appears to still be present in females (Miller, Tybur, Jordan, 2007). Miller, Tybur, and Jordan stated that if estrus is still present in women, men tend to subconsciously tip more during lap dances. In addition they predicted that normally cycling participants would demonstrate a larger increase in the fertile phase relative to the other phases for pill-using participants (2007). The argument for using lap dances as a measure for estrus is that at a gentlemen’s club, all of the dancers are already motivated to earn as much tips as possible. If estrus is present in woman, the researches stated the dancers would earn more during this phase of their cycle and that contraception users would not get as much tips as regular cycling women. These estrus cues are unconsciously detected by males and manifested in women through a more attractive scent ( [Havlicek et al., 2006] , [Kuukasiarvi et al., 2004] and [Singh & Bronstad, 2001] as cited in [Miller, Tybur, Jordan, 2007] ), softening of skin ( [Manning, Scutt, Whitehouse,