# Menstrual cycle and horniness **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 2, 2002, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918 "2002-12-02T07:31:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918/21 "2002-12-02T23:58:12Z")
Sorry for the misunderstanding. Yes, I was wondering if women in general get horny at a certain part of their non-pregnant cycle, and whether it was usually at the time of ovulation. Thanks for the link, **Wolfie.** Just to clear up a possible misconception, Goo is female 🙂 Two of my friends have mentioned being extremely horny around the 14th day each month (i.e, when they are ovulating) and yesterday, I awoke extremely horny on the first day of menstruating (i.e, bleeding). I had a chuckle about the fact that my two friends who want babies get horny when they were ovulating, while I get horny at the point when it’s least likely I’ll get pregnant. It made me grin, thinking of the silly coincidence, but then I wondered if there was something behind it perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918/22 "2002-12-03T00:37:45Z")
I’m another woman who gets horny immediately after her period. Which is RIGHT NOW, DAMMIT! 🙂 mischievous ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918/23 "2002-12-03T00:58:42Z")
So Mischievous How You Doin? ---
**Author:** ![Pantone\_Swatchbook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@Pantone\_Swatchbook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantone_Swatchbook)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918/24 "2002-12-03T01:05:35Z")
Women subconsciously seek out men with strong testosterone levels during their ovulation period - features physically manifested in traits like strong jaw lines, ridged brows, hairiness, large testicle and penis size - and personality traits like wealth/success, aggressiveness and dominance over other men; MANLY features. After this period, they generally prefer a more sensitive, caring, dare I say feminine male. Evidently, the woman longs to be impregnated by the most dominant male she can get to ensure that her child inherits his powerful genes. But his unpredictability and reluctance to properly care for the child is questionable, so she returns to the loving arms of the submissive, yet nurturing male partner after her exposure to alpha male sperm. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918/25 "2002-12-03T01:43:20Z")
and some of us just have sex with our SO. what? it’s not unheard of to be monogamous is it? when i’m horny i’m only really horny for my guy. but maybe that’s because he has certain gifts and talents… ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918/26 "2002-12-03T02:46:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MannyL \* > \*\*So Mischievous How You Doin? \*\* Frustrated, thank you. And you’re on the wrong side of a foul-smelling estuarial river, so don’t think you can get here in time. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![moocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4da419/32.png) [@moocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moocher)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918/27 "2002-12-03T03:20:46Z")
You know, I could have sworn I saw an article in the paper just in the last two weeks that addressed this question directly. It was probably in the local paper (for me–the Washington Post) and I know that the local reporter would have gotten it from the science journals, that is Science, Nature, or something on that level. Anybody got access to Lexis-Nexis? I don’t at home, but I know that article is out there. ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918/28 "2002-12-03T03:56:29Z")
Here’s some stuff from the literature (I’m trying to redeem myself for flirting in GQ): All cites are abstracts from PubMed, with a quick summary (by me) after each for those who don’t want to wade through this crap. > [@](#): > > Female respondents were given the opportunity to choose feature films for viewing. Choices were made on the basis of synopses and promotional videos. These materials projected (i) a focus on erotic, sexual events, (ii) romantic themes, (iii) action-packed violent drama, and (iv) hilarious comedy. Additionally, respondents evaluated the appeal of the projected films. Respondents’ position in the menstrual cycle was then determined, with placement into one of seven 4-day phases. Measured in both choices and evaluations, a postmenstrual surge in erotic interest was evident. Erotic interest was also pronounced prior to and during menses. In contrast, it was at a minimum during the first half of the luteal phase. The choice of romantic films was not appreciably influenced by cycle position. However, in evaluating films with romantic themes, premenstrual women expressed particularly little interest in this genre. Or, women like sexy movies most immediately after their periods. > [@](#): > > This study assesses the influence of menstrual cycle phases and hormones on female sexual interest in both a nonclinical sample of volunteers (n = 18) and women who complained of premenstrual tension (n = 150). Women were assessed prospectively for two menstrual cycles with daily symptom charts. In addition mental status was assessed clinically and the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire completed in the follicular and premenstrual phases. On the basis of these assessments women were assigned to subject groups. During the second cycle, daily 24-h urinary estrogens and urinary pregnanediol were determined. Sexual interest and feelings of well-being were recorded on a daily symptom rating chart. Sexual interest was found to be significantly higher in the follicular and ovulatory phases, than in the luteal, premenstrual, or menstrual phases. Sexual interest and feelings of well-being were correlated (R = 0.29). Sexual interest and feelings of well-being were not correlated with urinary estrogen or pregnanediol levels. Women say they are hornier after their period and during ovulation, but this is also when they say they are happier, so general feeling good may be what’s leading to sexual feeling good. > [@](#): > > Three experiments assessing sexual arousal to erotic stimulation at several phases within the menstrual cycle are reported. Cross-sectional as well as longitudinal comparisons indicated that the subjective sexual arousal elicited during fantasy depicting specific themes was stable across the menstrual cycle. Measures of physiological sexual arousal recorded during film episodes and during fantasy demonstrated only minor variation over the course of the cycle. In addition, processes that are known to mediate sexual arousal (such as mood state, recent sexual experience, vividness of imagery during fantasy, distaste experienced during erotic stimulation) remained constant across the cycle. Results from the three experiments provide no support for the claim that female sexual response varies systematically across the menstrual cycle. Older study (1992) finds no difference in arousal levels during the menstrual cycle, but does not address sexual urge. Also does not find any difference in mood during the menstrual cycle, so take it with what salt you will. > [@](#): > > 4112 women completed a retrospective questionnaire indicating when during their last > menstrual cycle they felt their well-being and sexual interest to be at their best and worst. > The commonest pattern was for well-being to be lowest during the premenstrual and highest > during the postmenstrual week. Sexual interest was strongly associated with well-being, > suggesting that variations of well-being have a powerful effect on sexuality in the majority of > women. Oral contraceptive users, though broadly similar in their reported pattern, were less > likely to show peaks and troughs of well-being and highs and lows of sexual interest. This > was most evident in the subgroup of monophasic pill users who showed the least tendency > to variations in both well-being and sexual interest, and a greater tendency to show either > peaks or troughs of well-being during menstruation. Triphasic pill users were intermediate > between monophasic and non-pill users. Another study finds women horniest post-menstrally and during ovulation, but also notes that this is when they are happiest. There you have it folks! Lots 'o studies (more than are referenced here) think that women are both horniest and happiest after their periods and during ovulation! None of them know if there’s a connection! Not surprising, really. mischievous ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918/29 "2002-12-03T03:58:03Z")
Drat! On preview the annoying line breaks in the last quote were stripped. What happened? mischievous [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-cycle-and-horniness/139918.md?page=1)