Posted on 11/01/2002 5:42:36 AM PST by shrinkermd
Women with steady partners may still be tempted to sleep around - but mainly on certain days of the month, say researchers.
A BBC documentary to be broadcast on Wednesday explains how human sexual instincts are so strong that some women's preferences may alter significantly while they are ovulating.
While her partner might be a better bet to bring up children and support her, another man might carry genes which mean healthier, stronger children.
Morgan Wise, a train driver from Big Spring in Texas, found this out when his youngest son was found to have cystic fibrosis, a devastating lung disorder caused by a single faulty gene.
Morgan Wise found he had fathered none of his sons
Both mother and father must carry the gene to produce a cystic fibrosis child, and Morgan duly went for a gene test to confirm he was a carrier.
The test proved negative - effectively proving that he was not the child's father.
He told the BBC: "The doctor said: 'You are not a carrier of cystic fibrosis.' I couldn't believe it."
There was worse to come. Subsequent DNA tests revealed that not one of Morgan's three sons was fathered by him.
One in 10
However, researchers suggest that this is by no means an isolated event.
One study suggested that one in 10 children are being raised by men who are unaware that they are not the father.
A more "masculine" face - better during fertile period
A study at the University of Stirling seems to pinpoint the instinct which might tempt some women to stray around the time of the month they are fertile.
Two groups of female volunteers were picked.
One was tested during their ovulation, the other at another point in her cycle.
Each was shown a computer image of a male face which they could adjust electronically to make appear more or less masculine, using features such as the thickness of the neck and the squareness of the jaw.
While the group not ovulating tended to prefer their men with slightly more feminine feature, at the point of ovulating, the women strongly preferred their men masculine.
This, say scientists, is down to instinct - while more feminine features might signify a man with less testosterone who is more likely to prove a steady partner, the stronger features they preferred at ovulation might indicate a better set of genes, producing a stronger or healthier child.
Oh really, Have you seen footage of the Wellstone memorial service?
Wait you said human beings and those folks were democrats.....never mind.
I have experienced that they are all better looking at closing time.
IT DOESNT!!
Okay, then if we don't expect a 'contract' to make a difference, why do we put them in place? Or is it just the 'chemical soup' in our brains that makes us do it?
Wrong. Human children require an enormous amount of care for a very long time. There are state sanctioned marriages to provide certain necessary advantages to parents. But if you consider the very small subset of people who are not religious and who do not plan to have children then perhaps it becomes a contract against adultery (although a weak one).
Beyond that, you might have a problem finding a distinction between an excuse for cheating, and an explaination. I dont see anyone making excuses for adultery, I see someone trying to explain adultery.
The university study that was cited did not try to explain adultery. It explored women's perceptions of men at various stages of the menstrual cycle. It was the writer of the article, who's credentials are not provided and who did not perform any such study, that made the leap to a discussion of adultery. Yeah, someone is trying to explain adultery, but its a journalist, not a scientist.
The fact is that Adultery has been around forever, regardless of it's obvious negative impact on families. Why is this? It is lazy thinking to just call everyone who cheats a "slut".
The fact is that Murder has been around forever, regardless of it's obvious negative impact on families. Why is this? It is lazy thinking to just call everyone who cheats a "killer".
No lazy thinking involved. The label "slut" fits quite well on any woman who cheats. If the marriage is so bad then get out of it before sleeping around.
It is fine to make a moral judgement against cheaters if you wish, but there are valid reasons for trying to understand WHY people cheat as well. Bottom Line: People cheat, and will continue to do so.
Then find someone with better credentials than "staff journalist" to misinterpret and spin an only marginally related university study.
Research scientists have proven conclusively that the one place where this desire is most likely to peak is at a Mercedes dealership.
We put them in place to establish a standard of contact for an organized society. We also put them in place out of basic human fear, and our need to control others.
I agree. The only thing that surprises me about that figure is that it is so low. I'd say the truer number is closer to 3 out of 10.
Right and Wrong are societal inventions. In some countries, adultery is an accepted practice. (France, Italy) In some countries, Adultery is an offense punishable by death. (Afghanistan, Iran)
It depends largely on the accepted group-morality of a particular society of people under a government.
My comments are based on my own impressions from the show, not from the reporters comments.
I assume you're referring to the males in the population. If so I agree.
Right on! I am a woman and yes around ovulation ... however I'm not promiscuious. Now their trying to blame promiscuity on ovulation. Absurd! Leftist justifcation for being a whore.
Actually you ought to take your won advice. Your critical thinking skills are none existent.
You may be right, but that is a whole other thread, my friend.
The basic fact is that the men that women marry, and the men that women lust for are two seperate animals entirely.
The only people who would still argue that point are the feminized men raising children who dont look like them, who dare not speak up, lest their princess break it down to them.
They cant handle the truth.
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