1, 2, 3, 4, Is This Thing (Turning You) On?

Today I came across this BBC News article from earlier this summer about a study that suggests that the more fertile a woman is the more attractive others will judge her based on hearing her count on a recording. Actually the article is about another article about the study, but more on that later. According to the article the research:

...involved taking recordings of women counting from one to 10 at four points during the menstrual cycle and then played them back to male and female students. The recordings taken close to ovulation - the moment at which an egg is released and can be fertilised - were marked as more attractive than recordings of the same woman speaking earlier or later in her cycle.

Studies like this are usually reported so far out of context that readers have no clue as to the limitations of the study and what the findings actually mean. When it comes to reporting on sex research New Scientist has a history of terrible reporting and it’s disappointing that the BBC didn’t bother to check out the original study. I was on my way to read it but typing 1,2,3,4 into a search engine landed me at Feist’s recent appearance on Sesame Street, which is so wonderful I forgot what I was going to do next.

Watch Feist on Sesame Street

or...

Read more: BBC News: Fertile women 'have sexier voice'