Aries women:
Wildly sensual, passionate and adventurous – you’ll have sex anywhere, you know what you want – intense and frequent sex – you have a need for complete control, but you’re also in love with love. As a mate, you are ardent, loyal, sentimental, and earthly. Biggest thrill – the tickle of a man’s facial fuzz.

Aries men:
Sleeping with him is like playing croquet with live bombs – you never know what is going to happen! Never expect him to wait for you to be ready – he will rip your clothes off if he is ready to go. Don’t tease him or you’d better be ready to deliver. Fond of slave master games and he likes it rough. Aries men are also explorers, so be ready to go where no woman has gone before. His favourite position: a woman on her knees leaning forward.

Taurus women:
You expect your man to be kind and patient and make love to you by the book. Like to be pleased by sex, but don’t look for unusual approaches. But you are a demanding lover and you leave your partner breathless. You have a need for oral gratification, both giving and receiving. Best sex mates: Cancer, Sagittarius, Scorpio, and Leo. Most likely kink: sucking on your toes, one by one. You also like biting!

Taurus men:
He is the ideal lover – sensitive and understanding of his partner’s feelings. He prefers it slow and easy; he won’t be your guide to the exotic unknown, but what he does, he does beautifully. This is the guy to go to for long and luxurious oral sex. Stamina? This man could wear down a glacier! Best sex mates: Capricorn, Virgo, Cancer. His erogenous zone: gently and slowly kiss and bite the back of his neck.

Gemini women:
Often the aggressor; you are never embarrassed by your behaviour because you never adhere to any standards except your own. Your main requirement: a lover who knows how to take his time. You are a one woman harem, but a partner should be aware that in a relationship, the Gemini woman is looking for a combination of the spiritual and the physical, the romantic and the practical. You want to talk to the guy after you tumble with him! Best sex mates are Leo, Scorpio, Aquarians, Libra, and Aries. Favourite gadget: the vibrator.

Gemini men:
He likes it with the lights on in front of the mirror. He can work any partner into the mood because he knows exactly how to evoke the right responses. Oral sex isn’t his favourite pastime, but he will take his time with other preliminaries. Tends to be fast and furious, more concerned with satisfying himself than his partner, but he is more adequate in areas of lovemaking that are often neglected by other men. He can tell a woman exactly what she wants to hear. His erogenous zone: move your lips and tongue lightly up his arm.

Cancer women:
Will never make the first move, but you can be a marvellous lover for you are capable of intense sensuality. You will reciprocate passion with a fervour that will stir his heart and stimulate him to his best performance. On your own time, you have a fondness for masturbation. Your favourite position: lying prone while your man enters you from behind. Best sex mates: Taurus, Leo, Virgo, Scorpio, and Pisces. You may become a slave to sexual pleasure!

Cancer men:
His most surprising technique: intercourse with no hands. He has a need for constant encouragement and if gotten, he will be a delightful swain. Both patient and aggressive, he will often begin somewhere other than the bad; likes being in command, and is a master at manual clitoral manipulation! You’ll like the trip as it is as much travelling to a place as it is arriving.

Leo women:
Sleek, lascivious, enticing and lazy! Whatever Leo wants, Leo gets! Intensely responsive and there are bed-partners who have scars to prove it. Your need to show off leads you to prefer the top where he can look up and admire the beauty of your body. Best sex mates: Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aries. Your sexual wardrobe: full of wispy cut-out bras and panties!

Leo men:
Simply brushes aside rules and conventions. One important rule to remember about him: NEVER tease. His endurance is remarkable and he has a great appetite for making love. He likes women in the submissive position and oral sex is okay only when he can give and receive. He likes a woman to show how much she is enjoying it. His erogenous zone: his back is particularly vulnerable.

Virgo women:
You have no illusions about sex and wish everyone would stop magnifying its importance. Prefer men who will wait for the relationship to develop to the point where sex is inevitable. You love mutual masturbation, enjoy a little punishment and your grace and modesty is a great turn on. You become an artist at pleasing your lover. Favourite kink: can’t truly enjoy it unless a third party is present. Best sex mates: Gemini, Cancer and Aquarians.

Virgo men:
Too shy to make an overture, but when the moment arrives, you had better be prepared for him to bring his pyjamas, shaving equipment, and toothbrush. He likes to talk about how you like it and having talked about it, he will key in on the right erotic response. Don’t expect imagination, but he is a hard worker and is open to suggestion. His secret life: can be obsessed with pornography. Erogenous zone: his buttocks.

Libra women:
Drama is the key word – you set the stage for sex. Intensely feminine and an instinctive exhibitionist; you feel your body was made to be seen and admired. Feel that seduction is an art, not an assault. When approached the right way, you find it easy to say yes to almost anything. Unusual control of vaginal muscles. Best sex mates: Aries, Gemini, Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Aquarius. Like any position where your buttocks are exposed.

Libra men:
Looks for the whole experience, not just a tumble between the sheets. Has a definite kinky side, a voyeur and fond of the Ménage à trois. He has the patience needed to satisfy. He likes women who dress well and have long hair. If a woman’s clothes look as though they are easily removed, he finds her hard to ignore. Erogenous zone: back and buttocks, especially the feel of erect nipples against either of them!

Scorpio women:
Inquisitive, searching, and experimental. Knows that eroticism consists of more than the physical act of lovemaking. While looking like a perfect lady in public, you dress and behave like a whore in the bedroom. Control of the orgasm is very important and will try anything to help your man maintain his potency. You never take no for an answer and when interested in someone, you will pursue him with determination and guile. Best sex mates: Gemini, Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces. Props you love: scented body oils, flavoured lubricating gels, and vibrators.

Scorpio men:
A lustful, sexy animal – Enjoys biting and sucking and is a master of oral sex. Inflicting pain turns him on so he may pinch at nipples or the insides of thighs. Likes it in the water, but his kink is that he prefers wood tables and hard floors to satin and silk. His erogenous zone is his genitalia.

Sagittarius women:
You like the outdoors – freaking out if you are in a tent, camper, or on the beach. You enjoy sex, but you don’t like to prolong the preliminaries and want to start the main show as soon as possible. You like to tease your partner to the point of losing control. You don’t mind if your man comes too quickly – you are a generous and accepting lover. Best sex mates: Leo, Libra, and Aquarius. Your sexual wardrobe will consist of accessories – gloves and shoes!

Sagittarius men:
Sex is rarely an intense experience with him – he often comes too quickly, but he’ll be the first to try a new position. He is the master of erotic massage – both oral and manual. His tongue can be a wicked instrument and when combined with his lips, creates an explosive effect! Erogenous zones: hips and thighs. And he likes to look at a woman’s calves and thighs, and likes to have sex with a woman in stockings.

Capricorn women:
Don’t need much foreplay – you go from zero to WOW in nothing flat! Not interested in exotic variation; only staying in power. Since you like to dominate, you like to be astride your man, set a rhythm, and please yourself. Once into the rhythm, love making becomes a wild contest with orgasm as the prize and you can depend on getting there more than once. Also a scratcher and a screamer. Best sex mates: Taurus, Scorpio and Pisces.

Capricorn men:
Sex evokes the best he can offer. He is a planner and a schemer (that is a schemer, not a screamer!). Prefers a woman who knows what he enjoys, and he expects her to be willing and ready whenever he wants her. Has the stamina of a marathon runner. Here is the man who will hold off until you are ready to scream! Erogenous zone: a massage that starts at the lower back and gently strokes upward along the sides of his spine.

Aquarius women:
A slow starter, you idealize love and encompass it with tenderness. Once aroused though, anything goes! Extremely imaginative and likes trying new things. There is nothing in any sex manual that you won’t try, and you believe that anything that increases the pleasure for your partner is worthwhile. Best sex mates: Aries, Gemini, Libra, Sagittarius, and Leo. Favourite sex position: standing up, and in water.

Aquarius men:
Never treats a woman like a sex object and prefers a variety of foreplay before getting down to it. May have be too revved up, but once his engine is started, he is free and inventive with amazing persistence. He will always see you through to climax. A woman who knows what she wants will be very happy. He usually ensures an orgasm twice – once orally and once genitally. Erogenous zones: gently touching the calves and ankles will get him going. Be careful though – a kinky Aquarian can be a sadist who doesn’t like to be denied!

Pisces women:
Always make the right moves, say the right things, and creates the right ambiance. You are sexually liberated and enjoy a wide range of eroticism. If his fantasies coincide with yours, the action can really get torrid! You seldom say no to anything your lover suggests! Loves soft candle light, warm fireplaces, mystery, applies Romanticism in all she does – a true romantic at heart. Favourite places: in a waterbed or hot tub. Best sex mates: Cancer, Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces.

Pisces men:
Takes the lead in lovemaking and impatient if he doesn’t get a swift response. Indifferent to sexual restrictions, both moral and legal; prefers a partner with a tremendous sexual craving. Likes sex in a chair. He likes to be submissive. Becomes an addict to anything that will give pleasure and release. Erogenous zone: massaging and caressing his feet.

Posted by Anonymous as Miscellaneous at 6:31 AM GMT

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There are many theories about the links between sex and food, but researchers in Japan have just came up with a surprise new finding – young people who miss their breakfast tend to lose their virginity earlier.

In a study involving around 3,000 participants, people who did not regularly eat breakfast when in their early teens said they lost their virginity at an average age of 17.5, versus an overall average age of 19 for all Japanese.

For those who started the day with a proper meal, when they were younger, the average age of their first sexual experience was 19.4 years.

The study, backed by Japan’s health ministry, was aimed at finding ways to curb unwanted pregnancies, and examined sexual experiences as well as family relationships and lifestyle habits of Japanese males and females aged 16 to 49 years old. It concluded that a stable home life discouraged early sex.

Kunio Kitamura, Executive Director of the Japan Family Planning Association, which conducted the survey, said:

Those unhappy with their parents (such as for not preparing breakfast) may tend to find a way to release their frustration by having sex

If children don’t feel comfortable in their family environment, they tend to go out.

Additionally, young people who start having sex early tend to miss breakfast because they return home late.

Japan has one of the world’s lowest birth-rates as more young people put off starting families, finding them a burden on their careers or lifestyles.

The survey also showed that the average age of first-time sex was lower for those who found their mother annoying.

People who said they disliked their mother had sex for the first time at an average age of 16, whilst the average age for those who appreciated their mother was 19, Kitamura noted.

Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, Sociology at 2:51 AM GMT

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Wedding Crashers is a film with a preposterous plot and a completely unbelievable ending, but that doesn’t stop it being a very funny movie.

And, of course, in real life nobody in their right mind would bother to go to all the trouble of memorising such a long and complicated list of rules and regulations. The full list, however, is hilarious, and amongst the rules there are certainly one or two interesting seduction hints and tips that you might find useful. So, for your amusement (and possible education), here is the list of rules for crashing a wedding:-

Rule #1: Never leave a fellow Crasher behind. Crashers take care of their own.
Rule #2: Never use your real name.
Rule #3: Never confess.
Rule #4: No one goes home alone.
Rule #5: Never let a girl get between you and a fellow Crasher.
Rule #6: Do not sit in the corner and sulk. It draws attention to you in a negative way. Draw attention to yourself, but on your own terms.
Rule #7: Blend in by standing out.
Rule #8: Be the life of the party.
Rule #9: Whatever it takes to get in, get in.
Rule #10: Invitations are for pussies.
Rule #11: Sensitive is good.
Rule #12: Of course you dream of one day having children.
Rule #13: Bridesmaids are desperate – console them.
Rule #14: You’re a distant relative of a dead cousin.
Rule #15: Fight the urge to tell the truth.
Rule #16: Always have an up-to-date family tree.
Rule #17: Every female wedding guest deserves a wedding night.
Rule #18: You love animals and children.
Rule #19: Toast in the native language if you know the native language and have practised the toast. Do not wing it.
Rule #20: Always have an early “appointment” the next morning.
Rule #21: Make sure she’s 18.
Rule #22: You have a wedding and a reception to seal the deal – Period – No overtime.
Rule #23: There’s nothing wrong with having seconds. Provided there are enough women to go around.
Rule #24: If you get outted, leave calmly. Do not run.
Rule #25: You understand she heard that, but that’s not what you meant.
Rule #26: Of course you love her.
Rule #27: Don’t over-drink. The machinery must work in order to close.
Rule #28: Make sure there’s an open bar.
Rule #29: Always be a team player. Everyone needs a little help now and again.
Rule #30: You’re from out of town. ALWAYS.
Rule #31: Girls in hats tend to be proper and rarely give it up.
Rule #32: Don’t commit to a relative unless you’re absolutely sure that they have a pulse.
Rule #33: Never go back to your place.
Rule #34: Be gone by sunrise.
Rule #35: Breakfast is for closers.
Rule #36: 3 or 4 months to Wedding crash – Funerals are year round.
Rule #37: At the reception, one hard drink or two beers max. A drunken Crasher is a sloppy Crasher.
Rule #38: Stay clear of the wedding planner. They may recognize you and start to wonder.
Rule #39: Your favourite movie is “The English Patient”.
Rule #40: No “chicken dancing” – no exceptions.
Rule #41: Never hit on the bride! It’s a one-way ticket to the pavement.
Rule #42: The way to a women’s bed is through the dance floor.
Rule #43: Dance with old folks and the kids. The girls will think you’re “sweet”.
Rule #44: If there is a cash bar, bring your fake war medals. You’ll never have to buy a drink.
Rule #45: You forgot your invitation in your rush to get to the church.
Rule #46: At the service, sit in the fifth row. It’s close enough to the wedding party to seem like you’re an invited guest. Never sit in the back. The back row just smells like Crashing.
Rule #47: If two rival Crashers pick the same girl, the Crasher with the least seniority will respectfully yield.
Rule #48: Always remember your fake name!
Rule #49: The Rules of Wedding Crashing are sacred. Don’t sully them by “improvising”.
Rule #50: When your Crash partner fails, you fail. No man is an island…

Posted by Jonathan as Art & Literature, humour at 11:33 PM GMT

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It’s well known that members of the opposite sex appear to become more attractive the more you drink. But, according to a new study, women who drink even moderately experience a reduced ability to rate attractiveness in male faces, even after they are sober.

The research, carried out by Dr Kirsten Oinonen of Lakehead University, in Canada, put 45 young women classed as typical, non-alcoholic drinkers (who consumed less than 40 drinks per month) through a battery of tests, including an exercise on facial symmetry. In this test, the women were presented with 60 pairs of male faces. One in each pair was more symmetrical than the other, and the women had to identify it in each of the pairs.

The results showed that the more a woman had drunk during the previous six months, the less well she was able to judge facial symmetry. And, even women who had drunk the equivalent of just five drinks a month scored less in the test than those who had consumed no drinks – with each additional drink leading to a reduced score on the symmetry test.

Both sexes find facial symmetry attractive, since the more symmetric the features, the more likely the person is to be free from genetic defects, and therefore they are more likely to be a worthy mate. Facial symmetry is thus considered one of the key markers of attractiveness, and plays an important role in mate selection.

Dr Oinonen said:

My study suggests that sober women who drink alcohol are less able to perceive facial symmetry when sober.

When sober, these women are worse at judging facial symmetry, and therefore may find less attractive men more attractive. Given that symmetry is associated with attractiveness of faces, my study does suggest the possibility that alcohol intoxication may decrease facial symmetry perception, and make people look more attractive.

This is the first study to look at this issue. It suggests that as typical alcohol consumption increases in young women, facial symmetry perception performance decreases.

The researchers say the results suggest alcohol has a long term effect on the brain. They believe it could effect the brain’s structure in some way, reducing its visual perception abilities. But, it is not known how long term the effects are or whether they are permanent.

Dr Oinonen added:

Whether or not any damage or deficits are permanent is hard to tell at this point.

Posted by Jonathan as Psychology, Sociology at 10:53 AM GMT

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Sneezing usually occurs in response to nasal irritation, which triggers a reflex that expels air at speeds of about 150 Km/h. But new research has linked sexual thoughts in some people to sneezing, and it seems that the phenomenon may be more common than the medical profession previously realised.

The researchers who investigated the condition suggest that it might be caused by a faulty connection in the autonomic nervous system of susceptible people, which sends a signal to their nose causing them to sneeze when aroused.

Like other common triggers for sneezing, such as eyebrow plucking and sunlight, the condition could even run in families. And, although rare, the condition is thought likely be significantly underreported since sufferers might be embarrassed about discussing the issue with their Doctor.

Dr Mahmood Bhutta, a specialist in ear, nose and throat conditions at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, said:

It certainly seems odd, but I think this reflex demonstrates evolutionary relics in the wiring of a part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system.

This is the part beyond our control, and which controls things like our heart rate and the amount of light let in by our pupils.

Sometimes the signals in this system get crossed, and I think this may be why some people sneeze when they think about sex.

Dr Harold Maxwell, a consultant Psychiatrist at West Middlesex University Hospital in London, was first alerted to the condition when a middle-aged male patient described “uncontrollable” fits of sneezing whenever he thought about sex.

Later, when Maxwell and his colleague Dr Bhutta set out to investigate how unusual the problem was, they could only find one similar case in the medical literature, a report from 1972, of a 69-year-old man who suffered severe sneezing after orgasm.

To get some indication of how common the problem was, the researchers scoured the internet for examples of conversations about sneezing and sex. This search identified 17 men and women who reported sneezing immediately after having sexual thoughts, and three people who sneezed after orgasm.

Dr Bhutta and Dr Maxwell wrote in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine:

Although internet reports do not give us an accurate incidence of these phenomena, our findings do suggest that it is much more common than recognised

Further investigation in this field may help us to understand the sneeze reflex in more depth, and also allow us to give explanation and reassurance to the possibly significant number of people affected by this curious phenomenon.

Posted by Jonathan as Psychology at 2:25 AM GMT

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When you first arrange to meet a girl you’ve picked up, you might decide to go to the cinema and watch a movie together. However, according to new research, you could be wise to avoid going to see a romantic comedy.

Rom-coms have been blamed by relationship experts at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh for promoting unrealistic expectations when it comes to love, since they often promote a warped sense of the “perfect” relationship within society.

Researchers noted the films contain improbable plots, unlikely happy endings and false philosophies. They also oversimplified the process of falling in love and wrongly gave the impression that love could and should be achieved without any effort.

Psychologist Dr Bjarne Holmes and his team spent a year analysing 40 top box office rom-coms released between 1995 and 2005, including “You’ve Got Mail“, “The Wedding Planner“, “Maid in Manhattan” and “While You Were Sleeping“; from which they identified common themes that they believed were unrealistic, such as the idea of “the one” soul mate who we are all pre-destined to meet and that they should instinctively know us so well they can “almost read our minds”.

Using this information, they surveyed hundreds of people with a questionnaire which asked respondents to describe their beliefs and expectations when it came to relationships.

The researchers found that those respondents who watched romantic comedies often failed to communicate effectively with their partners, and frequently held the view that if someone is meant to be with you, they should know what you want without you needing to tell them. They were also more likely to believe that perfect relationships happen instantly, and were less likely to believe that couples needed to work at relationships.

Dr Holmes, who led the research, said:

Marriage counsellors often see couples who believe that sex should always be perfect, and if someone is meant to be with you then they will know what you want without you needing to communicate it.

We now have some emerging evidence that suggests popular media play a role in perpetuating these ideas in people’s minds.

The problem is that while most of us know that the idea of a perfect relationship is unrealistic, some of us are still more influenced by media portrayals than we realise.

In a follow-up experiment, the researchers discovered that watching just one romantic comedy is enough to sway people’s attitudes towards romantic love – The Psychologists had 100 student volunteers watch the 2001 romantic comedy “Serendipity” (starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack) whilst a further 100 watched a David Lynch drama – Following the viewings, students who watched “Serendipity” were found to be more likely to believe in fate and destiny.

Dr Holmes emphasized:

We are not being killjoys – we are not saying that people shouldn’t watch these movies. But we are saying that it would be helpful if people were more aware and more critical of the messages in these films.

We all want to be successful in our relationships. We want to be the special one and meet the special one. Unfortunately people tend to believe the Hollywood idea of a perfect relationship.

That is just unrealistic. People feel if their relationship is not like a Hollywood film then it is not any good.

Investing time and energy [into a relationship] are not themes that are popular in Hollywood films.

In order to find out more, the researchers have launched a much larger, international study about the effects of the media on relationships.

They are asking people to participate by answering questions about personality, relationships, and media consumption habits by filling out a questionnaire which can be found here.

Posted by Jonathan as Art & Literature, Psychology at 11:59 PM GMT

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In the biggest poll of its kind, 30,000 British women from dating website smooch.com were asked how often and why they faked orgasms when making love.

The results of the survey revealed that one-in-three women fakes at least some of the time, although it seems that age and maturity appear to have little bearing on the results, with 60-year-olds faking as often as 18-year-olds.

However, attractive women and Essex girls are the most likely culprits to fake an orgasm if their partner doesn’t cut the mustard in bed.

According the research, women under 5′3″ tall were twice as likely to fake it as their taller counterparts, whilst 53% of Essex girls admitted to faking orgasm and more attractive women were also found to be more likely to mimic Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.

Asked why they faked orgasms the top answers were:

1. So my partner doesn’t feel inadequate.
2. To get it over and done with!
3. Because I didn’t really fancy the other person.
4. To keep the peace and avoid an argument.
5. To make my partner feel good.

The moral of this story seems to be to avoid attractive midgets from Essex, if you want more certainty that the woman you’re making love with won’t fake an orgasm.

Posted by Jonathan as Miscellaneous at 11:46 PM GMT

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When it comes to having sex, first-born girls tend to lose their virginity at a later age than their younger sisters, according to new Australian research.

The study, which was presented to an Australian Society for Human Biology conference recently, was carried out by researcher Fritha Milne, from the University of Western Australia, who examined the sexual appetites and behaviours of siblings.

Previous studies have shown that firstborns are more likely to be confident and family oriented, whilst middle-born children have the toughest time. Now, it seems there are also differences when it comes to reproductive strategies, including the age at first sexual intercourse, first pregnancy and first birth, with the middle-born children standing out in the survey results.

Middle-born males have sex for the first time at a younger age than their brothers, and last-born females are younger when they have sex for the first time. But middle-born children of both sexes tend to have fewer children of their own, the report suggested, with females 2.6 times more likely to fall pregnant at any given age.

Milne said that her work confirmed the first five years of a child’s life are important:

During this time the young must elicit support and resources from the parents,

If there are any siblings, then the siblings have to compete for the limited resources of the parents.

In order to maximise the resources that the children get they have to find themselves a different niche within the family to get those resources from the parents.

She went on to explain that the oldest children tend to align themselves with the “parental status quo,” which partly explains why they’re more conservative in their sexual choices.

Posted by Jonathan as Biology, Sociology at 9:09 PM GMT

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A large body of research has shown that women are more responsive to masculine voices, faces, and odours at times when they’re most likely to become pregnant, but according to Professor Nicolas Guéguen, a psychologist at the University of South Brittany in France, no studies have probed the obvious outcome of such inclinations.

So, Professor Guéguen and his team recruited several young men to experimentally hit on women at a street corner, in order to determine whether fertility affects receptivity to male advances or not. And, it seems that women are most likely to give their phone number to a male stranger during the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle.

Professor Guéguen said:

[previous] studies did not focus on women’s behaviour. [This is] the first study to test the role of the menstrual cycle on courtship request, in a real social context and not in laboratory.

In conducting their study, which was published in the journal Biological Psychology, the scientists recruited five handsome 20-year-old men (selected from a larger group and judged for attractiveness by 28 women), in order to experimentally express interest in women passing a street corner, by asking the unsuspecting females for a date.

On nice summer days, the young men approached the first young woman they saw passing the street corner and delivered a standardized pick-up line:

Hello. My name’s Antoine. I just wanted to say that I think you’re really pretty. I have to go to work this afternoon, and I was wondering if you would give me your phone number. I’ll phone you later and we can have a drink together someplace.

If the woman gave her number, “Antoine” responded: “See you soon,” and left. If she refused, a similarly cheery response of: “Too bad. It’s not my day. Have a nice afternoon!” was given.

Almost immediately after the encounter, and regardless of how the subject responded, a female researcher approached the woman and informed her of the experimental nature of the encounter, asking the woman to complete a short questionnaire. The survey asked questions about age, contraception use and days since her last period (or pregnancy status). Although none of the questions gauged her likely disappointment at the deception.

Of 506 women that were approached, just 51 declined to take part in the survey. And, from analysing the responses of the 455 active participants, Guéguen noted that in total, 8.6% of the women provided their phone number to the men. However, women not taking oral contraception were more than twice as likely to accept the men’s offer as women taking the pill (12% versus 5.8%). Although this could just reflect the likelihood that women on the pill may be more likely to already have a man in their life than women not taking birth control.

However, when Guéguen analyzed the data according to the women’s fertility, a more interesting trend emerged – Amongst naturally cycling women, those in their fertile phase accepted 21.7% of advances, whilst women in the midst of their periods responded to just 7.8% of men, a significant statistical difference that did not exist for women on the pill.

Professor Guéguen cautiously suggests his interpretations may offer real-world behavioural support for research showing that women are most receptive to advances when they are likely to get pregnant.

Hormones could play a role in the study’s results, since estradiol (a form of oestrogen) and progesterone levels rise and fall during a woman’s cycle, and most birth control pills contain progesterone. But Guéguen cautions that a woman’s relationship status could mask such associations, because single women could be less likely to be on birth control.

To firm up the results, Guéguen is also repeating the study in scenarios where men may be more likely to get a woman’s cellphone number, describing a follow up study where:

Twenty-year-old women were approached by 20-year-old males in nightclubs and solicited to dance with them during the period when slow songs were played

And noting:

Until this study comes out, guys may want to focus their attention on less personal cues to a women’s interest.

Posted by Jonathan as Biology, Psychology at 11:34 PM GMT

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Jealousy is a powerful emotion that few of us are resistant to. Men especially fall prey to this emotion, and it seldom benefits them. Some of us realize that our boyfriend’s jealous minds can sometimes lead to benefits we didn’t expect. Trying to recreate these benefits with the same man or even a different one may seem like a good idea. Who wouldn’t want the extra attention, or to invite our man to recognize how much he appreciates us?

But here’s the rub… The simple desire to bring him closer by playing on his insecurities can easily backfire. His fragile ego makes him more sensitive than he appears. Making him too jealous is the last thing you want – inevitably it leaves us worse off, leaving us further away from him, and may start a cycle of distrust.

So the question is, can jealousy be used in a positive way? Yes it can! It can help him realize how much he appreciates both you and his relationship with you. What you want to do is just start him thinking about you not being around as much, and even start him thinking that, without his appreciation, you may start looking for someone who will show you the appreciation you deserve.

Here’s how: The trick is subtlety! And of course this means that you start his mind moving based on thoughts, not actions!

For example: You and he always go out on Friday nights – you bicker over what to do, or end up seeing whatever the local cinema is playing. What does this mean to him?

She’ll be there, waiting for me to pick her up, I hope there’s a good action movie playing, or maybe she won’t want to go, and then I can hang out with the guys.

So this time when he calls on Friday you simply don’t pick up the phone, or when he calls you explain that you’d rather not go tonight there’s a book that you just can’t put down – and when he calls later that night (he will) you definitely don’t pick up the phone.

Of course when he catches up with you in a day or two and wonders where you’ve been over the weekend you were “just taking care of errands, hanging out with your girlfriends etc.” Meanwhile he was thinking all sorts of things we can’t even imagine.

Don’t bother to try and fuel his imagination by being coy or misleading. His imagination is already hard at work. Put his fears to rest or this is where the distrust starts. And of course never insinuate that it was all to give him a moment to be jealous. Let him suffer a little and act like you never even noticed, otherwise he will feel you are trying to play games with him and that you got the best of him.

Some other examples include:

• Stop checking your messages in front of him
• Not mentioning every single place you went that day or that week – Wait until he asks
• Getting someone to make eye contact with you, and respond to you, without letting your man seeing you initiate this contact… He’ll just see someone staring at you
• Have a friend mention that someone (male of course) was asking about you

Posted by Rosie as Philosophy, Psychology at 11:41 PM GMT

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