Semper Fi?

Male infidelity is often justified through biology. I cannot count the number of times I have heard men defend their “wandering eyes” or infidelity (or heard women explain away their male partners' infidelity) by claiming that “it’s just not natural” for men to be monogamous. At our core, the argument goes, we are animals and subject to the whim of our biological urges. Thus, while women naturally desire monogamy to facilitate raising children, men naturally want to be with as many women as they can in order to produce numerous heirs and perpetuate the species. The men who take up this argument generally allege that it is only their deep love of their girlfriends or wives that keep them faithful (and they seem to think they deserve a lot of credit if they remain faithful).

But a new research study suggests that it just may be the men who should be thanking their lucky stars:

The new study, reported in the January issue of Hormones and Behavior, suggests that during ovulation, when women with a higher level of testosterone are ready to conceive, nature may encourage them to look for what they consider to be the best possible gene pool.

Apparently, women who perceive their male partners as being less attractive are more likely to let their eyes wander when they ovulate. The study explains that

‘The mating market is driven by supply and demand, and therefore not all women will attract long-term mates offering good genes.’ Women innately deduce that a man they find sexy has better genes to pass on to a baby, they say.

‘Ancestrally, these women may have benefited from a strategy in which they secured investment from a long-term mate and obtained genetic benefits from extra-pair partners.’

But women are just as accountable for their infidelity as men. Study co-author Steven Gangestad says:

[Women] aren't robots following genetic instruction. You have psychology, biology that is some product of selection. But relationships are mixtures of loving aspects and conflicts, and this is a part of conflict. Infidelity itself is a choice.

Source:
China View, “Ovulating Women More Likely to Stray: Study.”
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/11/content_4037178.htm