MEN, we know how you feel about your woman’s time of the month.
Fret not, there’s an upside.
New research has shown that when women ovulate, they tend to buy sexier clothing so as to outdo other attractive females nearby.
So when your sweetheart next goes on a shopping spree during her ovulation week, make sure you tag along.
She may just feel the urge to buy those lacy French knickers you’ve been trying in vain to get her to.
But here’s the tricky part.
When exactly does your woman ovulate?
Hormonal cycles have mimicked fingerprints in the sense that every woman has one that is unique to her and her alone.
Typically, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) – characterised by water retention, depression and irritability – occurs the week before she gets her period.
The week before PMS week is when she ovulates.
During this phase of the hormonal cycle, a mature egg is released from the ovary, pushed down the fallopian tube and is ready to be fertilised. Women are most fertile during this period and least likely to suffer from water retention.
The results of the study – helmed by Singapore Management University’s Associate Professor of Psychology Norman Li – were released to the media last week .
It was conducted in the US two years ago when he was teaching there and involved 269 women aged between 18 and 21.
Hormonal factors
Professor Li, who’s in his 40s, told The New Paper on Sunday: “What’s interesting about (this study) is that now we have an insight on how hormonal factors influence consumer behaviour.
“The women were asked to buy items off a shopping website when they were ovulating and when they weren’t.
“They tended to choose sexier items, such stilettos as opposed to a pair of tennis shoes during ovulation. We also found that women did this to better other good-looking females, in the hopes of finding a mate.”
The study will be published in the Journal Of Consumer Research soon. The Journal is published by the University of Chicago Press.
Just last week, articles citing the new research became a hot topic on news portals such as BBC and CNN.
However, some have deemed the sample size – 100 women – too small to be accurate.
Others felt that the study pointed out what they had instinctively known all along.
Three women The New Paper on Sunday spoke to also had differing views when asked if their shopping patterns were hormone-related. The three are finalists of this year’s The New Paper New Face competition.
Ms Cheryl de Mello, a 22-year-old freelance model said: “I definitely buy tighter clothing when I’m ovulating. I am aware that I feel sexier.
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She buys “nice clingy dresses and pencil skirts...(and) more red stuff and lingerie”.
Ms Danielle Menon agreed.
“During the ovulation period, I feel more comfortable and more confident as I’m not bloated,” said the 21-year-old student adding that she “ bloats pretty badly pre- and post-period”.
Her observation: “I was ovulating last week and I (bought) a pair of tapered, high-waist pants in a small size. The week before I bought a mid-length bronze necklace.”
But Ms Menon disagrees with the findings of the study that women did this to compete with other attractive women.
As for Ms Sarah Cowley, buying patterns are more economic than physiological.
“I don’t think I buy more sexy stuff when I’m ovulating. I always shop in the first week of the month as that’s when I get my pay,” said the 20-year-old student with a laugh.
But what do Singapore men think of the concept of hormonal shopping?
Mr Rain Lee, a 32-year-old financial analyst, said that his girlfriend of three years shops “all the time” and buys sexy clothing and accessories “when she’s upset or happy”.
But Mr Benjamin Tay, a 22-year-old undergraduate, noticed that his girlfriend of two years seems to be “more daring with her shopping choices” at a certain time of the month.
She would flaunt her lingerie at him and sometimes ask him to pick out his “favourite piece” at a store so that she could buy it.
“Other times of the month, she would snap at me and accuse me of staring at other women when we’re at the clothing store.”
Predictable cycle
Mr Tay added: “I noticed that her behaviour is part of a predictable cycle. But I’ve only ever known about PMS.”
Last year, Professor Karen Pine presented her work to the British Psychological Society, citing that close to two-thirds of the 153 women she studied admitted that they overspent during their PMS week, some by up to £250 (S$530).
Said Ms Cowley: “I do spend a lot more when I’m having my PMS as I feel sorry for myself.”
She indulges on things like cheesecake. And instead of having just three meals a day, she has tea and supper too.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
