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The Pill Makes Women Pick Bad Mates (Wow, lol)

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sillygoosey On July 23, 2009




Full of Hope,
#1New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 13:52:05
WOW

BCP = Bad Mate?

Birth-control pills could screw up a woman's ability to sniff out a compatible mate, a new study finds.


While several factors can send a woman swooning, including big brains and brawn, body odor can be critical in the final decision, the researchers say. That's because beneath a woman's flowery fragrance or a guy's musk the body sends out aromatic molecules that indicate genetic compatibility.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are involved in immune response and other functions, and the best mates are those that have different MHC smells than you. The new study reveals, however, that when women are on the pill they prefer guys with matching MHC odors.

MHC genes churn out substances that tell the body whether a cell is a native or an invader. When individuals with different MHC genes mate, their offspring's immune systems can recognize a broader range of foreign cells, making them more fit.

Past studies have suggested couples with dissimilar MHC genes are more satisfied and more likely to be faithful to a mate. And the opposite is also true with matchng-MHC couples showing less satisfaction and more wandering eyes.

"Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to fertility problems," said lead researcher Stewart Craig Roberts, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Newcastle in England, "but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the contraceptive pill, as odor perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners."

Sexy scents

The study involved about 100 women, aged 18 to 35, who chose which of six male body-odor samples they preferred. They were tested at the start of the study when none of the participants were taking contraceptive pills and three months later after 40 of the women had started taking the pill more than two months prior.

For the non-pill users, results didn't show a significant preference for similar or dissimilar MHC odors. When women started taking birth control, their odor preferences changed. These women were much more likely than non-pill users to prefer MHC-similar odors.

"The results showed that the preferences of women who began using the contraceptive pill shifted towards men with genetically similar odors," Roberts said.

Pregnant state

Based on the work by Claus Wedekind, a University of Lausanne researcher who preformed similar studies in the 1990s, Roberts suggests a likely reason for the pill's effect on a woman's odor preferences. The pill puts a woman's body into a hormonally pregnant state (the reason she doesn't ovulate), and during that time there would be no reason to seek out a mate.

"When women are pregnant there's no selection pressure, evolutionarily speaking, for having a preference for genetically dissimilar odors," Roberts said. "And if there is any pressure at all it would be towards relatives, who would be more genetically similar, because the relatives would help those individuals rear the baby."

So the pill puts a woman's body into a post-mating state, even though she might be still in the game.

"The pill is in effect mirroring a natural shift but at an inappropriate time," Roberts told LiveScience.

The results are detailed in the current issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
jmo On April 29, 2021
Beruset af Julebryg





Yorkshire, United Kingdom
#2New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:01:12
So thats why I'm single.
plebian_angel On April 25, 2012
Intergalactic hussy





a great future,
#3New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:01:37
so that was my problem
MlissaBeth On February 13, 2013
Wait for it!





Tucson, Arizona
#4New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:05:50
Looks like I am sticking to condoms....
Vizzy On February 20, 2012




, Florida
#5New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:06:24
I've always believed the smell played a huge part in attraction. I'm incredibly sensitive to the smell of a person...not icky bo, just their natural scent. I can be drawn to you or repelled by your scent. I figured it was left over from primal times when we needed to be able to identify one another at a distance or something.

And the pill, though it's great for preventing pregnancy, is s***ty in other ways. In many women, it actually dulls your sex drive. You don't even realize it until you stop taking the pill and then WHAMMY! Sex drive gets a turbo boost.
markfox01 On October 23, 2021
innit!





Welshman in Brum.., United Kin
#6New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:06:24
Are thats interesting.. so that explains why all my ex girl friends are homcidal maniacs..
radiodiva On April 05, 2010




STIXburgh, SteelerNation!,
#7New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:07:23
So that explains why the only men I meet are putzes... That damn pill turned me into a friggin' PUTZ MAGNET!!!!!

Yep, explains a whooooooole lot.....
foxytrot On February 04, 2015
Turtle Ninja





Oceanside, California
#8New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:07:24
Wow! That answers why I picked a total loser last time
alysedai On November 09, 2020




Newport News, Virginia
#9New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:20:38
I think I picked a great husband...and I'm on the pill...

But I have noticed it screws with my libido...I think I need to switch pills again...
Wingsy On November 26, 2023
wingsdillialicious!

Moderator




Wingsville,
#10New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:23:59
Well, damn! I'm screwed then!
nothingtodo On September 21, 2010

Deleted



,
#11New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:26:03
s*** - I don't take the pill so I guess I only have myself to blame.
Jaimie On September 18, 2016
Pushed by Boredom





St. Louis, Missouri
#12New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:32:06
@radiodiva Said
So that explains why the only men I meet are putzes... That damn pill turned me into a friggin' PUTZ MAGNET!!!!!

Yep, explains a whooooooole lot.....





That is what I was thinking.
MlissaBeth On February 13, 2013
Wait for it!





Tucson, Arizona
#13New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:33:37
@nothingtodo Said
s*** - I don't take the pill so I guess I only have myself to blame.



No, I don't take it either. I hate the damn thing. I refuse to take it.

Then again, I am thinking about it for my upcoming trip.
noxus On October 18, 2009




Oroville, California
#14New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 14:53:58
I can smell a class action law suite comming up. I can is it now. It's the pills fault I got stuck with that bum.
momof2 On November 09, 2008

Deleted



Craziest looney bin, Louisiana
#15New Post! Aug 13, 2008 @ 15:03:50
So thats been the problem this whole time....dang!
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