It's Different For Women....

...or why men should shower more often...

The term "opposites attract" has new meaning in a lab at the University of New Mexico, where scientists have discovered that women are more attracted to men who are genetically dissimilar to them. After studying 48 romantic couples, researchers found women were more apt to find their partners less sexually desirable and more likely to be unfaithful if they shared similar sets of certain genes than if the genes varied.

The genes studied are called major histocompatibility complex, or MHC. They're part of the immune system responsible for recognizing things not part of the self, thus alerting the troops to fend off foreign invaders. MHC genes, it turns out, also are responsible for how a person smells, and how another person will interpret that smell.[...]

The more similar, the less sexually responsive they were to their partners. They also were more unfaithful. The genetically similar women reported more attraction, interest and fantasy toward other men prior to ovulation. When they were not in this phase of the cycle, they showed no sexual interest outside of their partner.

Sounds practically tribal, in some ways. It sure would go a long way to explaining an awful lot of bizarre semi-truths about human behavior, like when a handsome stranger comes to town, how women swoon, and stuff like that.

More:

Men do not show an MHC-based sexual preference, the reproductive biologist added.

Which makes sense, from a behavioral point of view: men have the reputation of being less fussy in choosing partners than women...even I have been accused of wanting to fuck anything that moves, which simply isn't the case...well, not anymore.

Which leads to this very sad piece of news: Love is a compromise.:

Here is the depressing news: Thornhill believes the partner one chooses is "a compromise. A woman might get a man who doesn't smell so great in MHC genetic sense but he will have other attractive attributes," said Thornhill, a professor at the university. Once the pairing takes place, "love encourages you to do the best you can."

This is very bleak news for anyone who believes the Snow White/Cinderella "someday, my prince will come" fairy tale.

Obviously, the best strategy for a dating male is to shower, and use a cologne that masks your MHC-scent. Based on my own personal example, I would recommend anything but Brut or Hai Karate....

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