Deceptive Ovulation

Myth busting Monday:  the harmful myth of “deceptive ovulation”.

 

Deceptive, or concealed, ovulation is the idea that an ovulating individual (human or non) ovulates in a way that is not obvious, for the individual ovulating and/or their partner/s.

 

When applied to humans, deceptive ovulation is one of the main reasons supplied by evolutionary psychologists for monogamous relationships in humans – competition and the delineation of resources.  That is, males will guard their potentially ovulating mate from other males, in case she1 becomes pregnant by another male2.

 

This assumption of deceit, implicit or explicit, is upheld with other “evolutionary” theories that suggest ovulating individuals actually do know they are ovulating on some level, as one study showed that ovulating strippers elicit more tips3.  This study is cited over and over but is hugely problematic3.

 

So which is it? Do ovulating people know they are ovulating and use that to their advantage? Or do they not know and must be guarded against extra-pair copulations?4 This double bind feels very much like an infiltration of our culture’s patriarchal bias into science5.

 

It is time to unpack and challenge sexist research – we can do better.  These ways of thinking about reproduction and the people behind it are biased and simplistic and only contribute to competition and intersexual antagonism, as if one sex has something to hide and/or can use that hidden ovulation (ie maybe she’s1 just hiding it from her partner) to manipulate a partner into exclusive relationship, protection, or resources.  I very much appreciate what Emily Nagoski said in one recent interview6 – that we should not use evolution to try to explain current human behavior but instead focus on current circumstances to explain behavior (I do not hear scientists say this enough).

 

Ovulation isn’t deceptive for humans that ovulate, at least not all of them.  Some people with ovaries can feel cramping when they ovulate; these cramps have a name –  mittelschmerz.  People that ovulate will often notice changes in discharge consistency around the time of ovulation – it will thicken.  This change in consistency is thought to help sperm reach the uterus7.  Attentive partners would likely notice these things.  However, many people that ovulate though are on hormonal birth control, which limits or even stops ovulation8.  So, if you are someone with ovaries but have not noticed changes in cramping or discharge with ovulation and take hormonal birth control, that could be why.

 

Questions for the reader:

  • If you are someone that ovulates, do you have signs or symptoms associated with your ovulation?
  • Have you heard about deceptive ovulation and/or the use of ovulation to manipulate partners? If so, how has that impacted you and your relationship with your body? Even your relationship with your partner?

 

I hope you found this essay helpful for your own sexuality journey.  Good luck out there, community – lots of toxic myths are still waiting to be busted.

 

Resources & additional thoughts:

  1. Individuals that ovulate can be a variety of genders, but language utilized in research is often binary and connects ovulation to women. This is because research has yet to do just representation to non-binary, trans, and/or gender expansive individuals.
  2. This is an assumption filled with our own cultural and misogynistic bias – that women needed guarding, that monogamy was the standard (it isn’t around the world), that the unit of concern is individuals or pairs and not communities based on kinship and collaboration.
  3. There was a study looking at strippers and their ability to garner tips during various stages of their menstrual cycle. See a media report on it here:  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/news-bytes-week-ovulating-strippers-bigger-tips/  The problem is:  the study sample was small, results have not been replicated, no one tracked the actual hormonal level of the strippers – the survey was self-reported, no one bothered to track how the strippers’ internal sense of their selves or job performance during their cycles (maybe dancing while experiencing cramps and with a tampon string hanging out is more challenging, less provocative, and garners fewer tips???), among other problems.  For an exquisite critique and tear apart of this study, see the book Phallacy by Emily Willingham
  4. Ie cheating, in a mono-normative, ie monogamous conforming society. As if her/the ovulating person’s agency and wants don’t matter
  5. Patriarchy has women marked as manipulators, out to game the system, but also with no/low status and power to actually game the system. According to patriarchy too, women1 are difficult with messy, contradictory bodies and ideas around deceptive ovulation play into that narrative
  6. https://www.multiamory.com/podcast/362-sluts-amp-scholars-presents-come-as-you-are-with-emily-nagoski I believe this was the podcast; I will update this info if not.  It should be noted that I have a bachelors degree in evolution and ecology.  Evolution is incredible and a big driving mechanism.  My writing here is not to challenge it.  My intent is to challenge how we wield that lens and information to perpetuate bias, misinformation, and harm. Assuming that evolution is the main explanation for human behavior misses the cultural systems we operate in, our biases, our personal stories, our nuance, etc.  Much of evolutionary psychology is supposition and is difficult to test.
  7. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21957-cervical-mucus#:~:text=As%20ovulation%20nears%2C%20your%20discharge,back%20to%20thick%20and%20dry.
  8. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/3977-birth-control-the-pill#:~:text=How%20does%20the%20birth%20control,sperm%20from%20entering%20the%20uterus. It is estimated that ~65% of American women are on hormonal birth control  https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db327.htm#:~:text=In%202015%E2%80%932017%2C%2064.9%25%E2%80%94or%2046.9%20million%20of,among%20women%20aged%2040%E2%80%9349.  Please excuse the unnecessarily gendered information on the CDC’s website – non-binary, trans, and gender expansive people are often not represented in research.

 

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The above content is written by Dr. Allison Mitch, PT (DPT), RYT500; sex-positive/affirming, trauma-informed sexuality counselor and educator (she/her/they/them); copyright protected, please cite accordingly.  The picture is from Pexels.  I just love it – head games are for children – yessss.  Keep bias and cultural garbage out of science and let’s stop repeating this junk as if it is a universal truth.

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