Fertile lap dancers receive more tips from men, study finds

A STUDY of lap dancers provides the best evidence yet that women send out hidden signals to let men know they are fertile.

Dancers who are “on heat” receive more tips from admiring men than those on the Pill or in the non-fertile periods of their menstrual cycle, researchers found.

The study, conducted by US scientists at the University of New Mexico, suggests women somehow advertise their fertility during oestrus.

Experts suspect that pheromones — subtle scent signals that in animals play a key role in sexual attractiveness — may be involved. In other words, fertile women smell more appealing to men.

Changes in behaviour and appearance may also be important.

The researchers, led by psychologist Dr Geoffrey Miller, compared the earnings of lap dancers who were menstruating naturally with others taking the contraceptive pill. During the non-fertile periods of their menstrual cycle, dancers not on the Pill earned much the same as those using the contraceptive.

But when the natural-cycle dancers entered their fertile period, their tips became a lot more generous.

The evidence was the first to show that oestrus has a “real effect on women’s earnings”, Dr Miller told New Scientist magazine.

However, even on non-fertile days, lap dancers with natural menstrual cycles earned quite well, demonstrating that fertility was not all the men in their audience were interested in.

“Previous research has shown that women’s faces, scent and clothing become more attractive in oestrus,” said Dr Miller.

Earlier this year, scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles found that women were judged to dress more attractively during their fertile periods, although the effect was slight.

Other studies have shown that women become more confident during oestrus — which might affect a lap dancer’s performance.