Rhythms of Desire: The Association Between Menstrual Cycle Phases and Female Sexual Desire‪.‬

ABSTRACT: The recognition that sexual desire is associated with several significant individual and interpersonal life events has led to a corresponding interest in delineating and exploring the correlates and potentially causal antecedents of this sexual phenomenon. Researchers interested in biological causes have focused on the sex hormones and on hormonally-mediated (female) life events. In this review, I first define sexual desire, distinguish sexual desire from other sexual experiences (i.e., arousal, activity), and discuss commonly used operationalizations. I then summarize empirical research exploring the relationship between one hormonally-mediated female life event -- the menstrual cycle -- and sexual desire. I conclude that sexual desire does appear to increase during certain menstrual cycle phases for some women (in particular, at ovulation and during the mid follicular and late luteal phases). However, no single rhythmic pattern emerges that can be said to definitively characterize the sexual experience of the human female. Key words: Sexual desire Sexual attraction Menstrual cycle Ovulation Hormones