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Flaunting your fertility makes for big tips. The showgirl's guide to maximizing
income.
Unlike their sisters in the animal kingdom, human females don't openly
advertise their ovulation. But even without a human version of the baboon's
bright pink behind, signs of fertility sneak out, according to several studies.
Subconsciously, women dress more provocatively and men find them prettier when
it's prime time for conception. And a report from the University of New Mexico
demonstrates that the cyclic signs have economic consequences.
Psychologist Geoffrey Miller and colleagues tapped the talent at local
gentlemen's clubs and counted tips made on lap dances. Dancers made about $70
an hour during their peak period of fertility, versus about $35 while
menstruating and $50 in between.
Miller links the wage fluctuations to changes in body odor, waist-to-hip ratio,
and facial features. Despite operating at the upper limits of flirtatiousness
already, he says there may also be subtle shifts in their behavior "how they
talk and move when enticing a customer to buy a dance, and how they perform the
dance itself."
Women on the pill averaged $37 (and had no performance peak) versus $53 for
women off-pill. The contraceptive produces hormonal cues indicating early
pregnancy, not an enticing target for a would-be suitor. Birth control could
lead to many thousands of dollars lost every year.
The researchers were surprised that almost no one in the business had noticed
the pattern before. But if you're a woman in any service-industry job looking
to maximize your tips, Miller suggests scheduling more shifts for the phase
right before ovulation: "It might help to know about this so that you can
exploit these effects."