Getting hot in the cold…Do men prefer winters for sex?

Damsel in Estrus! Seasons for mating!

Animals follow a mating season, which just goes to show nature’s astounding logic with regards to mating and species survival. While keeping in mind the reproductive cycle of the animal in question, nature takes into consideration a hundred different aspects like predators, health factors and resources for nurturing the offspring; and then freezes on the best possible season for that particular animal to mate.

What’s even more astounding is that the animal will rarely mate ‘out of season’; and even the female is receptive to the mating calls of males, only in the appropriate season. This period or cycle where the female animal is most fertile and receptive to sexual gratification, is known as ‘Estrus’; and the other seasons where she just couldn’t be bothered about mating, make up the ‘Anestrus’.

‘Thank God we’re human!’, is what most men would undoubtedly be saying, as the above mating patterns pertain only to the animal world. The human male probably makes up for what his fellow males of the animal kingdom miss in the ‘anestrous period’ or ‘the other than mating season’ months. Humans are capable of mating in any season, month or time of day.

However, recently an interesting survey conducted by a sex toy company, has shed some light on the human male’s sexual behavior.

For the purposes of the survey, 114 male participants were shown 2 sets of photographs of women; one showed their faces, and the other showed their cleavage or women in varying states of undress. The participants were shown these photos every three months; and what could easily be inferred from the data, was that in all seasons, men showed the same degree of interest in the faces. However, it was in the winters that the male temperature went soaring on seeing the second set of photographs; the ones that exposed female bodies, instead of their faces. The results, which were published in ‘The Psychology of Human Sexuality’, thus concluded that comparatively, men respond more to sexual overtures and intercourse in the winter months, than in other months. (Comparative is the key word here, as men are likely to show only a slight disinclination to the word ‘sex’ at any given time!)

Well, survey or no survey, the fact remains that winters are indeed rosy in some parts of the world. If nothing else, sexual activity can at least bring about an agreeable warmth from the friction of bodies, in a passionate lovemaking session.

Another reason for it may also be the fact that men generally play a dominant role in the sexual act, so they get more exercise out of it and the consequent rise in body heat, keeps the misery of winters away. Winters affect women too, but they seem to fill men with a more burning desire.

It could also have something to do with ‘winter fashion’ as the winter styles and colors make females more attractive to men. In winters, women tend to drape their bodies and are well covered, which leaves a man’s mind working overtime, as to how the same woman would look in a bikini, in the sweltering heat.

So, it’s the law of diminishing marginal utility that seems to work in the months of summer, where women tend to wear looser clothes and reveal more of their cleavage; and that makes it commonplace enough for the male to not go over the top with excitement. Winters are indeed harsh on indeed most men, where women wear heavy clothing to protect themselves from the cold.

Another reason for it could be due to the fact that during the winters, days are shorter and nights tend to set in early. As the temperature drops, what better way to while away the hours, than to engage in some wild lovemaking right?