The correlation between ovulation and earning is quite clear. ‘Fertile’ is days 9-15.
Ah, good science writing. This is a post from the Throckmorton File about a scientific study on stripper, specifically, how their tips are effected by their menstrual cycle. And they are. Very interesting. In scientific terms, this would be a study of the economic effects of female estrus. In common parlance, they’re asking whether ovulating strippers get more tips. Apparently they do.
It’s becoming well documented that looks (sexual capital) affect work and income. “Economists have shown that attractive people can make $230,000 more than unattractive people over the course of a lifetime” (Andrew Sullivan). The question is whether actual fertility has an additional affect. In mammals this is called estrus (or estrous), crudely, when a female is in heat, or ovulating. In this regard, a strip club is the ideal laboratory.
The current theory is that “human female estrus became uniquely ‘lost’ or ‘hidden’ over evolutionary time.”
“Lost,” that is, until three raging manimals from New Mexico called “bullshit” and took all their McNair Scholars Program Fellowship money and went to the titty bar. (Too soon?) And they published the sweet jesus out of their findings in Evolution and Human Behavior. (Throckmorton File)
For the study they chose a strip club which was bottom covered, so they were able to collect data for the whole menstrual cycle. The results were quite striking. In that environment, there was an economic correlation between fertility and income. Despite no outward signs, strippers earned more when they were ovulating (and off the pill). Stripper that were not on birth control also generally made more money, “only $193 per shift compared to the average of $276 per shift of artists not on birth control pills.”
Interesting stuff. Sexual Capital or Erotic Capital is now being discussed with something more than giggles. While the subject is still funny, it’s making for some very interesting research. The original work was published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.
Source: Miller, Geoffrey, Joshua M. Tybura, and Brent D. Jordana. Ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by lap dancers: economic evidence for human estrus? Evolution and Human Behavior. Volume 28, Issue 6, November 2007, pp. 375-381. Full article.
freakonomics!
Wont hurt girls to take this in to consideration when deciding on the right time to ask for a raise. Not unfair either, considering all the advantages that males enjoy over females at work. :D