A new study shows that a woman can more accurately identify a man's sexual orientation when looking at his face, when she is closest to her time of peak ovulation

Further, having romantic thoughts or a mating goal heightens a woman's ability to discriminate between straight and gay men. This effect is not apparent when a woman is judging another female's orientation. This suggests that fertility influences a heterosexual woman's attention to potential mates rather than merely increasing sensitivity to sexual orientation or nonverbal cues more generally.