My wife: Having one of those days where I’m attracted to almost everyone for no discernible reason. Does that ever happen to you?

Me: When I’m ovulating sometimes, yeah

My menstrual cycle has wrought a fuckton of havoc on my life over the years, sometimes making me life-ruiningly depressed and anxious, or causing embarrassing carnage when a menstrual cup leaks in public. But there is one way in which this hormonal rollercoaster has often been fun instead of harrowing, and that’s the horniness I experience when I’m ovulating.

The word “horniness” feels insufficient, because it isn’t strictly sexual by any means. It’s not limited to a desire to get my rocks off – although, let’s be honest, there is a lot of that; my personal record is 20 orgasms over the course of 5 days. (That might not seem too impressive compared to people who are a lot more multi-orgasmic than me, but trust me, anyone who has had sex with me is reading this and going, “Wait, what? How is that possible?!” because under normal circumstances I am a one-and-done gal!)

No, the joys of ovulation (for me) are moreso in the mental and emotional “horniness” it instills – the desire to see and be seen, to flirt and fluster and get flustered, to spread my wings and be a social butterfly, if just for one week of the month.