Oxytocin: An Inconvenient Truth

Oxytocin is a mammalian hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. 

It is released by the pituitary gland in the female brain during intercourse.

It's chemical formula is C(43)H(66)N(12)O(12)S(2)

It's purpose is to fuck us over. 

"Us" being the ambitious, confident, self-respecting singles whom are forever on a quiet prowl for  a new mate and a little fun- hopefully in that order. Not that our lives revolve around this quiet prowl. They certainly don't. Its merely a sport, something to do when we're not focused on our career, our reading, and our far more important girl friends. 

We like our sport. It's light and fun, yet requires just enough tact to work our critical thinking skills. And it allows us to feel empowered by our sexuality. And we're not ones for passing up a chance to feel empowered. 

But there's a problem. This pesky little hormone called oxytocin. It's rarely discussed (so infrequently that spellcheck doesn't recognize the word so it's underlined in red every time I type it), but it's affecting gender relations in a major way. 

Oxytocin is believed to be responsible for the woman's desire to form a monogamous bond with her sexual partner. So if you've ever been angry at fuck buddy for saying "I'm just afraid you'll get attached," you might want to consider that he's actually on to something. And if you're anything like me, that'll make you even angrier. 

We don't want to be men. But we do want be equal. So if they can run around sticking it in with no afterthoughts than theoretically so can we. Or have it stuck in. Or something. 

But when we go looking for a new prospect we have an old one on our minds. When our skin touches new skin we're remembering the old. And eventually this new skin may become more important than the last. But we can't take much consolation in that as we're doomed to repeat the cycle soon enough. 

Like it or not, when we let someone into our bodies we're connecting to them mentally. That damn chemical is leaving our brain whether we want it to or not. So maybe even the most detached of us have to brace ourselves. We might miss them. We might care about them. We might get jealous. We might even fall in love with them at some point. But at the very least, we'll want them to call. Even if it's just to say they had a nice night. 

We need to stop blaming ourselves for that.

It's not our fault.

It's science.