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CNN Scrubs Article About Female Voting Patterns: Women’s ‘Hormones May Influence Voting Choices’
CNN is catching some heat for publishing — then removing — a story about how hormones allegedly impact female voters. Clearly a controversial subject, the article was based on an unpublished study. In the end, the outlet obviously felt that it was a mistake to advance it, because editors yanked the piece offline just hours after it went live. The Atlantic reports:
In a matter of hours, CNN published and removed a story about how hormones influence women voters, one that made claims about how women tend to lean liberal when ovulating because they “feel sexier.” The story was based on an unpublished scientific study — insert scare quotes as needed — from researchers at the University of Texas, San Antonio that looked at the political tendencies of 275 women at various stages of their menstrual cycle. Broadly speaking, the study concluded that, yes, women’s voting patterns do vary based on their hormones, and CNN galvanized the idea with a blog post flanked by pictures of Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Here are some portions of the now-scrubbed CNN article, as delivered by the Washington Post’s Alexandra Petri:
“While the campaigns eagerly pursue female voters, there’s something that may raise the chances for both presidential candidates that’s totally out of their control: women’s ovulation cycles.
“You read that right. New research suggests that hormones may influence female voting choices differently, depending on whether a woman is single or in a committed relationship.” [...]
“The most controversial part of the study is not only that hormonal cycles are linked to women’s preferences for candidates and voting behaviors, but also that single women who are ovulating are more likely to be socially liberal, and relationship-committed women are more likely to be socially conservative, said Paul Kellstedt, associate professor of political science at Texas A&M University.”
Responses to the article ranged from annoyed to cynical. New York Magazine, using the opportunity to take aim at conservatives, wrote, “Please do not share this ‘science’ with the Republican lawmaker in your life. He might actually believe it. The Huffington Post, too, created a list of purportedly dumb quotes that were included in the piece.
Author Elizabeth Landau, though, defended the article, writing on Twitter, “For the record, I was reporting on a study to be published in a peer-reviewed journal & included skepticism. I did not conduct the study.”

CNN has replaced the piece with a disclaimer, reading, “A post previously published in this space regarding a study about how hormones may influence voting choices has been removed. After further review it was determined that some elements of the story did not meet the editorial standards of CNN.”

A screen shot from the CNN health article that has now been removed.
So, there you have it. It should be noted that CNN’s response — a claim that the article violates standards — is interesting, especially considering that Landau has publicly defended her actions.
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Comments (75)
thegreatcarnac
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:00pmI think that part of the article is true. Anyone who is married or has been married knows women are more emotional than men. Women make decisions based on emotional ideas for the most part. I am not saying that they make a decision on the presidential race totally on emotion but emotions do always factor into their decisions. Too much of a factor.
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ObamaForward_OverTheCliff
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 5:51pm“CNN Scrubs Article About Female Voting Patterns: Women’s ‘Hormones May Influence Voting Choices’ ”
CNN PRESS CORRECTION (for full transparency):
“CNN BITCH ANGRILY Scrubs Article About CRAZY Female Voting Patterns: Women’s ‘DISGUSTING Hormones May Influence INSANE Voting Choices’ “
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AmazingGrace8
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:14pmMrs. Rose, the neglected wife in the movie “War of the Roses”, and the line…”when I look at you, I just want to SMASH YOUR FACE IN and the “full-of-himself” husband just can’t figure out why his wife feels that way. Duh. Mrs. Rose makes a wonderful dinner and in front of her is her husband cutting his meat and laughing and chewing over HIS DAY…..Fast forward Ms.Rose is very successful with her business and the free-market system so she goes to the polls to vote for ROMNEY……like-minded because Romney is a successful businessman. Hmmmm
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coyote1hell
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 1:59pmConsole Nppy Network…wow… the fools never learn…
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An_American_Thinker
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 1:55pmWhile there are women who are only thinking with their “lady parts” who think the number one most important thing to the nation is that their contraception and abortions are paid for….as evidenced by Ms. Sandra Fluke. (It’s not “Women’s Reproductive Health” we’d be paying for, it’s “Women’s Reproductive Irresponsibility.”) The topic of this article is way off base. Women no more vote “hormonally” than men with a case of “blue b*lls” do. (Sorry for the use of that phrase, but it exemplfies how ridiculous the premise is!
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The_Jerk
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:22pmWomen do tend to vote more progressive than men. The cause matters little. The result does matter.
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Vigilantwingnut
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 1:28pmSo ovulating women are more likely to vote Democrat with their lady parts rather than their lady smarts to vote Republican?
This is just further proof of my theory that Estrogen is the most potent insanity producing substance known to mankind.
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petty1699
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 1:23pmSo let me get this straight: CNN will publish an article on a study conducted by the London School of Economics that “found” that Conservatives are dumb. But a similar study conducted by the University of Texas concerning women’s hormones is suddenly below their standards?
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Gustav
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 1:12pmHistory shows that when women got the right to vote, they started to be used, and are used to a huge extent now for their ease of being scared when it comes down to this one single thing: Children. That’s right, woman vote for children safety and security over everything else reguardless of how much their fears are unwarranted. Scare the Mom’s of our country by holding their children hostage to some made up catastrophe and you have their vote. School levy? Tell them that Johnny may not get to play football. Win the vote. Tell them that their classrooms may go up in size, reguardless of the fact that once they goto college student teacher ratios go up as high as 200/1 per class. Win the vote. Mom’s vote their fear for their children, and rightfully so, but are lied to and hit with scare tactic after scare tactic by the left. Abraham Lincoln went to school in a 16×16 foot log cabin, and he did ok. Each student having an iPad, laptop, and the Taj Mahal of schools isn’t what is needed, just a good honest education. If Mary can’t be a cheerleader she will live. This goes right to the national level with fear based attacks on women. It centers mostly on the future of their children. Democrats have done nothing to help children’s futures. They give more grant money for college and tuition skyrockets to unprecedented levels. Hire more teachers? We don’t have a shortage of teachers, we have a shortage of good teachers that can perform outside of the state controlled
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Female
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 12:33pmSo, for Romney/Ryan to win,
we just cut off all the men from intimacy
find ovulating or female feromones/scent
place them with Romeny/Ryan wet-ts,
and R/R wins!
Talk about chenical campaigns?
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inblack
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 12:38pmThe actual story is that the pill robs women of their sexuality.
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Female
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 1:14pmChemically neutered women? Wouldn’t that decrease the chances of O winning?
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Twobyfour
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 5:00pmFemale, think long term.
Some studies indicate that the pill distorts the olfactory perception and during ovulation the women are less attracted to the pheromones of their partner than during other phases.
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ginger100
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 12:22pmProgrammable ******’s for 0′bama
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ginger100
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 12:28pm****** = female private parts
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4kidsandacat
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:28amOK Here’s my opinion. In the interest of disclosure, I am a mother of three girls. Having said that, although I hate generalizations and do not think this applies to me, I think there are a certain percentage of women that this does apply to. During this election season I have gotten into arguments with a decent number of women. Try having a logic based argument with some of them, I challenge you! Why do you think the “war on women” argument is so successful with so many? It’s thoroughly an emotion based argument. Any attempt to insert facts into the conversation is just met with louder shouts of “US out of my uterus”. And you’d better not be a man, they will verbally castrate you for even attempting to make an argument! Yet men like Kevin Bacon can have something to say on the subject, because he completely supports their position. I think this is hormonally based, but i don’t think it’s a monthly thing. Oh and education level has nothing to do with it, most of these women have as high a level of education as me (graduate level) if not higher.
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The_Jerk
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 12:01pmWomen have been the problem when it comes to domestic spending. That trends back to suffrage. Women say that they are strong, independent, but in fact, they all have a Sandra Fluke inside… some more than others. That’s why we’ve become the “nanny” state; a perfect descriptor.
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Fubared
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 1:30pmNot even close to perfect. Libs got us here, not one or the other sex. Females, Jews, and people of color sure do screw up your world. Jihad jerk is the perfect descriptor.
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The_Jerk
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:18pmFubared, look at the history of domestic spending and the percentage of women voters. Votes matter. They are real and substantive. Your words lack both.
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NHwinter
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:18amI do not think you can lump women together. Many are intelligent and see what is going on in a very realistic way. I am so tired of the progressives trying to make women focus on their bodies as a voting tool. Please!!!!!! We have minds and can see through all this crap, and crap it is. We see the bills: gas, home heating, groceries, healthcare cost going up, school being taken over by communists, UN Agenda 21 creeping into our towns, class warfare, etc. Anyone who thinks hormones plays a part in our voting decision is ignorant. Yes, there are some shallow women who fall for all the warfares and what they think is a hip president, I only see a sinister plot to destroy America and a man in an empty suit being a puppet to all the evil shadow elites pulling the strings.
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momrules
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:35amWell said NHWINTER………….I get tired of the political football that women have become. Our intelligence and our integrity are demeaned constantly and this study is just more proof of that.
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Mil-Dot
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 12:03pmMany women believe that if you are against abortion you somehow want to throw them in chains and tie them up in the dungeon and let them eat cockroaches for dinner. As if the right to have your baby cut out of your stomach and murdered is what will enable them to compete with men on an even playing field. And many of them buy it. At least 50% of them do. So don’t tell me that women are not easily fooled and tricked, because they are. How else are millions of young women tricked by punks with their hats on sideways into having sex and getting pregnant. Some, especially the ugly ones, will believe anything.
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DLV
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 5:23pmNH and Momrules while I agree with you mostly, read the response from 4kidsandacat above. I have little doubt sometimes that single women vote progressive/liberal while married women tend to vote conservative. This article seems to be more of an insult to progressive women and not conservative women who actually use their heads.
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Twobyfour
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 5:58pmDLV, it is not an insult if is describes the facts. But I agree that I don’t get why conservative women feel slighted. The study covers mostly patterns that are prevalent in ‘progressive’ femalians.
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Beachbaby
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:16amTRUE. However, when men get their hard-ons thats the direction they walk. Men are easy. Very easy and typical. BUH-BYE
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4kidsandacat
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:29amOK I’m offended by that. Why does it have to turn into a male attack? I hate this tactic, we shouldn’t behave like they do. And I do have a son.
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Twobyfour
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 5:54pmApplies mostly to selection of females for mating. Else, not so much. The acknowledged dick extensions (= ferarri) are deployed as a female attraction tool–because it works–most femalians are suckers for status symbols because they are the ultimate social hierarchy creatures.
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lizaz
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:08amWhat a crock of bs (as obama would say) this is!!!! Women are educated and informed and those who aren’t will vote for obama in any case so their freebies will continue. Liberals think they can put everyone in a box according to their desires and we see this as another attempt to gain support for the failed president!! Sorry, CNN, you are as irrelevant now as you have always been!!!
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rockymtngal
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:59amWhat a lame excuse! Really? How about the “excuse” that men go through a 2nd childhood around the age of 50ish? Again…how absurd!
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Oneirishman
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:57amWhere’s the CNN story on a women’s Hormones affect on moderating skills?
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4kidsandacat
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:30amGood point!
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jungle J
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:57amMy life’s experience tells me that women are emotional deciders at everything all of the time. Many voted for clinton and obama because of their looks…how sick is that especially when they rail against me for using looks as a deciding factor. Many are “do as I say not as I do” people. Look at the children raised by today’s women and you will get incite. I know ….I am a mysoginist…not …
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momrules
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:01amThen why did all the men vote that voted for Clinton and Obama vote for them? Was it their hormones or just lack of intelligence?
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BeckPalin2012
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:10amFor the men it was obviously lack of intelligence….duh. BTW I am a man.
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Mil-Dot
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:18amYou got it Jungle. Just like sexual “harassment” in the work place. Women don’t mind it if the guy doing it is good looking, but if an ugly guy does it they report it to HR and try to get the guy fired. Women are full of double standards.
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Twobyfour
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 12:57pmMil-Dot, a simplification. It is not the good looking guys, necessarily, it’s the guys that display what may be called alpha-male characteristics. Again, this category doe not represent “macho” types per se, just the men that have extended ability to take an advantage of emotional behavioral patterns of women. Naturally, men that are of above average looks tend to be in that group more often than not, because they usually have an elevated level of confidence, which is one of the major factors.
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Twobyfour
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:20pmIn other words, alpha male is allowed everything, beta male is forgiven nothing.
This is applicable, based on my experience and many studies, to about 75 % of women, with almost a rule for single women, This dovetails with divorce rates stats–75% divorces are initiated by women, from which about only 10% or less are not n the no-fault category.
The 25% is not the inversion of the majority group, but the pattern is present in a diminishing degree, with about 10% or less belonging into the category “I’ve got your back”.
About 7% odf the minority group does not participate in the heterosexual patterns–either lesbians or die-hard spinsters.
Men have an inverse pattern set. About 10% is alpha male category. 30% is alpha/beta borderline male, and 50% is beta. About 9% is omega and 1% sigma.
Alpha–confident, knows how to push femalian buttons.
Beta–typical provider male.
Omega–no confidence, unable to secure any meaningful relationship with females.
Sigma–does not play by standard rules, seemingly alpha by most patterns, relationships with sigma females (about 1% as well, oddball types similar to the male counterpart) are one of the most stable relationships known.
Politically, the minority femalian group tends to be conservative (with exception of a 3% of lesbian faction), with about 1/4 of the females from the majority group leaning conservative.
As for men, the political map is more dispersed, “progressives’ are though mostly found anongst bet
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Left_Patriot
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:30pmI would hazard a guess that most of you are Cons, based upon your inability or unwillingness to grasp Science. The human body produces about 50 known hormones. Men and women can experience a hormonal imbalance that will affect all parts of the body, including the brain. This is Scientific Fact, two words that are probably missing from your vocabulary. The two main hormones produced within a woman’s body are Progesterone and Estrogen, but ALL hormone activity has an impact on physiological health. The brain, specifically, is at the mercy of hormones and can effect cognition, memory and mood in both the male and female body. Highlighting these impacts on women only was probably the reason for CNN to drop the article. If the article included men in the study, it would provide balance and authenticity by NOT singling women out as moody, weepy and weak, an invalid and unfair characterization that women have had to endure throughout history. JUNGLE: I’m guessing you meant to use the word “insight” and not “incite”. Big difference, look it up.
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Twobyfour
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:37pm…“progressives” are though mostly found amongst betas and omegas.
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Twobyfour
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 4:32pmLeft_Patriot: “I would hazard a guess that most of you are Cons, based upon your inability or unwillingness to grasp Science.”
Atta nice red herring! Many of us have post gradual degrees and some of us have more than one.
Stating that “lefties lack a common sense” may be almost in the red herring territory too, although it is mostly, based on experience, a valid assumption. Mind you, you used a derogatory “Cons” rather than conservatives. It shows a sizable degree of bigotry and preconceptions, beside the stated assumption
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Twobyfour
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 4:40pm…As for men, the political map is more dispersed, “progressives’ are though mostly found amongst betas/omegas.
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Bobby D
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:47amI am just outraged that you liberal fools at cnn would dare take such a frivolous position and air it. This, after you dare to charge the Republicans—–Romney/Ryan—–are anti-woman here.
A note to all you poor died in the wool liberals. You, too, are getting hurt like the rest of us by the lying, cheating, and dangerous behaviors of liberals in power. If this continues you, too, will have to hide and survive against the “forces” to be unleashed, if 0bama steals this election.
Remember to stock up on the necessities. Practice makes perfect.
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justangry
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:45amYup women never emotional when they get hormonal. They’re never cold either. Scientific studies right or wrong should be put forward to be argued and proven wrong without the fear of PC BS. They essentially pulled this because they didn’t want to hurt their feelings…
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momrules
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:58am……….and men are all strong, silent warriors who never let their penis do their thinking for them.
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Mil-Dot
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:18amMomRules,
Why are you so dead set on insulting everybody when they are simply stating facts as they see them? If you don’t think women are influenced by hormones and whether or not a candidate is attractive you must either: A. Not be a woman B. Not ever known a woman or C. Just be plain stupid.
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Fubared
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:19amHahaha, well said mom-
Angry, are you the Maddow type? Sure sound like it.
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justangry
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:25amLOL… Nope that never happens.
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justangry
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:38amI’ve NEVER felt insulted by Momrules. I actually look to her and a few others to bring me back to reality when some posters (Patti) make my misogyny kick into to high gear.
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momrules
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:41amJust Angry……….I knew you would get it. Others like Mil-Dot don’t.
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Twobyfour
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 4:49pmmomrules: “……….and men are all strong, silent warriors who never let their penis do their thinking for them.”
This applies mostly to the selection of females for mating purposes. Otherwise, not so much.
Gina tingles, on the other hand, are a far more decisive factor in women’s behavioral patterns than is normally admitted. Women in general tend to be influenced by sexuality based thought patterns to much larger degree, though the base patterns are more subtle. See my post a bit below about qualifications/percentages.
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The_Pointy_End
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:45amOMG -where have I heard that $hit before. Hmmmmm ….article is rank with Islam influence.
Ahadith:
I (Mohammad) have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you (women). A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you.” The women asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?” He said, “Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?” They replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn’t it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?” The women replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her religion.”
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term limits for congress
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:42amWell,… Code Pink and Sandra Flucke have been trying to convince us that women do not care about the economy, jobs, security, socialism… women only vote for the person who is going to do the most for their v’jay jay. Maybe this article pushed that idea a little too far.
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Gonzo
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:56amAnother study has found that Code Pink members are only emotional about military casualties when a Republican is in the White House.
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MBA
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:37amAnd this insult coming from the liberal people who continue to say they support women and women’s issues. What a flippin’ joke and very telling about how liberals really feel about women–and for anyone who is not white, independently rich male.
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woodyee
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:32amClearly a controversial subject, the article was based on an unpublished study. In the end, the outlet obviously felt that it was a mistake to advance it, because editors yanked the piece offline just hours after it went live.
Odd, isn’t it, how they don’t take such precautions when it comes to stories of grave national importance…
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StandingOnMyHead
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:26amNow that is taking the war on women to a whole new level. Must be how they are helping to justify Candy’s inappropriate emotional outburst during the debate while “moderating”!
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2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:22am“women tend to lean liberal when ovulating because they “feel sexier.” So, am I to assume Chris Matthews is in a continual state of ovulation?
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Vickie Dhaene
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:31amLoL
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anothercomment
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:31pmGreat shot!
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thekuligs
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:20amHeck yeah, hormones totally effect how angry I will be at the president when I go vote for Romney.
I am super over this fabricated war on women. The only W.O.W. I see is the one libs are waging against conservative women!
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Goobergregory
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:26amI completely agree with you! This crap has GOT to stop!
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justangry
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:37amOh there’s a war on women alright. It just includes men too. Women no longer have the right to a trial, the right to privacy, the right to protest and peacefully assemble, the right to not incriminate yourself, the right to a speedy trial by your peers or right to representation. You don’t even have the right to life anymore. If the president doesn’t think you should exist, he can just whack you with a predator drone and you can’t wait to vote for someone that supports that war on women and men.
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alishamommyof5
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 10:50amJust what I was going to say!
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Fubared
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:22amAngry
Who do I speak to about your womanly right to cry every day? Do you resemble Rosey or Maddow more?
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justangry
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 11:42am@Fubared, How much is Media Matters paying to lob Alinsky attacks at Libertarians?
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Fubared
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 1:22pmWait, they said just go after the anachists in Maddows clothing. So you never cry or pine or bring bot-ism into any thread? Shirley, you jest when you should be crying.
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Fubared
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:13pmAngry
Speaking of media matters, did they induce Johnson lately to quip “go ahead, waste your vote on me”…? Fine line between anarchy and bot-ism.
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