Is there really something in the way she moves? In a word, yes. Researchers are just beginning to be able to deconstruct what attracts us to one another. Here’s what they’ve learned so far.

Hips Don’t Lie
NYU researchers have discovered that it takes more than good looks to make someone sexually attractive. Their findings include the fact that swaying hips make a woman appear more attractive. And the importance of sexiness in one’s gait isn’t confined to women, it seems.

A 2007 National Academy of Sciences paper reports that men are regarded as more attractive if they walk with a “shoulder swagger.” And it’s not just one’s walking skills that matter. A Rutgers University study reported in Nature concluded that dance skills play an important role in attraction, saying “skillful dancing is attractive because it depends on bodily symmetry, and thus signals good health to a potential mate.”

Walk this Way
Here’s a surprise. A team at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, dressed women in reflective gear to study the sexiness of their walk. At the same time, saliva samples were taken to discover how close each woman was to her most fertile time of month. The findings? When video footage of the women rolled in front of 40 male volunteers, they voted the least fertile women as having the sexiest walks, with less hip movement and knees closer together. Researchers conjecture that women may be holding back when they’re most fertile, saving their sexy moves for just the right man.

Get Your Groove On
Some women, it seems, were born strutting their stuff. If you’re not one of them, and you want to learn how to sway your hips with the best of them, we have just one word for you: tightrope. Pretend you’re walking that thin line, and your hips will automatically sway. Each step you take should go like this: Lift heel first, then toe, and reach your leg forward, placing your foot down on that imaginary center line.