Monday, October 01, 2012

Monkey Monday: Stinky Humans

Let's welcome Stinky!

What is your natural body odour and is it really all that bad? Good questions, which is tough to answer in our scrubbed-clean world. What part of our perception of body odour is due to cultural restrictions and norms? And what part of it is true biological/scientific fact? That would be hard to tell.

Unfortunately, most of the instances when we encounter unwashed people, they are not necessarily healthy. Unfortunately, the limited access to hygene and showers is more often than never a side effect of drug/alcohol abuse, and comes with side effects of bad nutrition and other ailments.

For the sake of science - perhaps you might consider this exercise: try to not bathe for a week, and see if you like what you smell... Or you may bathe, but use water only, just as animals would in nature. No soap, detergents, or any man-made accessories that might temper with one's true natural odour. See how you really smell...

According to Avery Gilbert's The Nose Knows, humans are stinky by default. We are better at stinking than skunks, because unlike their enemy-activated stink release mechanism, we stink 24/7. We don't make that great of a meal, and animals would have to be very hungry to consider us as prey... The Jungle Book also alludes to that matter, as the animals mostly have great respect to human's flesh, and it's considered a tabu to eat it (except for the ruthless tiger in the story).

In fact, we stink so badly that through years of evolution humans have developed complex strategies for reducing their natural scent to a more toned-down, palatable state: we invented soaps and scents to remove our body odours and mask it with that of other, better-equipped animal scents such as whale vomit, sexual secretions of deer and civet cats, and even the aromatic feces of hyrax!
And, of course there are also the more romantic sounding sources such as plant genitalia (aka flowers), and their other organs - roots, bark, fruit and leaves.

In our many years of  distancing ourselves from our real (disgusting) scent, we have romanticized body odour to the point that some of us crave it - though unknowingly, only in its muted states. We tend to think of body odour as this sexy, uncontrollable aspect of our beings, full of irresistible pheromones. There is some of that, true. But mostly - we stink. Honestly, if it wasn't for the healthy amounts of soap to wash the sweat daily, it will build up to a rather ungodly size of oily, rancid sillage (or shall I say silage? The scent would be about as bad...!).

People tend to talk about perfume as an article of pure luxury, an unnecessary addiction, an auxiliary supplement that is frivolous and excessive. I beg to differ. Perfume is necessary to overcome the human stench. Little doses of it are ok, if they are scrubbed off on a regular basis within a human bathing establishment - rituals of which take place for thousands of years in most civilized places. Other animals might enjoy cleaning each other with their tongues. Humans usually recoil at the idea unless the person is smeared with chocolate, or was freshly bathed.  

In less civilized places (i.e.: Europe), perfuming with lavish amounts of Aqua Mirabillis (aka eaux de cologne) would replace the act of bathing, and thank goodness at least they did that in the days of open sewage. These alcoholic-based tinctures of bacteria-combating compounds found in citrus, herbs and spices had a triple-purpose of  masking, deodorizing, as well as disinfecting.

Now, thanks to the rise of both hygiene and perfume technology, humans have gone to the other extreme - where we sport very little scent of our own if at all. It's always tempered by our surrounding, which is highly scented whether if we like it or not. As an aside note - I'd like to mention that unlike the increasingly popular belief that fine fragrances are the enemy of your environment's purity; I believe it is more so the functional fragrance practices of scenting anything from plastics, paints and toys to house cleaning products and laundry detergents that is bombarding our systems with toxic chemicals - not to mention the pollution from cars, factories and industrial farming; multiple-chemical-sensitive people are picking on the wrong target, in my humble opinion).

I hope by now you're not all completely grossed out by our smell... We certainly have some good spots. Our babies smell amazing, for one thing. And body odour is not just one gigantic mass of stench. It can be broken down and analyzed to different body parts and sources of human odours - some of which are pleasant and beautiful. Like a baby's crown and mother's milk; and when getting to know your lover I'm sure you will notice a lot of wondrous scents in secret places. But that should probably belong to another post...

Now, to this week's contest: leave a comment with your thoguhts on the subject - are humans just plain stinky? Or are we too used to smelling "clean"?
Winner will receive a beautiful deluxe package of Persephenie's scented body products in a silk pouch.

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21 Comments:

At October 01, 2012 12:10 PM, Anonymous LCT said...

I think we all have a 'stink preference' that has to do with pheromones, making some human body odors appealing, and some repellent. I know I couldn't stand the smell of my ex's sweat but I can barely smell my husband's!

 
At October 01, 2012 3:27 PM, Anonymous Fiona said...

I think we've become too used to the idea of any body smell being a bad thing. I'm all for good hygiene and washing frequently, but eliminating smell completely, which a lot of people seem to expect now, is neither possible nor desirable - in my opinion, at least.

 
At October 01, 2012 4:01 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

LCT -
You are absolutely right about that. One can tell immediately if they are attracted to someone by their smell alone...

 
At October 01, 2012 4:11 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

Fiona,
Yes, it's so true! Too clean is so impersonal. Some people not only expect you to never smell like yourself and are repulsed by any hint of body odour; but also are so puzzled by the notion that their stinky armpits could be of any interest to the other person...

 
At October 01, 2012 8:13 PM, Anonymous cheesegan said...

I'm not a hippie, but most of my friends are,(though they'd get pissed if I called them that), the point being that I am surrounded daily by the great unwashed and I have come to the conclusion that some people smell good and some people don't.
Diet and habits (smoking!) can help greatly in making a person stink, but some clean living people stink too.
I personally don't mind if people stink a little natural or if they smell like a fresh. aroma-chemical laden dryer sheet;either is fine, just as long as they don't complain about my perfume.

 
At October 01, 2012 8:24 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

cheesegan,
That's the attitude!
And you also made me laugh - after a long and rather stressful Monday. Thank you!

 
At October 01, 2012 8:25 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

P.s. I think it's more about the odour intensity when it comes to tolerating natural body odour... How can I put it mildly: a little goes a long way.
;-)

 
At October 01, 2012 8:30 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

Incidentally, there is a similar topic on Now Smell This today: What Is "Clean", Anyway? http://www.nstperfume.com/2012/10/01/what-is-clean-anyway/

 
At October 02, 2012 11:44 AM, Anonymous Muza said...

I think it all comes down to observing ettiquette, better not to smell of anything than stink a bit :))

 
At October 02, 2012 2:03 PM, Blogger Susan said...

I love the smell of humans! I think we are just too worried about cleanliness in our society. Bring on the smell - the healthy smells, I mean!

 
At October 03, 2012 3:23 AM, Blogger yash said...

I personally dont believe in the concept of stink...as one person's stench might be another person's idea of scentual nirvana(i might be a little exaggerating..).In India I learnt to adjust to the deadliest smells(people, animals, places) but since there is always some kind of aroma(floral, resinous, alimentary) floating around..it makes analysing smells of people(unwashed , clean, perfumes or anointed) almost fun and kind of normal..In Europe the etiquette of smelling nice or at least clean is literally translated when the unwashed, supposedly bad smelling person is ostracized in the metro wagon with averyone backing off...conspicuously..

 
At October 03, 2012 12:03 PM, Blogger EarthlyReality said...

WOW this was good read never really sat and pondered about my stench. But I do know that when I eat unhealthy my body odor is rather kicking. But I think you’ve made a good point if it was not for bath and all this cover up around us it will be very interesting.

I was watching a old movie and I said to my fiend hey those people wear more cloths than we do now and I am sure they did not have secret and what every brand of deo back in those days and I am sure they did not take a bath 2 times per day and she told me they use to scent their handkerchief with rose water and that is why they always had it up to their nose.

 
At October 03, 2012 1:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Before I answer your question, go check Gaia's excellent review of Treazon on The Non-Blonde.

Many days I feel I'd rather smell others' body odors than all those highly scented "clean" products (detergent, dryer sheets, body washes, deodorants and shampoo/conditioner). Recently when I was away from home I resorted to a Dove conditioner -- yuck, my hair was scented for days.

Personally I am aware that my body odor changes depending on what I've been eating. I often get to recall that line from My Fair Lady, "oozing garlic from every pore".

I recall reading Jean-Claude Ellena saying he avoided eating certain foods for just this reason.

-- Lindaloo

 
At October 03, 2012 4:25 PM, Blogger melou said...

What a thought provoking post, Ayala. I think I may have a higher tolerance than most to funky odours. The smell of b.o. whether under arm or other more intimate areas does not gross me out. Though when it is generated from nervousness it makes me uneasy as it seems more acrid at that point. The scent human scent that does squick me out is the oily smell generated by unwashed hair and skin. Though I would love to sample Persephenie's products, please do not enter me into the draw.

 
At October 05, 2012 8:38 AM, Blogger ahsumaker said...

I already bathe as few times a week that I can get away with and still be out in public. I'm averaging 2-3 times per week when it's not hot and sticky summertime. I am lucky to not have strong body odor (have not worn deodorant in years). I find when I do sweat/smell it is when I am stressed out and I do find it unpleasant. I think the scent of people's scalp oil when they haven't washed their hair in a long time is distracting, as a separate scent from body odor. I guess I like natural human scent at a low level, but if I'm next to you in yoga class, or sitting in a car with you, I don't want to be smelling you period, whether it's your natural odor or the horrible perfume or detergent you used to try and mask it!

 
At October 05, 2012 10:51 PM, Anonymous BridgetTheodore said...

I think others have mentioned it, but the smell of your loved ones are much more appealing than say the guy sleeping next to you on an airplane. When my husband gets sweaty, it doesn't repulse me...it just smells like him. Or when my toddler is in my arms, I love to smell her hair.

The natural human body, when taken care of properly with a good diet, smells OK to me. This isn't to say you shouldn't be washing, but there's no need to use scented "everything". Perfumes and colognes are suppose to enhance your natural smell, not cover it up.

 
At October 05, 2012 11:17 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

Muza and Susan - while etiquette plays an important part on our perceptions and we might be overtly conscious of our smells - I've been noticing that I don't get nearly as grossed out when I am near a dog (and they are always strongly scented); as opposed to walking by a person who hasn't bathed in weeks and smell of scalp oil. It's as revolting as aldehyde c-11... Maybe I'm more sensitive to it since smelling c-11. But if that will keep the bears away, I'm ok with that ;-)

 
At October 05, 2012 11:20 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

Yash,
Your perspective on traveling in India is interesting. But than, the Indian diet includes so many spices that results in a body odour that smells like fenugreek and curry... It might make it more palatable ;-)
I think we rarely get the opportunity to analyze or think of other people body odours unless it's in one of 2 extremes: an intimate situation; or when they are suffering from very poor hygene (which as I mentioned earlier, very likely does coincide with poor health). So it can either be this amazing experience that is very personal and bonds us together; or completely the opposite: revolting and disturbing.

 
At October 05, 2012 11:33 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

EarthlyReality -
The scented handkerchiefs were used in addition to scenting/deodorizing the body with perfume (instead of bathing...). They were very handy when the streets were stinking with sewage (used as a "nosegay") and later on in Victorian era, scented handkerchiefs developed into a whole ritual of flirtation; part of which you might have seen in the old movies.

 
At October 06, 2012 12:35 AM, Anonymous muza said...

Ayala, I believe dogs don't think that their smell is intimate))) but people do, don't they? For example, I find my body odor usually quite nice (well, I take shower twice a day and don't sweat a lot if I'm not stressed) but still it is very personal and intimate - I want to keep it secret for other people (only except my hubby LOL)

 
At October 07, 2012 8:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cats are attracted to me--incredibly. When I take a walk (without perfume) they meow lovingly, toss me passionate glances, and sometimes fall on their backs writhing in ecstasy in all directions. I think my natural smell is perchance minty.

 

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