The things The Guardian will complain about, eh? Today’s version being that scents – artificial ones – for men and women seem to be different:
Female orgasms v ‘hydra power’: why toiletries are the last bastion of sexist advertising
Radox has come under fire from a priest who says its packaging is sexist. Why does the toiletries industry still insist on separating men and women into musk and strawberries?
Someone with even a modest acquaintance with actual human beings would note that these artificial scents are mimicking natural scents. And yes, the same even basic familiarity with our species would inform that men and women do, in general and on average, smell different:
pheromone
ˈfɛrəməʊn/Submit
nounZOOLOGY
plural noun: pheromones
a chemical substance produced and released into the environment by an animal, especially a mammal or an insect, affecting the behaviour or physiology of others of its species.
The very point of them being to get the olfactory organs of others primed for the arrival of sex, sex, sex. You know, that being what nature is, millions of tonnes of life either arguing about where or who is lunch or screaming that they’d just love to have sex right now.
Pheromones are substances which are secreted to the outside by an individual and received by a second individual of the same species. Many examples exist in animals but their role in humans remains uncertain since adults have no functioning vomeronasal organ, which processes pheromone signals in animals. Yet pheromones can be detected by the olfactory system although humans under develop and underrate their smelling sense. Pheromones may be present in all bodily secretions but most attention has been geared toward axillary sweat which contains the odorous 16-androstenes. One of these steroidal compounds, androstadienone, is present at much higher concentrations in male sweat and can be detected by women, albeit with wide variation in sensitivity. Upper-lip application of a pharmacological dose of androstadienonein women results in improved mood and heightened focus – particularly to capture emotional information. A positive mood is known to facilitate women’s sexual response, and increased focus improves sexual satisfaction. Indeed, some studies showed a beneficial effect of androstadienone on sexual desire and arousal.
There have actually been studies concerning the effect of the pill. It’s known to slightly change the female sense of smell. Leading to, in some cases, women finding they aren’t attracted to the mate they’ve now decided to have a child with – coming off the pill has changed the perception of those pheromones.
But you know, modern feminism. Sure, the patriarchy, Capitalism, The Man, female oppression and all that. But to complain about the human sense of smell and its role in the perpetuation of the species – have these people ever met any actual humans?
“Why does the toiletries industry still insist on separating men and women?” Because women use perfume in order to feel more womanly, and men splash on after-shave to feel more manly. With apologies to the Guardian, few of us men have evolved to want to feel more womanly, and vice versa. Ergo, Big Scent is not telling us what to want but simply selling us what we already want, just like McDonald’s. Am not buying the pheromone angle, especially as many women seem to want sex to smell no muskier than lavender. Touch and sight have replaced smell in arousal.… Read more »
Shock horror, sanitary products and pharmacutical contraceptives are segregated by sex as well!! Something Must Be Done!!!!
Perhaps more simply, I wasn’t aware that a woman who liked the smell of a men’s toiletry couldn’t you know, just buy it? And vice-versa?
If that can just happen, what is the problem?
Some of the most powerful pheremones are airborne and inhaled but are scentless and don’t work through the sense of smell.
If they start sneaking those into the bottles then the fun will really start.
“Why does the toiletries industry still insist on separating men and women?” Because women use perfume in order to feel more womanly, and men splash on after-shave to feel more manly. With apologies to the Guardian, few of us men have evolved to want to feel more womanly, and vice versa. Ergo, Big Scent is not telling us what to want but simply selling us what we already want, just like McDonald’s. Am not buying the pheromone angle, especially as many women seem to want sex to smell no muskier than lavender. Touch and sight have replaced smell in arousal.… Read more »