Love Stinks
by Steve Carter | July 6th, 2007
The sense of smell is one of our earliest evolved traits. Conceptually, you can think of smell as being one step up the ladder from pain. Like our sense of pain, our sense of smell evolved to help us avoid danger, only from a slightly greater distance (i.e., if pain tells you that fire hurts, smell tells you that something is on fire!) Although humans have a far less sensitive sense of smell than most other mammals, few changes have occurred in the olfactory sense in the past 500 million years. So, most “smells” are processed at powerful and unconscious level. When your brain receives a message from your nose, it takes it very very seriously.
One of the ways that smell powerfully effects your life that you may not be really aware of is through your sense of taste. Now, most everyone has experienced a dulling of their sense of taste when they are suffering from nasal congestion. When you have a cold, food just doesn’t taste that good. However, you may be surprised to learn that the human tongue can only distinguish among seven to eight distinct types of taste. Seriously. Your sense of smell interacts with your tongue’s sense of taste to create what you perceive of as the “flavors” of food and drink.
Don’t believe me? Try this experiment at home with a friend: Peel and cut-up a red apple and a white potato into ½ inch cubes and place the pieces in separate bowls. Now make your friend close their eyes, pinch their nose shut, and start feeding them cubes of potato or apple at random and asking them to identify which is which. For extra fun, don’t give them anything to drink. If they can consistently identify what they are eating, and whistle at the same time, they are truly talented (and a really good sport).
So, what does this have to do with love? Well, everything. For starters, it tells us that the way to a man’s heart isn’t through his stomache, it’s through his nose (which is a much more evocative image, really). Secondly, it tells us that the way we smell may also be perceived of as the way we taste, which in certain cultures might be strongly related to survival as well as romance.
Now, let’s assume that we want to maximize our romantic olfactory impact. What should we do? Overall, the best advice seems to be to minimize your use of artificial scents or thick make-up, and use unscented deodorant. This is important.
Research has shown that estrogenlike compounds affect sexually responsive parts of a man’s hypothalamus, but not those of a woman. Conversely, testosteronelike substances stimulate sexually responsive parts of a womans’ hypothalamus, but not those of a man. And where do these estrogen and testosterone-like substances come from? Your armpits, of course! Yes, the specialized apocrine scent glands in your armpits are going to woo the hypothalamus of your future true love. So lay off the Old Spice or, whatever you women use. You may not like the way you smell, but you’re not really supposed to. On the other hand, men, don’t skimp on bathing. Women have a sense of smell that is roughly 3 times stronger than that of men.
Finally, men, if you want to really stack the deck, drive a new car. Michael Stoddart in The Scented Ape: The Biology and Culture of Human Odour has noted that the molecular ingredients of that “new car smell” caused by all the new leather, rubber, plastic and vinyl are analogs of natural human sexual steroids. Vinyl in particular contains the chemical compound ethylene, which resembles the male steroid testosterone.
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August 1st, 2007 at 11:06 am
There ares actually studies to support this idea. Claus Wedekind did the sweaty t-shirt experiment. Women smelled men’s t-shirts (who had been instructed to use non-fragrant deoderizers, soaps and shampoos so their true scent could be detected) and then the women were asked to rate the smells best to worst. The ones smelled the worst to them were the most similar to their genotype. The t-shirts that smelled best belonged to the men whose genotype was the least like them. So when your brother comes in after basketball and gives you a hug-it’s why you tell-ooohhhh go take a shower you reek-similar genotypes-whereas his wife will insist he smells good to her-(she has a different genotype). So the guy who some in from a sweaty activity and smells good to you is actually a good sign-but do remember is you as a woman are taking hormones then your sense of smell is altered. So you may not be able to get the full affect. There are more details to all of this and I run the risk of sounding like an evolutionary biologist. But to me it seems that God has placed the subtle little unconcious detector right on the front of our faces and we should actually pay attention to it. In part it may explain why on-line or on the phone you seem to connect well but face to face…no spark. It also validates why similar characteristics are important, good prior communication is too but ultimately it’s that face to face meeting that will provide you with additional consious and even unconcious information that will tell you if this is truly a match with possibilites.
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:20 am
Great Article! I had heard about the smelly T-shirt experiment and thought that was so interesting. It’s just amazing….God is awesome….he cared about us in every minute detail! I have always had a really keen sense of smell and know that it is a very persuasive too in my life.
August 4th, 2007 at 1:27 am
I believe that attractive sense of smell has to do with some memory of comfort or wellness stored in our brains. I had a wonderful piano teacher, whom I admired and came to love as a person and a friend. He was not the most handsome person but he smelled terrific and it was not perfumy, or heavy cologne. It was comfortable like a warm cotton sweater, or clean sheets but I thought it almost spelled security and niceness.
We are still friends.
August 4th, 2007 at 3:34 am
The end of this article reminds me of the song “Warm Leatherette”. Which can be a very sexy song. Anybody remember it?
August 4th, 2007 at 8:43 am
11 years ago, my boyfriend died and I remember sleeping in his bed and smelling his smell in the sheets. It was very comforting to me. My last boyfriend, I realized how attracted I was to his smell. I realized the effectiveness of the smells way before this article just by my own experiences.
August 4th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Remember “Warm Leatherette?” Seeing Grace Jones open her show at The Palladium (mid ’80’s) dressed in a gorilla costume, jumping on the speakers to emerge in her incredibly erotic androgenous suit droning “See the breaking glass, in the underpass…” That is one sexy song. Exactly what makes it so sexy I’m not sure.
August 7th, 2007 at 12:22 am
There’s something about a man who has just finished working out that is immensely attractive to me and this article supports this claim. Also, the woman who replied on August 1, Rebecca, brings up a good point about genotypes.
But I was wondering why I was so attracted recently to a man, who was wearing some incredible smelling cologne? It was subtle and very sexy.
August 7th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I absolutely love the way my boyfriend smells naturally!!! I know it sounds gross- but I lovw to do his laundry so I can smell all of his dirty clothes!!! He thinks it is weird- but I love that smell!!! My dog does too- whenever he leaves my dog goes crazy rolling around the pillow he used!!!
August 7th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Not only is our sense of smell closely related to our sexual attraction, but it is our sense most strongly connected to memory; that is why you can catch a whiff of someone or something from years ago and conjure up thoughts of the past. Interesting stuff…
August 11th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
You guys are sick!!! just kidding. It’s true though. I came to this conclusion on my own years ago. But ladies please don’t go and shelf your deodorant just yet.
It’s true that your natural scent is more attractive than a artificial scent but let me add to that. It’s your “clean” natural scent that is attractive. Meaning in those few moments after you just showered and your body is clean. That is when your body gives off the most attractive scent…but it’s not attractive to just any person of the opposite sex. Your scent is attractive to select members of the opposite sex.
As for artificial scents, I have also found that a combination of certain colognes and my natural “clean” scent gives off incredibly powerful smells that just drives women crazy. Since my discovery years ago, I have been approached hundreds of times by complete strangers at bank lines, checkout stands, laundries, you name it. And they come up and tell me that I smell incredibly great, sexy, attractive….
It’s kind of funny and cute really… Just FYI I discovered this when I started looking for ways to help my wife stimulate her libido. For some reason it didn’t help her though and we are now divorced but that’s another story.
Anyways, just know that out there somewhere is a perfume or other skin product that will match your natural scent and will drive your man crazy. One of my personal favorites is coconut suntan lotion….just drives my nuts! lol.
August 12th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I too have a keen nose and prefer a more natural scent of a man rather than heavy cologne. I hate it when you can smell the guy 10 ft away and then it almost smothers you from just the strong scent of his cologne. Just put on a tiny bit so when we are close I can enjoy your smell. Less really is more appealing! It’s kinda like a sexy little treat…
I too use to love the smell of my ex husband after he worked up a sweat.
August 16th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
I totally agree that we women have a keener sense of smell than men. Why else would it be that we are so repulsed when a man douses himself with cologne, and he can barely smell it? But both men and women need to learn to back off on the fragrance. I dread going out in public – like when I go to the mall and get near someone so maxed out on the perfume/cologne that I have to hold my breath until I can get past them. My boss used to leave a vapor trail around the office until I told him that he was wearing too much cologne. All our noses are relieved! Everyone – use soap and deodorant, and that’s all you need. Oh, and freshly laundered clothes are an attractive scent, too!
August 17th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I agree with the study. I find that my fiancee smells like a baby! he smells sooo good to me. He plays soccer and comes home smelly and yet I like it. Ladies one word of advise if he does not smell good to you while dating, let it go! his smell will only irritate you in the future. Oh by the way I divorced my “smelly” ex.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:40 am
This is great! Wouldn’t it be cool if someone would organize one of those speed dating events except that instead of trying to rattle off your whole life history in 3 minutes or less, everone brought a gently worn undershirt/garment and then you got to do blind whiff tests of potential mates and rate each one. Then based on mutual ratings, etc. you were introduced to certain individuals to begin conversation, ice-breakers, games, whatever.
August 25th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
So if the ‘new car smell’ is driving women crazy, what smell will drive a man crazy?!
August 27th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Karl Grammer was one of my co-authors for an award winning 2001 review,
“Human Pheromones: Integrating Neuroendocrinology and Ethology”
and recently was featured on a television special segment on speed-dating. Unfortunately, he didn’t include any t-shirt scenarios.
Last month I was notified that my 2006 monograph also received an award:
James V. Kohl has been selected to receive the Ira and Harriet Reiss Theory Award for 2007 from the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (FSSS). The award is given annually for the best social science article, chapter, or book published in the previous year in which theoretical explanations of human sexual attitudes and behaviors are developed. Kohl’s review: “The Mind’s Eyes: Human Pheromones, Neuroscience, and Male Sexual Preferences” was published in the Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 18(4): 313-369, and concurrently published as a book chapter in the “Handbook of the Evolution of Human Sexuality.” In conjunction with the award, Kohl is an invited plenary session speaker at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS) in November, 2007, which will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Steve Carter has requested a reprint of the articles and will have plenty of technical support for all the comments made on his “Love Stinks” thread.
It is unfortunate that what many of us intuitively know about how our sense of smell affects our sexual behavior has been misrepresented in attempts to market products with aphrodisiacal effects. It is equally unfortunate that I have been unable to tone down the technical nature of my journal publications, so that more people are able to understand the biological facts. However, the 1995 book that I wrote (and Robert Francoeur co-authored) was written for a general audience, and released as an updated paperback edition in 2002. Those who are interested in more information about their sense of smell and their behavior might find it helpful.
August 27th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Thank you Dr. Kohl for your post!
I’m going to include Dr. Kohl’s “short answer” that I received from him via email as well:
“Thank you for your interest. The reprint is attached, and here’s a link to the .pdf of an earlier article that I mentioned when I responded to the comments on the blog.
http://www.nel.edu/22_5/NEL220501R01_Review.htm
The short answer to the question of what scents attract men is: any estrogen-associated natural body odor. Just as attractive testosterone-associated natural body odor conditions women to respond to visual features of masculinity/reproductive fitness (e.g., tall, dark, symmetrical), men are attracted by estrogen-associated natural body odor, which conditions men to respond to visual features of femininity/reproductive fitness (e.g, large breasts, smaller waists, full lips, lighter complexion).
September 1st, 2007 at 2:41 pm
i had a boy friend who smelled like fresh bread, and strawberries,he thought i was out of my gourd, i used to smell his clean clothes,smell is a very powerful aphrodisiac,
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Ah, pheromones. It’s so funny, I was just having a discussion about this with my friend the other day. She was saying that there was a guy at work that she absolutely loathes his personality, yet is strangely attracted to him, and she’s a little confused whenever she comes near him. After she told me, I said, “You know, I think humans forget how often pheromones come into the picture.” To which she agreed. Then again, I’m studying animal behavior, so I compare a lot of inexplicable human traits via animals.
It’s like the statement in the article, that women have three times greater sense of smell than men. I can think of two reasons for this, one having to do with the fact that women are the ones who carry children. They would need a greater sense of smell to be able to better protect their child in and out of the womb. Second theory (I haven’t really researched this, but these are THEORIES after all), is that women have to be more choosy in the men they chose to mate with. But like I said, I see it more in an “animal behavior” point of view…
One more thing I found funny was about ethylene. Ethylene is also a plant hormone, which causes fruit to ripen. I wonder what would happen if you just tell a man to eat a bunch of bananas or something – then ethylene will be diffusing from his pores, haha!
September 3rd, 2007 at 10:09 pm
I was in love with my ex boyfriend and still think about him all the time. I remember always falling asleep, cuddled up under his arm, with my nose in his armpit. I used to breath it in like it was roses. I loved the way he smelled and every time I smelled him I fell more in love. I never wanted him to wear any artificial scents.
Also, there are people I like, but I don’t like to be around them because I don’t like their natural scent, sometimes it just irratates me, so I know that there is so much truth to this study.
September 9th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
This is so true. I loved the way my ex-boyfriend smelled. I couldn’t get enough of it and I always went back for more. It was an unhealthy relationship and he didn’t treat me well, but the way he looked and smelled drove me nuts. I’ve been dating for over a year now and can’t seem to find someone who’s smell I am really drawn too! It’s a strange requirement, but definitely a must have.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:45 am
When I told my lover how much I like the way he smells, he seemed very surprised. “But I don’t wear anything,” he protested. I just grinned and sayid , “That’s right!”