The Fear of Stinking

[Bruce]

There is much truth in what you say. I had a girlfriend when I lived in Germany who used to stick her nose right in my armpit and it made her go crazy. Here in Japan that is not going to happen. I can tell you. So, you have to consider the culture you are in.
Some other points about the BO situation:
A. There are probably thousands of airborne steroids that make up what we commonly refer to as \"body odor\" beyond the few that we have in bottles so far. I believe that some of these are \"good BO\" and some of them are \"bad BO\" and each one of those threads of BO has its own tale to tell about who we are. I know in myself that after I freak out about something for some reason I smell very bad and that taking a good hot shower relaxes me not only by warming the muscles but also by scrubbing off the stress hormones.
B. Body smells (and cologne fragrances for that matter) that are appropriate in the bedroom may not be appropriate at work or other public places.
C. I believe that we can do a LOT to improve our natural pheromone broadcasting system through general health practices like regular excercise, good diet, and a balenced mental state. And supporting this with the use of natural body care products.
D. Although I am a fan of letting your natural pheromones shine by avoiding antibacterial soaps and deodorants, I think that we can have the best of both worlds by using colgone with our body odor. Europeans (especially the French) have been on top of this natural pheromone technology for centuries. Witness the famous letter from Napoleon to his honey back home. \"I\'ll be home in 3 days. Don\'t bathe.\"
Let it Shine,
Bruce

[Whitehall]

I see much written here about trying to avoid the \"stink\" of male pheromones. I say, if you want to smell like an alpha male, you\'d better start thinking like one.

Don\'t be so shy! Remember, alpha males of many species mark their territory with scent (ref. the mop water smells like pheromones post). Humans do that too. Ever noticed how cigars and powerful men are linkied in the imagination? Some speculate that the stink of cigars is a form of territorial marking by dominant males.

We Americans especially have this thing about cleanliness and no odors so part our stink obsession is cultural training. However, I sense that some of it is that our younger males here are still put off by what they perceive is the aura of a foreign alpha male because they don\'t feel like one themselves.

I say, go with the stink, make it your own, be proud of it. If someone complains, tell the wimps to go f**k themselves. Then you\'ll combine the aroma of an alpha male with the attitude of one.

[Whitehall]

Note that I still enspouse cleanliness! One should prefer to smell like oneself, not microbe digestive products. Perhaps \"Body Odor\" has become completely pejorative to the general public while we aroma sophisticates know better. I certainly go nuts for the smell of a clean, healthy, fertile woman.

As to stress smells, I remember leading a very high stress testing program once, and a friend and colleague, a man who earned his officer\'s commission on the battlefields of Viet Nam, remarked that he could smell the stress on me.

I also agree about avoiding anti-bacterial soaps and with augmenting one\'s natural aromas with the right colognes.

As to cultural differences, I suspect a lot of it is based on long-standing dietary habits (Japanese - fish and rice, French - milk, cheese, and red meat - and garlicy snails). One comes to associate \"normal\" smells that result from that diet with health and anything else with suspection. People of Japanese ancestory here in California don\'t seem so uptight about odors as I\'ve heard they are in Japan.

The main point of my original posting was to buck up some of the young men here and give them the courage to act like they smell - there is a bit of disconnect it seems.