A person’s sexual history and cultural conditioning often influence what smells he or she finds arousing. We typically learn through experience to view certain odors as erotic and others as offensive. From this perspective there may be nothing intrinsic to the fragrance of genital secretions that causes them to be perceived as either arousing or distasteful. We might also argue the contrary—that the smell of genital secretions would be universally exciting to humans were it not for conditioning that taught some people to view it as offensive. This latter interpretation is supported by the fact that some societies openly recognize the value of genital smells as a sexual stimulant. For example, in areas of Europe where the deodorant industry is less pervasive, some women use the natural bouquet of their genital secretions, strategically placed behind an ear or in the nape of the neck, to arouse their sexual partners.
Two people describe the impact of smell on their sexuality:
Sometimes my partner exudes a sex smell that makes me instantly aroused. (Authors’ files)
There is really something stimulating about the scent of a woman, and I enjoy both the smell and taste of a woman’s skin. (authors’ files)
The near obsession many people in our society have with masking natural body odors makes it difficult to study the effects of these smells. Any natural odors that might trigger arousal tend to be well disguised by frequent bathing, perfumes, deodorants, and antiperspirants. Nevertheless, each person’s unique experiences allow certain smells to acquire erotic significance, as the following anecdote reveals:
I love the smells after making love. They trigger little flashes of erotic memories and often keep my arousal level in high gear, inducing me to go on to additional sexual activities. (authors’ files)
In a society that is often concerned about natural odors, it is nice to see that some people appreciate scents associated with sexual intimacy and their lovers’ bodies.
The females of many species secrete certain substances, called pheromones (FARE — oh-mones), during their fertile periods (Rako & Friebely, 2004; Wyatt, 2003). Two anatomically distinct sites in the human nose may be involved in pheromonal receptivity (Shah & Breedlove, 2007). These two sites are the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and the olfactory epithelium (OE). Both of these areas transmit neural messages to the brain. A number of studies indicate that these sites in human noses can detect and respond to pheromones (Rako & Friebely, 2004; Savic et al., 2005; Touhara & Vosshall, 2009). In one study, Swedish researchers isolated two substances suspected of being human pheromones: Estratetraenol (EST), an estrogenlike chemical found in female urine, and androstadienone (AND), a derivative of testosterone found in men’s sweat. Using fMRI and PET (positron emission tomography) brain scans, these scientists found that
chapter 6
exposure to EST activated ("lit up") the hypothalamuses of heterosexual men but not heterosexual women, whereas smelling AND activated this brain structure in women but not men. (As described earlier in this chapter, the hypothalamus is implicated in sexual functioning.) One additional finding of interest in this study is that when the brains of gay men were scanned, their hypothalamuses responded to AND and EST in a similar way to those of the heterosexual female subjects (Savic et al., 2005).
Although mounting evidence suggests that humans do indeed secrete pheromones, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether these substances act as sexual attractants. Undaunted by the inconclusive nature of the available data, a number of American and international corporations have invested in the commercial development and marketing of perfumes and colognes allegedly containing substances that possess human pheromone properties (Cutler, 1999; Kohl, 2002). However, the jury is still out on whether these products contain genuine sexual-attractant pheromones.