Compatibility: women are sniffing men out—literally
Researchers have found that women can smell men—especially their underarm odor—better than men can smell women.
It’s not that men’s odor is necessarily worse. It’s that women are more sensitive to this particular smell. When researchers tried to mask each type of odor with other scents, men were less able to detect the lingering female sweat odor whereas women were more likely to continue to perceive the male sweat odor despite the attempt at coverup.
And lest you think this is because women are just plain difficult, think again. It seems that Mother Nature has arranged it so that women get important genetic information from male body odor. If we can believe this research, for example, the Pill blocks this all-important function:
…[A] woman’s flowery fragrance or a guy’s musk the body sends out aromatic molecules that indicate genetic compatibility.
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are involved in immune response and other functions, and the best mates are those that have different MHC smells than you. The new study reveals, however, that when women are on the pill they prefer guys with matching MHC odors.
MHC genes churn out substances that tell the body whether a cell is a native or an invader. When individuals with different MHC genes mate, their offspring’s immune systems can recognize a broader range of foreign cells, making them more fit.
Past studies have suggested couples with dissimilar MHC genes are more satisfied and more likely to be faithful to a mate. And the opposite is also true with matchng-MHC couples showing less satisfaction and more wandering eyes.
So, can we blame the Pill for the higher divorce rate? At least we can’t point the finger at deodorant, since women seem to be able to ferret out the telltale smells despite the masking scents.
LOL…I guess the nose knows….(unless on the pill, that is).
“Fee-fi-fo-fum….”
I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of similar research results at least 5 years or so ago…
People had thought they had broken nature’s chains on them with their sexual revolution, the Pill.
In the end, human hubris proves itself once more and the reality was always that Nature had the last best joke.
Okay, here’s a real “out-there” idea relating to this. I heard once (and I don’t have any sources I can cite), that an experiment was done in which female monkeys were given hormonal contraceptives. The result was that some of the male monkeys began mating activity with other males. Now, who knows whether this is a true story or not. But if it were, it would be interesting that in suppressing normal female function via contraception, the loss of normal pheremonal signaling could result in something going wacky with the males. Possibly there could be even more widespread effects as the overall pheremonal environment in which all operate could change in such a way to suppress the natural drive toward monogamous commitment in general.
Intriguing possibility, I have no idea of its veracity, but certainly much in general has gone wacky since the Pill was adopted.
So, I can skip the deodorant and masking scents? Excellent!
This explains my first divorce! She got on the pill and couldn’t stand my smell anymore – it was too unlike her own, which is the very characteristic that had attracted her in the first place.
But I got ‘fixed’ between marriages so the 2nd wife had no need for the pill and thus my odor remained tantalizing to her. Gee, I’ve been wondering why it all worked out the way it did.
New idea – ‘eStench,’ the olfactory version of eHarmony. Unlaundered shirts and blouses could be exchanged at first.
If these preliminary whiffs work out well, underwear and panties could be discreetly swapped(in air-tight packages) for the final sniff.
Then and only then do they meet for coffee at Starbucks. I offer this concept for free to any budding internet entrepreneur.
Men sweat more. It’s just a fact. Sweat is actually the body’s way of conducting excess heat and lowering temperature. I tend to sweat heavily – and I’m not obese. I was that way as a kid and a young man. When I played hockey you should have felt my uniform and equipment after a game. It would take days to dry out and I found some newfangled chemical spray to help dissipate the stink. I use deordorant, but not anti-perspirant, because anti-perspirant (on me) washes off only with great difficulty when I take a shower.
My wife does not perspire much, which is why in very hot weather we have to be very careful with her to make sure she drinks more water. When we’ve gone on trips to Hawai’i on the beach sometimes she will suffer heat exhaustion – because she just does not sweat much at all.
My wife and i refuse to use the pill as a protection for the reason of the potential problem (from other studies).
I have seen situations change in ways that makes sense to that. but was i really seeing that? i dont know. the situations were; as long as what state she was in when they met things were good, but when that state changed, things went sour. was it the pill? seemed so with some.
except the pill issue is different than just MHC. it has to do with preferences for who is around the woman when she is pregnant or not. when pregnant she favors similar mhcs or family, when not pregnant, she favors dissimilar ones. given that the pregnant state is temporary it would reflect hanging out with her family more when she was pregnant… there have been other studies though i dont remeber their evolutionary conclusions.
and this article is interesting if only for darwinian angles (not to mention a fair easy take off point to families).
Chimpanzees exchange meat for sex
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7988169.stm
i read it a bit different… i would say that humans, who would visit prostitutes exchange for sex…
in my opinion, which we all know isnt worth diddly on the open market, they are describing offering meat for a relationship and time preference (which then leads to more sex).
even humans today buy gifts, or provide food.. (we still argue who pays first date, and the girls despite liberation want it paid for by the guy)
however. while sex may be what happens at the end, its not sex that is being exchanged (in most cases). its time, opportunity, the ability to be there when things are right. how he smells. how many other suitors there are.
humans are an interesting animal…
the math of beauty is interesting as well. twiggy and marilynn monroe had the same hip to waist ratio. so its not size, its proportion.. but on top of it, its about fertility. so its not men to blame for selecting what they like visually, which gives them mating cues.. just as scent gives the women hers.
[i would love to know if women can also smell testosterone level or some other indicator of winning. when you win, your testosterone goes up, when you lose it goes down (and i dont remember other responses). so besides mhc, does winning count too? i would guess so, as the attraction to the successful may be more than just greed. cause big fish in small ponds get too]
I consider relying on scent as a means to mate to be a primitive instinct that is unworthy of the human being. And women think we men are knuckledraggers????
Scent can also give an indication of one’s diet, which may relate to the instincts of prospective mates.
There is something about the smell of people. Something is just right if you like the smell of your mate….the unadulterated smell, not necessarily and unclean body odor smell, but the smell of skin and breath.
Is that all there is to the birds and bees thing? All this time I thought it had to do with compatible personalities, particularly sense of humor, and especially, “politics”, Obamatoads need not apply…
This thread reminds me of the old saying:
Men sweat, women perspire, ladies glow.
FredHjr, why is it ‘primitive’ for scent to play a part in mating procedure? We are learning how very important issues of immune response are involved. We are physical beings. It is not primitive for that to matter. Now we learn that overriding such responses leads to more divorce. Clearly we are right to pay attention to such things.
I’ve been married happily for over 20 years now. I seem to not recall that the scent of my wife had anything to do with our compatibility or the fact that we have worked at our relationship. Love, built on friendship and affection. I make a distinction between lust and love/affection. Sure, you can make a case that the right scents can arouse lust and heighten it. But will it be a proper foundation?
I think not.
Our society is littered with the remains of failed relationships and marriages that were based on things that don’t last. Most of all, based upon the poor judgment of people who don’t know themselves or others.