To be loved is to be smelled, at least according to the manosphere. In the newest internet trend, young men are “pheromonemaxxing” – opting to forgo hygiene rituals in order to emphasise natural body odour and attract mates. However, the science behind human pheromones is wishy-washy at best and maximising odour may also be putting your love life in a funk.
Similar to the looksmaxxing trend, pheromonemaxxing is based on the idea that “natural body odour may contain chemicals that influence attraction” and that a person’s scent could make them “more appealing to a potential mate”, said NBC News. Partaking in the trend involves “ditching deodorant, skipping showers” and, in a gross escalation for the most committed, “drinking their own urine to ‘sweat out toxins’”, said Vice. The goal is to “amplify a ‘natural musk’ that allegedly contains pheromones that make you biologically irresistible”.
Sex pheromones do attract mates among certain creatures, but pheromonemaxxing relies on the belief that humans are “like ants, moths, mice and others known to secrete pheromones”, said Forbes. Unfortunately, human mating is far more complex.
Some research has found that people are “unconsciously drawn to partners whose immune profile differs from their own”, but it is not a guarantee, as research has also found that hormonal birth control “appears to completely reverse” the preference, added Vice.
It is ultimately important not to “confuse sensing and liking different smells with detecting and being affected by pheromones”, added Forbes. Sweat is “just a mix of 99% water, electrolytes (salts) and then tiny amounts of urea, ammonia and other compounds”, said Dr Samuel Cornell, a research fellow in public health at the University of Queensland, and Rob Brooks, a professor of evolution at the University of New South Wales, on The Conversation. The mixture can become a “cozy breeding ground for bacteria, and that will start to cause a stench”. |
