My guess on why they are different for men in women is there is an assumption that men sweat more but don't need to smell pretty whereas there is an assumption women need less sweat protection (we glisten) but really want our pits to smell nice.
"Pretty" and "nice" sound like tools of the patriarchy!
No, seriously, most women's deodorant smells atrocious to me, a male. There is nothing nice about an armpit that smells like baby powder or a bunch of withered flowers. Now, most men's deodorant smells bad too, but there's no comparison to the most offensive women's deodorants. They make me think of catafalques, moth balls, the boudoirs of old rich widows, or being smothered by a lilac bush.
I don't mind people smelling like themselves provided they wash, but I understand many are embarassed by the sharp tang of even fresh sweat, and to prevent this, I prefer scent free anti-persipirants and deodorants which work by killing the odour-producing bacteria; second to that, the weaker of the "men's" smells, artificial concotions not trying to emulate anything in nature. "Sport" smell, "Spring rain" smell... the closest image these bring to mind is, I dunno, some kind of booze? -- I don't mind smelling like rum.
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Date: 2008-06-17 04:54 pm (UTC)"Pretty" and "nice" sound like tools of the patriarchy!
No, seriously, most women's deodorant smells atrocious to me, a male. There is nothing nice about an armpit that smells like baby powder or a bunch of withered flowers. Now, most men's deodorant smells bad too, but there's no comparison to the most offensive women's deodorants. They make me think of catafalques, moth balls, the boudoirs of old rich widows, or being smothered by a lilac bush.
I don't mind people smelling like themselves provided they wash, but I understand many are embarassed by the sharp tang of even fresh sweat, and to prevent this, I prefer scent free anti-persipirants and deodorants which work by killing the odour-producing bacteria; second to that, the weaker of the "men's" smells, artificial concotions not trying to emulate anything in nature. "Sport" smell, "Spring rain" smell... the closest image these bring to mind is, I dunno, some kind of booze? -- I don't mind smelling like rum.