Y? Forum - Do different races smell differently?

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Do different races smell differently?

Question:

Is it just me or does it seem like each race tends to have a very distinct odor? I've been in all-white environments and have noticed that white people tend to smell like spoiled milk or hazelnut coffee. Asians tend to have a noodle-like smell, and Indians smell like musk and curry. Of course, I've heard that black people tend to smell like cocoa butter, which is apparently revolting to someone with different olfactory sensitivites.

Posted:

4/20/2003

By:

RealityCheck , Philadelphia, PA, United States , 25 , Male , Black/African American , 4 Years of College , Middle class

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Category:

Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Americans and the "rotting meat" smell

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I have heard that the soldiers in Vietnam could smell our soldiers coming. They smelled like rotting meat. What you smell like has more to do with what you eat than what ethnicity you are. The fact is, many people of a certain ethnicity may eat a certain way, confusing someone into thinking it is a factor related to ethnicity rather than the type of food consumed.
Vegetarians produce less foul body odors from armpits and other places because they do not consume rotting flesh.

Posted:

11/6/2005

By:

Mary , Belmont, CA, United States , 37 , Female , White/Caucasian , Over 4 Years of College , Upper middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Are what you eat?

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Indians and whites are basically the same type of people, Caucasoid, so the differences in smell would have to be a result of their differing diets.

Posted:

7/20/2003

By:

A.P.R. , Washington, DC, United Kingdom , 17 , Female , Agnostic , Hispanic/Latino (may be any race) , Straight , Student , High School Diploma , Middle class

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Category:

Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Olfactory races

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Although I don't have a sensitive nose to detect differences in odors of different races, I would not find it surprising that you find such a distinction. I can smell cat, dog, cow, chicken, horse, etc. Each animal does have a specific odor, just as each person has a unique fingerprint, DNA, it stands to reason that each person has a unique odor. Dogs with their supersmelling ability can attest to that. Therefore, if individuals have unique scents, and species have unique scents, it stands to reason that races have specific odor characteristics.

Posted:

5/4/2003

By:

Ronald V. , Edmonton, Alberta, NA, Canada , Male

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Of cocoa butter, corn chips and coffee

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Blacks tend to use a lot of lotion on their skin because of its appearance when dry, so that explains the 'cocoa butter' smell. The distinct, unpleasant odor I most often detect from blacks often smells like stale corn chips. I imagine the reasons are food preferences, as we all know whites love our coffee, the Chinese are noodle maniacs and Indians can't live without their curry. But that's just a slight generalization with a hint of truth.

Posted:

5/4/2003

By:

Seamus , Charlestown, MA, United States , 23 , Male , White/Caucasian , Construction , High School Diploma , Lower class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

"Currying" favor?

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Many people tend to smell like the foods they eat. I have a few friends from India who smell like curry because they eat curries two or three times a day. Likewise, many people who eat a lot of meat seem, to me, to give off a meat amino acid smell. I know that when I eat more mea, my body's odor seems to change. Also, a person's body odor could also come from the lotion(s) or perfumes they use.

Posted:

5/4/2003

By:

David , Tokyo, NA, Japan , Male , White/Caucasian , Straight , Over 4 Years of College

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Sensitive nose?

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I don't know, but it is quite likely you are noticing an effect due to different diets. It is true that your diet can affect your natural body odor.

While others may not be able to notice it, maybe you have an unusually sensitive nose, like some people (professional tasters) have an unusually sensitive sense of taste.

Posted:

5/4/2003

By:

Wayne C. , Orange, NJ, United States , 42 , Male , Baptist , Black/African American , Straight , marketing , Over 4 Years of College , Middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

We all smell different

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If we could talk to dogs, they would really have a story to tell. Yes, different races smell. But even people who shower every day have a distinct odor, much like our beloved dogs carry an odor.

Posted:

4/24/2003

By:

Ronald V. , Edmonton, Alberta, NA, Canada , Male

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

This is nonsense

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I've worked around several races and nationalities, and I'm sorry, but I haven't come across the scents you have. Most of the women I come in contact with usually smell very nice, because they're wearing a nice scent of perfume or cologne. As for myself, I love the scent of cocoa butter, as well as coconut and mango. In fact, The Body Shop, one of the most popular 'scent' stores around, sells a product called 'Body Butter,' a rich moisturizing body cream that comes in many scents, including mango, coconut, sesame, olive, grape, honey and cocoa butter. Incidentally, the cocoa butter and mango are their biggest sellers. So apparently a lot of women - black, white, whatever - like the scent of cocoa butter.

This 'different races smell different' nonsense is just another way to promote prejudice and bigotry.

Posted:

4/24/2003

By:

Rhonda O. , Laurelton, NY, United States , 41 , Female , Lutheran , Black/African American , Straight , Account Representative , 2 Years of College , Middle class

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Unscreened Responses

Category:

Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

SMELL OF WHITE PEOPLE

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I am hispanic race and I can tell objectly that many, many white people smell like 'rotten milk' mixed with a little urine. They smell not from their armpits but from their back, when they sweat. Maybe white people have a distinctive glans close on their backs ??? I wonder why a lot of white people don't accept that they smell in that way. Maybe they are 'blind' to their scent? Or in every forum related to smell only people from other races post ??? I want to make this post, respectfully to every race. Thanks.

Posted:

7/30/2007

By:

AGAPITO , MIAMI, FL, United States

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Do races smell differently

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Do you, as a black male, list that white people smell like spoiled milk due to their color and your own hatred? The oder you refer to is probably more a matter of hygene than race. However it is true that some ethnicities, such as white people, asians, and indians value bathing and cleanliness more than, say, blacks and mexicans, who smell, reguardless of what you heard, like sweat and vasaline.

Posted:

1/24/2007

By:

Anna , n/a, NV, United States , Female , White/Caucasian , Straight , gourmet chef , 4 Years of College , Upper middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Smell of Ethinicity!

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I am sure there is some point with RealityCheck's comment. People smell different naturally. I don't care when people use perfumes. The rich gets a better smell then. Whatsoever, Egyptians and many west Asian people have a beef boiling smell, Indians with a Curry smell, Asians with the smell of seafood, Europeans got the smell of red meat, Americans smell like meat mixed up with rice ... and so on n so forth.

Posted:

12/30/2005

By:

neutral , wavahi, NA, Egypt

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Do different races small differently/

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I went to see the Soweto Gospel Choir in concert last night and when I walked into the auditorium I smelled a familiar buttery smell...like cocoa butter? I recognized it as a 'black' scent and I was dying to ask, 'Is that the smell of a product black people use (is it possible they all use the same product??) or is that the natural scent of black skin or hair?' I'm very interested to know. It was not unpleasant to me at all but I've been embarrassed to ask anyone because it sounds kind of rude. Why do you smell different? I'm worried that someone will think I'm trying to say 'you people smell funny' or something which isn't the case. So...to make a long story short...thank you for asking the question! I'm going to pay closer attention to the smell of white people...spoiled milk? As a white person I hope I don't smell like that!

Posted:

2/18/2005

By:

Sicpo , Toronto, Ontario, NA, Canada , 32 , Female , White/Caucasian , graphic design , 4 Years of College , Middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

I know people from races smell differently

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I noticed the same thing.I like the cocoa butter smell a lot.

I smell a coconutty smell with black people a LOT!

Native Americans, I don,t know what I smell, but that smell doesn,t seem to be as good.Sometimes I,ve met up with a Native American and they smelled pretty nice.I don,t know if it,s what they have cooked or eaten, but a few times , I have smelled Native Americans.

Whites don,t really smell very much, that I have met.Sometimes they do smell like a great perfume though.

Posted:

2/18/2005

By:

Devon , Regina, NA, Canada , 29 , Female , Christian , American Indian , Straight , Webmaster , High School Diploma , Lower class

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Race/Ethnicity

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Do different races smell differently?

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I have noticed some differencies in odor even though I don't think I have especially sensitive sense of smell. Probably the most distinct difference I have noticed is between white and blacks.

I think that spoiled milk smell describes to some extend the smell of whites if the odor is strong (which is often the case with obese persons, especially if they haven't had shower recently). If the smell is less strong, it smells relatively neutral to me. But in my opinion at least white men (not sure about women) can also have musky odour.

Of those black persons I have known better, they seem have 'sweeter' smell than most whites. If the smell isn't very strong, I think it is somewhat pleasant, although on the other hand it makes me wonder where does that smell come from (for example, can the sweat smell so different). And it is more difficult for me to judge how recently that person has visited shower because I am not so familiar with those smells.

I am not sure if the difference could be explained just by different diets (or some kind skin lotions). Finland didn't have that many non-white (or non-finnish) persons until quite recent years -- so most non-whites have moved here quite recently (especially from Somalia) and probably still tend to eat foods that white finns aren't familiar with.

Posted:

2/14/2005

By:

FB , Helsinki, NA, Finland , 29 , Male , Atheist , White/Caucasian , Gay , Over 4 Years of College , Middle class

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Class

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Racist

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Hey
all races in the world smell.
Black people smell bad too
Indians smell rotten curry
Asians smell weird
Europeans smell rotten butter cheese with decomposed nut cheese.

All races in the world have their own odors, so talking like whoever smells or not is really foolish and dumb

Posted:

11/8/2004

By:

to stupid , paris, NA, France

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Black People And Cocoa Butter

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Correction.

Asians tend to smell like fish oil and peanut butter. Indians are technically caucasians, but since they eat a great deal of curry you reasoning stands. White caucasians do eat a great deal of dairy and bread so I follow your logic, but negroes tend to smell putridly sweet. I guess you could say kind of like rotten fruit rinsed with urine in a dirty ashtray. The smell doesn't go away either, it tends to hang on for a while. Indian curry covers up with perfume, but you just can't kill that negro scent. It leaves when it wants. Hope this helps.

Posted:

5/4/2004

By:

mikey , calais, AL, France

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Sensitive Matters

Subject:

crap

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you probably smell like crap dude get a life

Posted:

4/22/2004

By:

george jones , dc, DC, United States , Over 4 Years of College

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Smelly Indians

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Indians are the smelliest people in the world. I sat next to a dothead onced on the plane and almost died. Waited till he fell asleep and I sprayed him with a lot of cologne.

Posted:

3/14/2004

By:

Indianhater , New York, NY, United States , Over 4 Years of College

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

racial scents

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A friend of mine works at an expensive business hotel in Tokyo and part of her job is to go into rooms after they check out to make sure nothing is missing. She swears she can guess the nationality of the person who just checked out solely by smell. Her examples; Koreans-KimChee, French-cologne/perfume, Germans-body odor, Americans-soap or ketchup. But at any rate I think its pretty clear that its due to dietary intake and similarities in cleansing products and not some intrinsic genetic racial smell. I was also told when I was in Japan that a racial slur for white Americans translates as 'stinking of butter'.

Posted:

2/23/2004

By:

George , New Haven, CT, United States , 29 , Male , White/Caucasian , graduate student , Over 4 Years of College , Middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Different races do smell

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I find french people tend to smell like roast chicken and blacks smell like weed or gunpowder. Indians just plain smell.

Posted:

2/18/2004

By:

Louis Castor , Toronto, NA, Canada , 31 , Male , Catholic , Hispanic/Latino (may be any race) , Bisexual , Hair dresser , Less than High School Diploma , Middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

You are what you eat and other vast and sundry...

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Most people are a product of what they eat, what they wash with, what they put in their hair, their make-up, and gender. So some things can make a person or group smell a certain way.
for instance, for many women, if they eat fish, their urine and female areas can take on a stronger smell. The same with asparagus, I believe. (I think that's the right veggie).
Also what a person washes with, or how often the wash, some cultures don't use deodorant. It's all relative to their makeup.
Don't even go into the onion and garlic lover's smell. LOL!
Ultimately, You should try and get away from the generalization of a ethnic 'smell'. You will probably be wrong.

Posted:

2/14/2004

By:

Cheronda , Twin Lake, MI, United States , 30 , Female , Baptist , Black/African American , Straight , Data Entry , 2 Years of College

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Do different races smell differently?

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all people stink differently

after I eat my favorite snack, jalipenio poppers, I smell pretty good.

Posted:

2/11/2004

By:

Bob Dobbs , Los Angeles, CA, United States

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Category:

Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

smell

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Anecdote:

While going to train in a martial art in Japan, my teacher noted that I may consider cutting back on dairy products before going, because to East Asians, white people tend to smell like rotten milk. He noted this while he was previously stationed in Korea and his Korean girl told him as such.

Cheers...

Posted:

2/8/2004

By:

Dibble , Bezerkeley, CA, United States , 26 , Male , Atheist , White/Caucasian , Straight , Chemist , Over 4 Years of College , Middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Idiocy!

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What bigotry. Your 'distinct odors' are merely a bunch of poorly lumped together stereotypes -- for example, everyone knows tht Asians smell like noodles, Black people smell like fried chicken and Native Americans smell like booze. Try to not spout this kind of thinly-veiled racist dribble.

Posted:

2/8/2004

By:

Alan B , Washington, DC, United States , 23 , Male , Agnostic , White/Caucasian , Intelligence Officer , 4 Years of College , Upper middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Race/Odor Breakdown

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Here's my best attempt at a race/odor breakdown. Caucasians: Whatever kind of cheap cologne or perfume they're loaded down with; sometimes peanuts. Blacks: Coconut or hairspray. Mexicans: Salsa or chili-cheese Fritos. Indians: Curry or armpit. Asians: Bullion cubes. Candadians: Completely and utterly odorless. Germans: Straight-up B.O. Jews: Dollar bills. Eskimoes: Ice Cubes

Posted:

2/7/2004

By:

Nick , Austin, TX, United States

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

It's mostly from food

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If you eat a lot of particular spices, they will come out in your sweat as well as other bodily fluids. Mint is this way; so's coffee, and so's cinnamon and other curry spices.

Anyone who's ever drank a lot of strong, rich coffee can tell you that even your urine can smell of coffee. If you eat a lot of mints (Altoids addict, or cough drops) it will smell of mint -- menthol, the essential oil in mint, can get all throughout your body. The same goes for other strong spices.

Japanese sources from early in the contact between Japan and Europe also describe Europeans as smelling of spoiled milk. It's probably because we eat cheese! I understand many Asians and Blacks don't, due to lactose-intolerance. So that's probably a reason it's noticed more across racial lines (er, why whites don't think each other smell like that) -- we all eat too much cheese to notice. :)

When I was involved with a Black woman, it was her hair cream rather than skin lotion which I noticed as smelling strongly -- of coconut. And it got -everywhere-. :)

Posted:

2/7/2004

By:

Anonymous , No, NA, No , White/Caucasian

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Do different races smell differently?

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Most of the reason has to do with dietary preferences. The body produces different waste (metabolite) products depending on your diet. People who tend to eat dairy and dairy-based products get that spoiled milk smell. Coffee and alcohol also produce strong odiferous metabolites. Curries are particularly potent, not just from sweat glands, but also the aerosolized oils from cooking that sticks to hair and clothing.

Personally I have noticed that 'cocoa butter' odor from some blacks and have wondered of its origin as well.

Posted:

2/6/2004

By:

JanKee , Raleigh, NC, United States , 28 , Male , Buddhist , Hispanic/Latino (may be any race) , Straight , Over 4 Years of College , Lower middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Rotten milk

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I'm white, and I've noticed the 'rotten milk' smell too. There was a girl I dated in high school, and her kisses smelled like this. We didn't date long.

I also noticed a 'black' smell, a sort of body order that most black people share. OF course, this was in elementary school, back when not everyone bathed everyday. I haven't noticed it in any adult who keeps up with hygiene.

I did have an Indian friend who smelled like curry -- her hair, her clothes, her sweat. And when you stood on the porch of their house, you could smell it. And when you went in their kitchen, you could practically eat the smell. Her mom spent most of the time cooking, I believe.

You are what you eat. The smells of the things you consume will travel in your body and come out through your pores.

Posted:

2/6/2004

By:

Lawpoop , Columbus, OH, United States

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

cooking curry smells like... curry.

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sometimes, when you're in a enclosed space, say, your house, and food is cooking, the smell soaks into your clothes and hair and whatnot. this, as far as logic goes, makes sense. in fact, it's kind of obvious.

Posted:

2/6/2004

By:

knowles , new brunswick, NJ, United States , 24 , Male , Buddhist , White/Caucasian , Straight , security technician , 2 Years of College , Lower middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

smelly food

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i think people's diets have a lot to do with it.
the more natural foods i eat ...the less smell problem their is.
i dont like people who smell of deodrants.
and also scents ....i like natural human smell....sniff sniff

Posted:

2/6/2004

By:

poppy , balerna, NA, switzerland , 46 , Female , pantheist , europe latin , Straight , carer , ADD cronic

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Race/Ethnicity

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It all goes back to our ancestors.

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It all goes back to our hunter gatherer ancestory, its often said that members of different tribes had a distinct sent to them, the reasons for this can vary, be it safe guarding tribe mixing or enemy detection. I often find that when I enter another persons house whos not a member of my family (tribe), they have a distinct oder that I notice. Taking that into acount people who are members of another race much less another tribe, would of course have a distinct sent to us, the scent has often been said to also be a warning as well, if the scent of the person is revolting to you then they were your enemy, if it was pleasant then they were friend. Having said that the different body scents of different people go back to our ancestors who used all of their scences to survive.

Posted:

6/20/2003

By:

Peter Kay , Parkcity, OK, United States , 56 , Male , White/Caucasian , Straight , college proffesor , Over 4 Years of College , Middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Smell something fishy?

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Catagorizing people by race is an intellectual trap that narrows your ability not only to see but to think clearly about what you see. Race has nothing to do with it. Every individual human being has a distinct odor. Racism has an odor, too. Smells kinda fishy, and has for quite a while now.

Posted:

6/10/2003

By:

Ron , Los Lunas, NM, United States , 53 , Male , Straight , 4 Years of College , Lower middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Do different races smell differently?

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I totally agree with you although I do not know the reason. I have a friend that is an african american and we have often discussed this. I always thought it was her lotion that gave her the cocoa butter smell! I dont find it offensive at all but it is very interesting what the cause could be for this! As far as whites, that's the one thing I dont know since I am one!

Posted:

5/10/2003

By:

Karen , Davison, MI, United States , 34 , Female , Christian , White/Caucasian , Straight , Accountant , 2 Years of College , Lower middle class

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Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

race/ethnicity and smell

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I had a conversation about this topic with a Chinese friend today. He told me that many of his Asian friends agree that white people, especially white men, have an unpleasant odor, especially when compared to Asians. I have noticed that there do seem to be odors that are largely race-specific; however, I know that when I eat curry, I smell like it for days afterward, so I think it is largely dietary. My other theory is that we have genetic predispositions to fostering different types of bacteria on our skin, but I have no scientific basis for that theory.

Posted:

5/6/2003

By:

Rachel , Durham, NC, United States , 31 , Female , White/Caucasian , Student , Over 4 Years of College , Upper middle class

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Category:

Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Olfactory Races

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Although I don't have a sensitive nose to detect differences in odours of different races, I would not find it surprising that you find such a distinction. I can smell cat, dog, cow, chicken, horse etc. Each animal does have a specific odour. Just as each person has a unique fingerprint, DNA, it stands to reason that each person has a unique odour. Dogs with their supersmelling ability can attest to that. Therefore, if individuals have unique scents, and species have unique scents, it stands to reason that races have scentual characteristics.

Posted:

5/2/2003

By:

Ronald V , Edmonton, NA, Canada

Mesg ID:

538bade1-2d8b-473f-982b-f836ad0606b7

Responses:

Category:

Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Ethnic Odor

Reply:

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Odors can penetrate your body, and permeate your clothing. My aunt always smelled like cooked carrots, to me; in fact, her whole house did. My grandmother always smelled slightly like mothballs (not because she ate them, but because she kept them in her dresser drawers). It shouldn't surprise anyone that Indians smell like the spices they use in their food. As for black people smelling like cocoa butter, I certainly never noticed that. I imagine it's because the ones I've known lived like and ate like I do, so I never noticed that they had any particular smell.

Posted:

5/1/2003

By:

Jerry Schwartz , New Britain, CT, United States , 54 , Male , White/Caucasian

Mesg ID:

98d97ee0-2df2-43c2-a278-9162d92bc973

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Category:

Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Racial Smells

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I dont know, but it is quite likely you are noticing an effect due to different diets. It is true that your diet can effect your natural body odor.

While others may not be able to notice it, maybe you have an unusually sensitive nose, like some people (professional tasters) have an unusually sensitive sense of taste.

Posted:

4/27/2003

By:

Wayne C , Orange, NJ, United States , 42 , Male , Baptist , Black/African American , Straight , marketing , Over 4 Years of College , Middle class

Mesg ID:

f4fcd2ac-3c90-4d79-a14b-48d55e035f9b

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Category:

Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

It's food, not race.

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I think it depends on what you eat, more so than what your race is. Since different races usually have different cultures (even in this country), they will probably eat a variety of foods. Also, it is always easier to smell someone else's body odor.

Posted:

4/21/2003

By:

Kristina , DC, DC, United States , 22 , Female , Christian , Black/African American , Straight , Transciber , 2 Years of College , Middle class

Mesg ID:

6f6a552c-773e-4ac2-9338-e360f86a182d

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Category:

Race/Ethnicity

Subject:

Do different races smell differently?

Reply:

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i think that the different smells are because of cultural reasons than strickly biological. I have heard that the japanese can smell europeans out because of the high dairy intake (smell like cheese). Entering a house of any particular culture has its own unique smell from the style of cooking going on. over several years this smell can be quite strong to a person not acustom to it.
The smell can invade all clothing and furniture. So its my opinion that any noticeable smells are from a persons clothing rather than what might eminate from their persons.

Posted:

4/21/2003

By:

Andrew , Melbourne, NA, Australia , 30 , Male , Atheist , White/Caucasian , IT professional , 2 Years of College , Middle class

Mesg ID:

408b4f5e-a92c-4437-93e5-456dcd982a42

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