A Marriage Therapist's Blog

 

Thoughts on Marriage Counseling

 

Mar 01

Something Smells

By Jay Slupesky
Add comments
Theories of Love

Wife of Foul-Smelling ManIn the January/February issue of Psychology Today magazine, there is a semi-provocative article entitled “Scents and Sensibility” which describes how important the sense of smell is in influencing attraction between men and women. Apparently women depend heavily on a man’s odor in determining whether or not he is attractive. Men also are influenced by a woman’s odor, but apparently not to the same degree.

The article goes on to say that when a woman is on the birth control pill, her sense of smell is inhibited to the point that it no longer influences her feeling of attraction.  Also, the pill affects a woman’s own odor to the degree that men will find her less attractive than if she weren’t on the pill.

So far, so good. But I stopped reading mid-article when I came to this nugget: “One of the most common things women tell marriage counselors is, ‘I can’t stand his smell.’”  Say what?

I have spent hundreds of hours counseling married couples and the number of times a woman has said that to me is…hmm, let me think…wait for it…oh yeah…zero.  I have never heard that statement or anything close to it.

So…real world calling Psychology Today…it is not common for a woman in marriage counseling to complain about how her husband smells.

OK, I’m done ranting now.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 10:26 pm and is filed under Theories of Love.

Leave a Comment