Olfactophilia

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What is olfactophilia or odor fetish?

olfactophilia or osmolagnia is a paraphilia for, or sexual arousal to,Natural odors emanating from the body, and especially from the sexual areas1. Etymologies: olfactophilia (Latin: olfacto, to smell, and philia, love); osmolagnia (Greek: osme, odor, and lagneia, lust).

Contents

Sigmund Freud used the term osphresiolagnia in reference to the pleasures caused by odors. [1]

What causes this?

The reasons for this can be biological, psychological, cultural factors, and the presence of sex hormones called pheromone s that are present in body secretions such as sweat. Smell fetishism is generally a natural sexual interest and feeling that is part of the diversity of human desires and can exist in different forms in different people. [2] [3]

Its literal meaning

"Olfactophilia" is a word related to "olfactory" that refers to our sense of smell. The word literally means "love of smell." Olfactophilia is used specifically for body odor, rather than being a general word for the sense of smell.

There are related odor fetish terms in literature, such as "osmolagnia," which means "smell of lust." Sigmund Freud called it "osphresiolagnia," but the word can refer to other odors as well.

Its prevalence

Body odor fetishes are common among people. There is hardly anyone who doesn't like the smell of their lover. We are more attracted to people who enjoy their sweat or secretions. It is expected that this smell is so necessary in sex that we consider it a smell fetish. Some people have a very strong reaction to body odors and are especially turned on by these odors. Body odor fetishes are very specific, such as smelling sweaty feet, socks and underwear or the smell of gas and burps, and more.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lust</span> Human emotion

Lust is an intense desire for something. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality, money, or power. It can take such mundane forms as the lust for food as distinct from the need for food or lust for redolence, when one is lusting for a particular smell that brings back memories. It is similar to but distinguished from passion, in that properly ordered passion propels individuals to achieve benevolent goals whilst lust does not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pheromone</span> Secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species

A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavior of the receiving individuals. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology. Pheromones are used by many organisms, from basic unicellular prokaryotes to complex multicellular eukaryotes. Their use among insects has been particularly well documented. In addition, some vertebrates, plants and ciliates communicate by using pheromones. The ecological functions and evolution of pheromones are a major topic of research in the field of chemical ecology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual attraction</span> Attraction on the basis of sexual desire

Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context where they appear. The attraction may be to a person's aesthetics, movements, voice, among other things. The attraction may be enhanced by a person's body odor, sex pheromones, adornments, clothing, perfume or hair style. It can be influenced by individual genetic, psychological, or cultural factors, or to other, more amorphous qualities. Sexual attraction is also a response to another person that depends on a combination of the person possessing the traits and on the criteria of the person who is attracted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foot fetishism</span> Sexual fascination with feet

Foot fetishism, also known as foot partialism or podophilia, is a pronounced sexual interest in feet. It is the most common form of sexual fetishism for otherwise non-sexual objects or body parts.

Body odor or body odour (BO) is present in all animals and its intensity can be influenced by many factors. Body odor has a strong genetic basis, but can also be strongly influenced by various factors, such as sex, diet, health, and medication. The body odor of human males plays an important role in human sexual attraction, as a powerful indicator of MHC/HLA heterozygosity. Significant evidence suggests that women are attracted to men whose body odor is different from theirs, indicating that they have immune genes that are different from their own, which may produce healthier offspring.

In psychoanalysis, psychosexual development is a central element of the sexual drive theory. According to Freud, personality develops through a series of childhood stages in which pleasure seeking energies from the child become focused on certain erogenous areas. An erogenous zone is characterized as an area of the body that is particularly sensitive to stimulation. The five psychosexual stages are the oral, the anal, the phallic, the latent, and the genital. The erogenous zone associated with each stage serves as a source of pleasure. Being unsatisfied at any particular stage can result in fixation. On the other hand, being satisfied can result in a healthy personality. Sigmund Freud proposed that if the child experienced frustration at any of the psychosexual developmental stages, they would experience anxiety that would persist into adulthood as a neurosis, a functional mental disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Androstenone</span> Chemical compound

Androstenone (5α-androst-16-en-3-one) is a 16-androstene class steroidal pheromone. It is found in boar's saliva, celery cytoplasm, and truffle fungus. Androstenone was the first mammalian pheromone to be identified. It is found in high concentrations in the saliva of male pigs, and, when inhaled by a female pig that is in heat, results in the female assuming the mating stance. Androstenone is the active ingredient in 'Boarmate', a commercial product made by DuPont sold to pig farmers to test sows for timing of artificial insemination.

"Gay bomb" is an informal term referring to a hypothetical non-lethal psychochemical weapon about which the United States Air Force speculated. The unconventional idea involved the potential dispersion of sex pheromones among enemy forces, with the intent of generating mutual sexual attraction among them, causing mass confusion and panic.

Hair fetishism, also known as hair partialism and trichophilia, is a partialism in which a person sees hair – most commonly, head hair – as particularly erotic and sexually arousing. Arousal may occur from seeing or touching hair, whether head hair, armpit hair, chest hair or fur. Head-hair arousal may come from seeing or touching very long or short hair, wet hair, certain colors of hair or a particular hairstyle.

Nose fetishism, nose partialism, or nasophilia is the partialism for the nose. This may include the sexual attraction to a specific form of physical variation of appearance, or a specific area. The fetish may manifest itself in a desire for actual physical contact and interaction, or specific fantasies such as the desire to penetrate the nostrils with a penis, tongue, or with a finger. Nose fetishism can also include the desire to ejaculate into the nostrils or onto the nose. Some people with this fetish masturbate while looking at someone with a nose they find extremely attractive. Some people with this fetish also enjoy pinching someone's nose so that they open their mouths to breathe.

Dogs, as with all mammals, have natural odors. Natural dog odor can be unpleasant to dog owners, especially when dogs are kept inside the home, as some people are not used to being exposed to the natural odor of a non-human species living in proximity to them. Dogs may also develop unnatural odors as a result of skin disease or other disorders or may become contaminated with odors from other sources in their environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clothing fetish</span> Sexual fetish relating to particular type of clothing

Clothing fetishism or garment fetishism is a sexual fetish that revolves around a fixation upon a particular article or type of clothing, a particular fashion or uniform, or a person dressed in such a style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armpit fetishism</span> Sexual desire towards armpits

Armpit fetishism is a type of partialism in which a person is sexually attracted to armpits, which may lead to armpit intercourse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odor</span> Volatile chemical compounds perceived by the sense of smell

An odor or odour is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds generally found in low concentrations that humans and many animals can perceive via their olfactory system. While smell can refer to pleasant and unpleasant odors, the terms scent, aroma, and fragrance are usually reserved for pleasant-smelling odors and are frequently used in the food and cosmetic industry to describe floral scents or to refer to perfumes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sense of smell</span> Sense that detects smells

The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.

Odour is sensory stimulation of the olfactory membrane of the nose by a group of molecules. Certain body odours are connected to human sexual attraction. Humans can make use of body odour subconsciously to identify whether a potential mate will pass on favourable traits to their offspring. Body odour may provide significant cues about the genetic quality, health and reproductive success of a potential mate.

<i>The Great Pheromone Myth</i> Book by Richard Doty

The Great Pheromone Myth is a book on pheromones and their application to chemosensation in mammals by Richard L. Doty, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Smell and Taste Center in Philadelphia. Doty argues that the concept of pheromone introduced by Karlson and Lüscher is too simple for mammalian chemonsensory systems, failing to take into account learning and the context-dependence of chemosensation. In this book, he is especially critical of human pheromones, arguing that not only are there no definitive studies finding human pheromones, but that humans lack a functional vomeronasal organ to detect pheromones. Its publication received coverage in the news media, especially concerning its arguments that human pheromones do not exist.

Foot odor or bromodosis is a type of body odor that affects the feet of humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scent rubbing</span> Behaviour where a mammal rubs its body against an object in their environment

Scent rubbing is a behavior where a mammal rubs its body against an object in their environment, sometimes in ones covered with strongly odored substances. It is typically shown in carnivores, although many mammals exhibit this behavior. Lowering shoulders, collapsing the forelegs, pushing forward and rubbing the chin, temples, neck, or back is how this act is performed. A variety of different odors can elicit this behavior including feces, vomit, fresh or decaying meat, insecticide, urine, repellent, ashes, human food and so on. Scent rubbing can be produced by an animal smelling novel odors, which include manufactured smells such as perfume or motor oil and carnivore smells including feces and food smells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olfactic communication</span> Social interaction through smell

Olfactic communication is a channel of nonverbal communication referring to the various ways people and animals communicate and engage in social interaction through their sense of smell. Our human olfactory sense is one of the most phylogenetically primitive and emotionally intimate of the five senses; the sensation of smell is thought to be the most matured and developed human sense.

References

  1. "Case histories", Sigmund Freud, Routledge, pp. 67–84, 2000-09-28, doi:10.4324/9780203183434-12, ISBN   978-0-203-18343-4
  2. "Olfactophilia", Wikipedia, 2024-12-16, retrieved 2024-12-16
  3. "Human sex pheromones", Wikipedia, 2024-12-13, retrieved 2024-12-16