The Sex of Scent – NEZ: The Olfactory Magazine (Issue 03)

The close links between perfume, sex and seduction have been forged over a long period of time and are rooted in myths, beliefs, religion and medicine. Is perfume still gendered today and, if so, what olfactory form does this gendering take? What mechanisms guide our nostrils towards some people but not others, whether they’re wearing perfume or not? We delve into the subject of gender and olfactory attraction, through the prism of history, marketing, anthropology, sociology and biology.