Popular Culture Review Vol. 4, No. 2, June 1993 | Page 53

Peddling Eros:
The Scents of Attraction
Scents, fragrances, and perfumes are on their way to a new
cultural role. Perfumery in all its aspects of production, application,
and reception is booming. The fragrance and flavor industry,
neurobiology and chemistry, business, psychology, and marketing are
all hard at work. According to a recent newspaper article, "[plerfume
is a $4-billion-a-year industry trafficking in sexuality and fantasy."^
"Aromatherapy" is gaining ground, and the fragrance industry's
heavyweights harbor far-reaching plans for "environmental
fragrancing systems" whose "dark side is mind control" as some voices
are already warning.^ Indeed, the fact that early childhood
exposure to certain odors forms "attachments that go on forever"^ is
already built into profit calculations, and there are now fragrances
for babies on the market at exorbitant prices. Manufacturers have
long been selling us the artificial scents and flavors that we have
come to take for the real thing. Throwing out the bath water has
become a hazard to the baby. A little tour through scents and
nonsense of the 1980s reveals further, for instance, perfumes for pets.
Among other things, there is a line that "offers a cologne for male
dogs ($18) and shampoo for each sex ($8.50)."^ But humans and pets
are by no means the only creatures affected by the latter-day invasion
of smells; it is affecting cars too. According to one journalist, "the
Jaguar XJ-6 "is much sexier than the Mercedes. It’s more elegant than
the BMW . . . . It treats all your senses well. It smells great, that
fresh leather smell."® The phenomenon, moreover, is not limited to
the USA; it can be observed in all advanced industrialized nations.
The German weekly Der Spiegel, for instance, has regular
contributions on the topic. Under the heading "Following your nose"
was revealed that "the venerable firm Rolls Royce has introduced a
new, hitherto unknown market ploy to sell its cars: the appeal to the
sense of smell by means of scent strips" which are steeped in an essence
"that conjures up leather and luxury."® According to another article
in Der Spiegel, researchers have called the coming century "the
century of smell."^