jankp's Full Review: James V. Kohl and Robert T. Francoeur - The Scent ...
Everyone, besides infants and elderly people, has them naturally. It might not please some of you to know this and the authors’ responses are for you to get over it already. Please! In The Scent of Eros: Mysteries of Odors in Human Sexuality, James V. Kohl and Robert T. Francoeur explain that pheromones are the chemical messengers found on our skin, especially under our arms and trapped in thick hair (including pubic), that originate with our hormones and we are shedding constantly in liquids or gases invisibly and under the detection of our noses. They trigger production of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) that either sets in motion the “cascade, pulses and cycles” of our sex hormones from the pituitary gland, involving the adrenal glands, ovaries or testes, or it tells some GnRH to become neurotransmitters, which affects our sexual development and behavior.
All mammals and reptiles have pheromones. So do we. In fact, our brains are made up of what the authors/scientists call the reptilian, limbic and thinking minds. When we are born, we wouldn’t be able to breathe on our own if we didn’t still have our reptilian or hard-wired system in place until our brain develops our thinking mind more. It’s in this reptilian mind that we still share with reptiles that our accessory olfactory system resides beyond our consciousness, where pheromone messages from other humans are detected in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) located in the upper one third of our nasal septum.
And, you wonder, what do these pheromone messages from other humans say to our reptilian system? Are you, or these blasted scientists, calling us primal beings acting on instinct? Hey, this is the 21st century and, honey, we’re rational, sophisticated beings! As I mentioned above, get over it. Humans share 98% of our genes with the monkeys and Kohl and Francoeur go to great length to reveal how we evolved from one-celled organisms and a sense of smell was the catalyst that developed, protected and insured the life of our ancestors and still is. We boast a thousand smell receptors while vision and hearing only have a few, so you can appreciate the importance our bodies place in our sense of smell!
Yes, we are indeed affected by our sense of smell, by these pheromones. Pheromones, though we’re not aware of them, will attract us to certain people or repel us. Our natural hair color and the scent of our skin puts out different smells that different people will prefer. As a brunette my hair is supposed to have a more woodsy, musky smell and its greater thickness means more pheromones to excite the pheromone detector. Ovulating females send out more pheromones to signal their fertility. Tall men will send out more and specifically tall, dark and handsome (symmetrically pleasing) men.
Breasts have a lot of pheromones, so if females wear revealing necklines they will attract more breast lovers. The authors make a reasonable case for breast-fed babies developing later into big breast lovers.Her pheromones in contact with her infant son affect his level of testosterone “and when this change is associated with something pleasurable—a reward (food)—the son’s emotional brain will readily associate that pleasurable sensation with the (breast) pheromones.” Pp 281 So, you see, some men aren’t just visually attracted to big breasts, but moreso by the natural smell of the breasts! On the other hand, homosexual men have differences in their olfactory processing center, convincing the authors and their colleagues that their sexual orientation is more influenced by smell than vision.
Foreskin of the penis and other female parts also have a lot of pheromones and Kohl and Francoeur speculate that oral sex has become so popular because people love the smells of those areas. I do think they’re right, don’t ya? ;-)
Female friends are always fascinated when I tell them how Kohl and Francoeur re-educated me about the process of fertilization. Like me you were probably taught that the valiant sperm like a knight in shining armor battled his way right to the egg and penetrated it. Wrong! I’m not going to get into the detailed description, but just say it’s much more complicated than that and reiterate that smell is a big factor in allowing the species to survive. If you really want the details and can’t buy the book, email me. There’s much more to fascinate you in the 300-page book, including notes, glossary and bibliography, and I encourage you to read it.
About The Authors
The main author, James V. Kohl, has spent 26 years as a clinical laboratory scientist with around 14 years of that devoted to researching the bond between odors and human sexuality. Robert T. Francoeur, PhD., an evolutionary biologist, sexologist and professor of human sexuality at Fairleigh Dickinson and New York Universities, has authored or edited 34 books, such as The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality. They met in 1992, at first through the mail, when Kohl asked Francoeur to read the enclosed manuscript on “Luteinizing Hormone: The Link Between Sex And The Sense Of Smell” and advise him on whether to present it to the upcoming meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex. By 1995 they published The Scent of Eros and updated it with an epilogue in 2002 to confirm their speculations.
About The Book
With 14 chapters titled, for example, Love Apples and the Noble Perfume of Venery, Deep in the Womb, Natural Opiates, Infatuations And Bonding, A Kiss Isn’t Just A Kiss and The Joy of Odor, the authors have successfully attempted to reach out to a wide, non-scientific audience. Kohl’s highly intellectual way of speaking would have been difficult to read or assimilate if Francoeur hadn’t helped it to flow a little better. Their goal was to establish the connection between the sense of smell and our sexual development and behavior, taking into account genes and discussing the nature/nurture controversy, and this was very well-done, convincing and so fascinating I could hardly put the book down!
Final Comments
I became interested in pheromones after reading an Epinions’ review on Mary Miglin’s Pheromone perfume. The authors mention it as not containing any true pheromones. True pheromones are androstenone, androsterone and etiocholanolone (more of this in females and homosexual men) and a little of them could do much more for you. DHEA is discussed as to its pheromone potential.
Now are you short, pale-skinned, small-breasted, balding, unable to dance or flirt, with a lopsided face and a wart hanging off your nose? Take note! The authors have created their own pheromone-enhancing perfume, as have other chemists, for men or women to help single people become more attractive more quickly to other singles. I received a sample of this when I bought their book from lovescent.com, but haven’t tried it yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I do!
Havelock Ellis’s writings on sex and the sense of smell in the early 20th century are often discussed, Freud and Kant discredited and other scientists, anthropologists, sexologist writers, St. Paul and many more are commented on. Extensive research into a variety of animals and human cultures, history, biology and aromatherapy make this a book that leaves no stone unturned for our benefit. I think women with fertility problems, miscarriages or menopausal problems, anyone with autoimmune problems and those with smelling (and dating) problems might find it very interesting if not helpful to understand how they’re likely affected by our sense of smell.
You certainly don’t need to buy the perfume, especially if you’re young, can sweat, aren’t hairless (chest hair is good!) and can share your natural pheromones with someone through close encounters like slow dancing or cuddling up. You may want to buy The Scent of Eros, an iuniverse-published book, though, just to understand why our sense of smell is so very important.
"...a new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." Max Planck (received Noble Prize in quantum mechanics 18 years after his discovery)
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