GENDERIZATION OF SCENTS

Originally perfumery products were used to deodorize the body and protect from certain diseases which were believed to be caused due to foul smell. Now perfumes have become markers of sexuality, class and wealth distinctions.

The marketing of perfumes is highly gendered and has led to creation of distinction between ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ scents. Such marketing shapes cultural perceptions and leads our nose and brain to unconsciously make distinctions between perfumes for men and those for women. Scents containing flowery and fruity notes are identified as ‘female scents’ while those containing woody, leathery, musky notes are identified as ‘male scents’.

This genderization of scents and smells and its cultural practices are best displayed through marketing and advertisements. Perfume shops have separate ‘men’ and ‘women’ sections. The product names are carefully chosen to represent gendered categories. The bottles of ‘male perfumes’ have strong and rugged looks giving a sense of masculinity whereas the bottles of ‘female perfumes’ are curvy stressing feminine sensuality. The packaging of ‘male perfumes’ contains dark colors whereas those of ‘female perfumes’ contains colors like pink, red, lavender, etc.

Advertisements can seep into unconscious thinking of people leading them to believe certain notions such as - perfumes deliver femininity and cologne delivers masculinity. Advertisements of ‘male perfumes’ depict a man wearing a certain perfume being to attract unknown women like a magnet and can getting them to literally cling onto him. Recent advertisements show a woman being attracted to man, but is informed by her friend that he does not use perfume, leading her to lose interest in the person. The advertisement ends with a question “kahin vo insaan aap toh nahi?” It is clear from that such advertisements are trying to market perfumes as objects for fulfilment of lust.

Stereotyping and objectification of women in advertisements leads to weighing their worth only in terms of physical appearance by audiences who might become consumers of such products. Sexuality and femininity being represented through products used for fragrance generally depicts women in an extremely sensual way that it creates the parameters of what ‘ideal’ femininity should be.

The deep-rooted patriarchal structures are also visible in these advertisements where it has been shown that men going out on field doing hard work which marks him an earning member of the house is allowed to smell sweaty and ‘woodsy’ which would in fact increase his sex appeal, but a working woman must not give a whiff of her sweat away as she is symbol of poise and sensuality which demands her to have fragrance that will appeal her partner when he’s back from his work conveniently overlooking the fact that she’s been working all day long too.

To what extent this gender categorization through marketing strategies works for consumer and their purchasing decision is something to dwell upon. 






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