GENDERIZATION OF SCENTS (PART 2)

Perfume as a commercial product is heavily categorized by gender – flowery, fruity scents for women; woody leathery scents for men. Perfumes are gender assigned because marketing products through gender binary is an effecting strategy of perfume brands for making profits. Marketing leverages the stereotypes of perfect man/woman. Sex and attraction have traditionally played an integral role in perfume world.  These strategies work because perfume is both a functional product as well as an aspirational lifestyle product.

In recent years beauty and fashion industry has been influenced by gender neutrality. Unisex perfumes have been in market for some time now (since the launch of CK One in the 1990s). The popularity of unisex perfumes is gradually increasing. This is due to the greater awareness of public with regard to gender identity issues and to changes in the stereotypical perception of masculine and feminine attributes such as smell. Perfume companies advertise and market unisex perfumes by using minimalistic bottles, avoiding colors related with gender connotations and using abstract product names.

The growing gender revolution through the unisex and gender-free perfumes is challenging the hegemonic role of gendered-scents which created stereotypes of perfect man/woman (according to which men/women should dress and smell in a particular way). These products also mark a shift from the overly sexed and sexualized advertising which try to market perfumes as objects of satisfying lust to an advertising which is focused more on functional and personalized nature of perfumes as a product of defining one’s personality and reflecting a variety of emotions.

Scent is subjective and perfume has to be about individuality. Perfume is linked as to the concept of reflecting who you are or what you want to be perceived as. It does not have to be gender specific. What perfumes we wear should be based on - mood, emotions, specific occasions, etc. which are not specifically related to gender. Moreover, brands should not be telling the consumers what they as individuals should be wearing based on gender identities and which scents were out of bounds for them.

Though the traditional male or female scents remain popular, unisex perfumes are creating more options for the conscious consumers. Unisex perfume category also democratizes the perfume by allowing for its usage by non-conforming genders. Regardless of the gender of the perfume wearer, the unisex fragrance category has changed how consumers think and buy perfume.





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