Science says: men can smell the scent of excited women

We probably all know that scents play a big role in the animal kingdom, especially in the seduction and later in the reproduction process. Haven't we heard this countless times during our biology lessons? If a bell isn't ringing now, we can safely say that you were never paying attention. But anyway, animals use scents as a means of communication. Males can smell the fertility of females, after which they try to reel in the female. A nice way of doing business, I must say; no fuss with complicated messages, just spread your scent and the rest will follow naturally.

But what turns out? Men can also distinguish between the scent of excited and non-excited women. Apparently, we seem to resemble animals even more in this regard than we think. I must admit: I find that quite impressive of those men. The fact that men are capable of this came to light in a study by researchers from the University of Kent, published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.

The researchers had the men smell the scent (sweat) of women. Some of these scents came from women who were sexually excited at that moment, while the other part was collected from women who were not. The men could distinguish between the scent of excited and non-excited women and had a preference for the scent of the excited women. On top of that, the men also felt more inclined towards sex when they smelled this last scent.

I actually don't know whether to be surprised by this or not. On one hand, it feels like a kind of primal instinct, and on the other hand, I am also quite impressed that men can do this. Researcher Arnaud Wisman seems to agree with me: ‘I think it is indeed quite surprising, because it is assumed that men place less value on scent. Generally, women are seen as superior sniffers. On the other hand, from an evolutionary perspective, it seems quite logical that men can distinguish between the scents of excited and non-excited women. It is quite ‘costly’ for men to let an opportunity for sex pass by. After all, such an opportunity may not present itself again, and he may not be able to pass on his giving. In short: men have evolved to take signals indicating the possibility of sexual intercourse very seriously, and the scent of sexual arousal can be an additional signal that men can pick up.’

But how do we smell excited women exactly? I am really curious about that. And can't we buy a perfume of this scent for when we are not completely in the mood but still want to score? According to Wisman, it is not yet exactly clear how women produce this scent. It probably involves a mixture of hormones, such as estrogen, oxytocin, and testosterone, that is associated with sexual arousal.