Unisex and Gender Specific Fragrances

[intellectualammo]

What are your thoughts on unisex fragrances? Would you or have you worn them?

Would you ONLY wear fragrances specifically made for your gender?

I'm definately not only into me NOT wearing unisex fragrances, but others as well. And men wearing women's perfume, and women wearing men's cologne, too. I'm ONLY into gender specific fragances.

[dream_weaver]

Color has a continuum across it's spectrum. Sound has its continuum as well. While certain fragrances may have a distinctively feminine or masculine aroma, is there a clear dividing line? Even the same fragrance worn by different individuals emit different aromas. How do you use 'unisex' as a criteria to evaluate the aroma, i.e. if the fragrance is pleasant or repugnant? Personally, I like the aroma of Old Spice. I've used it for years. Aside from wearing an occasionally gifted cologne, you highlight an area I've never given much thought to.

I do know that every time I go past the entrance to Perfumania, I wonder how anyone can distinguish one specific aroma in an arena possessing such a cacophony of scents.

[JASKN]

Gender in relation to fragrance is almost completely marketing. In general, men's fragrances have musky notes and women's fragrances have floral notes. Some men's have floral notes, too. Both men's and women's are often citrusy, or have woody, vanilla, patchouli, or spicy undertones. Then, as dream weaver noted, as you wear the oils the scents will change depending on your body chemistry, and the quality of the oil itself.

That is just the fragrances as they exist and are marketed today. I see no reason why a man or woman can't wear any fragrance he or she likes, no matter how it has been packaged and marketed. Some people I know claim that fragrances are season-specific, but I think that's bunk, too.

[Jonathan13]

I tend to like unisex fragrances. When cK One first came out, my wife bought me some, and, after wearing it for only a short period of time, it was hard for me to go back to wearing more typically masculine fragrances. Scent can be very evocative/associational, and cK One, to me, was a very fresh, clean scent that wasn't intrusive (and it didn't smell feminine on me), so, then when I would wear male-specific fragrances, in comparison they seemed so overbearing and lacking in subtlety that I kept thinking that I smelled like a group of neanderthal frat boys and obnoxious used car salesmen on their way to Vegas.

J

[mdegges]

What are your thoughts on unisex fragrances? Would you or have you worn them?

Would you ONLY wear fragrances specifically made for your gender?

If I was really paying attention, I would probably raise a question mark about a man who smells like victoria's secret, or a woman who smells like old spice.. but to each his own. Unisex perfumes tend to be a little more neutral, which is nice because it's less overbearing. I usually buy feminine smelling lotion/body spray instead of using real perfume, but even those kind of smell like candy stores. I think a more feminine unisex spray would be a nice alternative for women, and a more masculine unisex spray would be nice for men.

[intellectualammo]

I found this online http://www.squidoo.c...unisex-perfumes:


They are?

A male nurse, is still a MALE nurse. A female nurse is still a FEMALE nurse. The point I'm trying to make is, there are VERY CLEAR, NOT BLURRED distinctions between men and women, masculinity and feminity, and I like seeing that translate over into their choices of fragrances.

And I'm from a certain philosophic school of thought that has feminine women and masculine men as archetypal in it.

Howard Roark or John Galt, won't be wearing perfume.

Kira Argounova, would, and did. Taganov put it on her.

OK, I was checking out some mags last night, and I came across something that I immediately regretted SMELLING! This is NOT meant to be offensive to anyone who like the mens fragrance, because after all it's targeted to those that have "extreme masculinity" or whatnot I heard the perfumist saying.
It was Jean Paul Gaultier - Le Male


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL072OfAdI0&feature=player_embedded

Now what do YOU see when you see that commercial?

Me, I see a guy that maybe wanted to try being with a woman, but just could not get it up, so he left, looking back at her like she's a woman and not a man, and leaving her. She obviously is into him, maybe she wanted him to try to be with her, but it just didn't work out, but she has his Le Male scent on her linen. That's all that remains... Maybe she really liked him and he says "Look, I'm telling you I'm gay, I'm simply not aroused by women, it's not you, it's me." Her: "So, let's see." So he demonstrates that to her by both word and deed.



Ummmm... I think they are trying to make the statement, that extrememly masculine men can not only wear sailor hats, but also have tattoos of flowers/butterfly's and still be extremely masculine. Ads and commercials are meant to emphasize that. Even the bottle is shaped like a man, that's how masculine it's supposed to be. I don't see that myself AND don't smell that in the fragrance.

Edited November 21, 2013 by JMeganSnow
removed excessive quotation at request of the article author

[JASKN]

That "flower sailor" male perfume is obviously marketed to gays.

Male and female gender roles are not just often baseless and wrong, but *boring* and *limiting*. Perfumes are a handy example. Why not wear a smell you like simply because it isn't marketed to your gender?? What about gays, who are technically (/literally) one gender but have characteristics and interests typical of another? What about straights with the same story?

[intellectualammo]

Male and female gender roles are not just often baseless and wrong, but *boring* and *limiting*.

I don't think so.

Why not wear a smell you like simply because it isn't marketed to your gender??

While I just love Clinique Happy Heart which really is a "wealth of flowers" when you smell it, Ralph Lauren's Romance (FOR HER) which has "extravagant florals", I'm NOT going to wear them. These, that are marketed specifically for women, simply do not translate my masculinity, gender role as a man. Clinique and Lauren interpret a gender, the essence of feminity, or whatever when making the fragrance. I think they translate them perfectly. I think these fragrances are highly sexed and gendered, and so if a man were to wear them, no matter how masculine, that masculinity is simply not translated properly for my senses to read and what it tells me, suggests to me about them.

What about gays, who are technically (/literally) one gender but have characteristics and interests typical of another? What about straights with the same story?

Well, many fragrances that are gender specific, won't translate properly on those people. A feminine man or the woman-trapped-in-a-man's-body types, they are going to have a difficult time finding a fragrance that suits them, their gender identity, whatever gender issues, roles, etc. that they have.

A woman wearing men's cologne, is like putting on boxers. Boxers/male underwear are gender specific, in function/role, panties do afterall have gussests for a reason, and boxers have a split in the front for a reason. A man wearing a tight baby doll woman's top, his masculinity does not translate properly, though it translates other things... A pink dress shirt can definatley translate masculinity, but a pink blouse on the same man, no, not to me.

When I see "unisex" I'm like, what do you mean it can be worn by either? It can suggest a certain sexual orientation then to a smeller: bisexuality.

Edited November 25, 2011 by intellectualammo

[JASKN]

So, you won't wear smells you like because a company put a word ("women") on the bottle, and because you have a personally-set notion of what smells constitute "male" or "female." This doesn't even boil down to personal preference, since you won't wear things you like, but instead religious-type decree, imposed by companies and then yourself.

[intellectualammo]

So, you won't wear smells you like because a company put a word ("women") on the bottle, and because you have a personally-set notion of what smells constitute "male" or "female."

Right.

This doesn't even boil down to personal preference, since you won't wear things you like,

It definately does boil down to personal preference. Just because I like a perfume, doesn't mean I'm going to wear it, and just like women's panties, I like them ON women, not on me. (or on my female mannequin, etc.)

Romance is coming my way, I got it 33% off. Just because I like it, doesn't mean I'm going to wear it...

Edited November 25, 2011 by intellectualammo

[Eiuol]

A woman wearing men's cologne, is like putting on boxers. Boxers/male underwear are gender specific, in function/role, panties do afterall have gussests for a reason, and boxers have a split in the front for a reason. A man wearing a tight baby doll woman's top, his masculinity does not translate properly, though it translates other things... A pink dress shirt can definatley translate masculinity, but a pink blouse on the same man, no, not to me.

This is a poor comparison. There are literally anatomical reasons for what kind of underwear to wear for comfort. Fragrances, on the other hand, are worn for personal reasons and preferences. Having a flowery-scented fragrance to a person doesn't occur naturally. I'm not even sure how at all if the different sexes even have a kind of smell, so I can't even attempt to point out any connection between fragrances and one's sex. The only way fragrances are categorized is based on marketing.

You quite clearly said you are making a distinction based on marketing. Of course you don't have to wear something even if you like it. But you didn't say "oh, I just don't think that smell goes good with me", your justification is that companies labeled something feminine, therefore you won't wear it. Not an objective basis at all. If you think the companies are making a proper distinction, what about a flowery smell means feminine, aside from the fact that traditionally, females like flowers more than males?

And I'm from a certain philosophic school of thought that has feminine women and masculine men as archetypal in it.

If you mean Objectivism, that's quite far off. Dagny is the least feminine of all female characters I know of before and during the 1950s when Atlas Shrugged was written. I couldn't even point to something traditionally female she did, except cleaning for Galt to pay for her room and board. I found it slightly odd, but that's about it. She hurt her leg, so hard labor wouldn't have worked too well. I may be remembering WTL wrong, but I believe Kira received the perfume when Andrei bought her a dress. I found that scene to be sort of trying to convince Kira to drop her individuality and join him as a communist, for survival reasons. Which would include acting in probably a more feminine way than she ever normally would, for second-handed reasons. Many of Rand's characters are very gender neutral, actually. Francisco, for instance I don't think of as *particularly* masculine. He primarily acted in his self-interest, while acting masculine or feminine never came into the equation, because those concepts are useless and blurry.

Edited November 25, 2011 by Eiuol

[intellectualammo]

This is a poor comparison

.

I don't think they are.

Afterall, "she never loses the awareness of her own sexual identity and theirs." Ayn Rand. This goes for clothing, fragrances, too.

I'm not even sure how at all if the different sexes even have a kind of smell,

Well, kind of. Some women have a scent, due to good and bad bacteria, vaginal flora blooming and blossoming. This attempts to capture that in a bottle, Vulva, it's NOT perfume though, just the scent:

http://www.vulva-original.com/home-en.htm

Some fellow doll owners use that on their dolls to add realism, I don't, but that's how I found out about it. (dolls like 4Woods, Sinthetics, etc.)

[intellectualammo]

If you think the companies are making a proper distinction, what about a flowery smell means feminine, aside from the fact that traditionally, females like flowers more than males?

Look, it's about smelling their defintion in scent of that which is feminine, masculine, male, female, something For Him, something For Her, etc. The marketing of it, ads/posters/commercials act to reinforce and help in defining through illustration, contextualizing.

The fragrance makers should be insulted and upset, if a woman wore their fragrance that they specifically designed for a man to wear, and even the men that do wear it, should also be offended.

I go for the men's sections, because I am a man. I shop for my gender/sexual identity. I pick amongst those ones. I do not want a fragrance that is marketed/defined in such a way that the opposite sex can equally wear. That blurriness causes one to lose awareness of sexual identity. Which can be defined as: " A persons feelings of and about his/her own maleness or femaleness (gender and gender identity) and the ways in which s/he expresses these feelings."

Again, "she never loses the awareness of her own sexual identity and theirs." (Ayn Rand) This goes for men, too.

Edited November 26, 2011 by intellectualammo

[Eiuol]

The fragrance makers should be insulted and upset, if a woman wore their fragrance that they specifically designed for a man to wear, and even the men that do wear it, should also be offended.

How do you go about figuring out if companies are *correctly* identifying what sort of fragrances go well with a particular gender?

[JASKN]

The fragrance makers should be insulted and upset, if a woman wore their fragrance that they specifically designed for a man to wear, and even the men that do wear it, should also be offended.

In fact, the fragrance pickers (fashion brand creative directors) just want to make money. Up to 70% of profit for a fashion brand is made from its fragrance, which is always sold at huge markups. The fragrances themselves are made in smell factories in New Jersey, where McDonald's food flavoring (among many other things) is also made.

While the smells are picked with keeping in mind what a general male or female might want to wear, the pickers certainly wouldn't be offended if the opposite gender purchased the scent instead -- more sales for them -- instead of remaining consistent with the "machine" that they, the pickers, help perpetuate themselves. If their general customer became more independent and comfortable with his gender enough to try "the other gender" fragrances, the fashion brands would follow suit... which is exactly what they do, by offering more "unisex" scents.

[softwareNerd]

The fragrance makers should be insulted and upset, if a woman wore their fragrance that they specifically designed for a man to wear, and even the men that do wear it, should also be offended.

Rational businessmen are not offended when people they never thought would want their product find a rational value in it.

[intellectualammo]

In fact, the fragrance pickers (fashion brand creative directors) just want to make money. Up to 70% of profit for a fashion brand is made from its fragrance, which is always sold at huge markups. The fragrances themselves are made in smell factories in New Jersey, where McDonald's food flavoring (among many other things) is also made.

Not sure why you even said any of that, what's that have to do with the discussion? I don't care about any markup and profit made on a purchase, or what state they are made in, or what else is made in that state, too.

When their definitions in scents are off, or simply do not express what I sense it does for my gender/sexual identity and so forth, I just wouldn't buy them. It might be For Him, but maybe it's target wearer is for a gay male, not a heterosexual one, and that might be seen in the marketing of it, "power of suggestion", etc.

If their general customer became more independent and comfortable with his gender enough to try "the other gender" fragrances, the fashion brands would follow suit... which is exactly what they do, by offering more "unisex" scents.

I'm secure enough in my masculinity and gender. Oh hell yeah I am. And don't forget that gender and masculinity either when shopping for me or shopping for her.

[intellectualammo]

Rational businessmen are not offended when people they never thought would want their product find a rational value in it.

Perhaps, and also some rational fragrance makers can rightly be offended/upset if their gender specific fragrances are being used by the opposite sex. It's not intended to be. Better to just not buy it, than for the opposite sex to wear it, as I see that as not being offensive at all. I would not wear a fragrance that says For Her on it.

Edited November 26, 2011 by intellectualammo

[JASKN]

Not sure why you even said any of that, what's that have to do with the discussion?

I wrote it to show that the fragrance makers are not upset when people who buy their product were not part of the marketed demographic.

You wouldn't wear a "For Her" fragrance, but you haven't given a good reason as to why.

I think you should answer Eiuol's post.

[intellectualammo]

How do you go about figuring out if companies are *correctly* identifying what sort of fragrances go well with a particular gender?

They define it, they specify who it is for, who is to wear it, I simply pick amongst those that are already defined.

Edited November 26, 2011 by intellectualammo

[intellectualammo]

You wouldn't wear a "For Her" fragrance, but you haven't given a good reason as to why.

Simple.

To answer:

Because it says it's "For Her".

[aequalsa]

I've had a few times in my life that a girlfriend borrows my deodorant when out of her own. I find it extremely discordant, to the point that it saps my attraction. I imagine it to be worse if it was another masculine smell than my own. I'd totally be thinking sloppy seconds.

It may be the case that the association of certain smells with gender is completely learned socially(or through marketing), but I would guess that it derives from the enjoyment of contrast, at least as far as heterosexual couples are concerned. Fruity flower smells contrast well with musky, pungent pine trees, not unlike sweet and salty tastes, or hard and soft bodies. Obviously there exists a wide spectrum of sexual identities, so there is likely to be the same spectrum in scents sold to meet that market demand.

As far as why flowers are feminine and pine trees are masculine, I'm not entirely sure, but would speculate that it has something to do with social value. Cologne widens your space, and makes people more aware of your presence. Pine trees and dirt convey a different message from clover honey and lavender.

[DonAthos]

I do not want a fragrance that is marketed/defined in such a way that the opposite sex can equally wear. That blurriness causes one to lose awareness of sexual identity. Which can be defined as: " A persons feelings of and about his/her own maleness or femaleness (gender and gender identity) and the ways in which s/he expresses these feelings."

All right, I'm curious.

Suppose I wear a gender neutral scent and thereby suffer from gender "blurriness." I lose awareness of my feelings about my own maleness (though I'm not precisely certain what that means, or how it's meant to follow from wearing a particular scent...).

What kind of harm, specifically, will that produce for me? Clearly, "gender blurriness" is meant to be bad -- but how?

[mdegges]

It seems like your problem is not with unisex perfumes, but with people who wear things that are not typically associated with their sex. And there's a ton of people who do this: many women shop in the men's department for those airy cotton tees, fleece sweaters, boxers to use as pj's, etc. There's also really skinny guys who have to shop in the women's department just to find pants that actually fit them. Whatever the reason(s) may be (comfort? cheapness? fit? rainy day?), it's pretty common, and not just among gay people.

Perfume is just one of those things. I really doubt you'll "lose awareness of your sexual identity" by wearing a unisex spray.. (I mean, really? A scent can make you question your sexuality?).. Unless you were unsure of it to begin with. I think that if you're comfortable with yourself and your sexuality, you won't go wild if your girlfriend sprays some of her perfume on you. And you won't think she's unusual for borrowing your favorite jacket, or spraying her pillow with your cologne and smelling like it the next day, or even borrowing your deodorant (which is probably because she misses your smell when you're out of town). If you look around, few women wear corsets and dresses, and few men wear tailored suits and top-hats. Trends have changed a ton over time, so why would you expect perfumes to stay the same?

[intellectualammo]

I think that if you're comfortable with yourself and your sexuality, you won't go wild if your girlfriend sprays some of her perfume on you.

I haven't been with anyone in over half a decade, but if I were to smell a little bit like say Narciso Rodriguez Essence Eau De Parfum after having been intimate with her, that's fine with me. But if she's fucking spraying me with it, that's TOTALLY different.

And you won't think she's unusual for borrowing your favorite jacket,

To borrow the jacket to smell it, no. To wear it, yeah.

or spraying her pillow with your cologne and smelling like it the next day,

It would be quite alright if she were to spray MY pillow, not hers with it, or to smell my pillow.

or even borrowing your deodorant (which is probably because she misses your smell when you're out of town).

To smell it ONLY, not to wear it.

Trends have changed a ton over time, so why would you expect perfumes to stay the same?

Fragrances stay the same over the years because of the market, but there are plenty of new ones, too, over the years. There are many different men's fragrances that include flowers; fresh, clean scents; aquatic scents. Men's fragrance is defined in scent all the time, in various expressions, all designed specifically For Him.

Edited November 27, 2011 by intellectualammo