The Context Matters: Women's Experiences of Their Partner's Odor in Intimate and Sexual Encounters
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11310%2F24%3A10489367" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11310/24:10489367 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=SOQApzBYv9" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=SOQApzBYv9</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02925-2" target="_blank" >10.1007/s10508-024-02925-2</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
The Context Matters: Women's Experiences of Their Partner's Odor in Intimate and Sexual Encounters
Original language description
Research shows that male body odor plays an important role in women's mate choice and that olfactory abilities are associated with women's sexual functioning. What remains unclear is what types of partner's odor actually shape women's experience during intimate activities. This study therefore explored women's experience associated with the partner's various odors and investigated how they affect women's intimate and sexual encounters. We performed semi-structured individual interviews with 20 single women and 20 women in a long-term relationship. Thematic analysis revealed four key natural odor types of the partner: body odor, sweat, genital odor, and semen odor. Further, we have identified three main types of fragrance odor (cologne, shower gel, and laundry agents) and investigated their perception in both intimate (hugging, kissing, cuddling, lying side by side) and sexual (intercourse, oral sex, ejaculation) contexts. Both partner's natural odor and fragrance affected women's emotional state (ranging from pleasant to unpleasant) and behavioral response (ranging from approach to avoidance of partner). Women's odor perception was frequently context-dependent, so that even mostly negatively perceived odors (e.g., semen, genital odor) were often accepted as part of sexual encounter. Finally, women's perception was negatively modified by partner's specific sweat (after workday, workout, or when the partner is ill) during intimate encounters. Our results highlight the complexity and interindividual variability of partner's odor perception.
Czech name
—
Czech description
—
Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
—
OECD FORD branch
10602 - Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology
Result continuities
Project
<a href="/en/project/EF19_073%2F0016935" target="_blank" >EF19_073/0016935: Grant schemes at Charles University</a><br>
Continuities
P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2024
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Archives of Sexual Behavior
ISSN
0004-0002
e-ISSN
1573-2800
Volume of the periodical
53
Issue of the periodical within the volume
8
Country of publishing house
US - UNITED STATES
Number of pages
10
Pages from-to
2853-2862
UT code for WoS article
001291564200001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-85201207712