When did the social taboo to body odor develop?
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Discovery Health answered:The social taboo to body smell did not occur in most Western societies until the late 1950s, around the same time that marketing firms began ramping up advertising campaigns to sell deodorant.
The firms tapped into social insecurity among consumers by suggesting to them that they would become pariahs if they did not use deodorant to cover their body odor.
Even though deodorants, unlike soap and toothpaste, offer no real health benefits the marketing campaigns succeeded. In 2006, sales of products to prevent sweating and combat body odor reached $2.5 billion in the United States.
The social taboo to body smell did not occur in most Western societies until the late 1950s, around the same time that marketing firms began ramping up advertising campaigns to sell deodorant. The firms tapped into social insecurity among consumers... More
