Scents & Attraction

I had the luxury of time to go through a 4 page article regarding our attraction to others in relation to the natural body scent they are giving off. Ironic with the use of such time when I have a paper coming up in 2 days.

This is by far one of the most detailed article I have read regarding this topic. I vaguely know of the factors that play a part in the attraction I feel towards people. Before I had any idea, I thought I was the only one playing by the nose. And it's a realisation coupled with knowledge that it is actually a natural instinct to sniff out people and determine how attracted we are to whoever they are.

Throughout the article, it's referring to heterosexual couples and their nasal attraction. But I wonder, what about homosexuals? Being of the same sex would translate to more similar MHC genes? And if that's the case, as pointed out by the article, the higher the similarity, the more unattracted we would be to the other party. As distinct as scents might be, people of the same gender would more likely have a more similar set of MHC genes right? Then why the fatal attraction for them? Fatal as in doomed by our social conditions.

Behind the superficiality of deodorants, after-shaves, perfumes & colognes, the best time to whiff the most natural scent someone has is the moment he/she wakes up from a night's sleep. But to get to that stage, you have to be in a close relationship. And then comes the next part of the question, what if you are put off by that natural scent when you are in a close relationship? The emotions will mess up the ability to function by instincts that "he's/she's not the right one for me". Funny how these items are actually driving the sexual aggression by our society. Maybe that's why we are much more impulsive to get physically closer to whom we thought we were attracted to, to determine the suitability of our partners before we actually commit to a marriage.

A lingering thought, that sometimes I look like I'm better off studying psychology. And double degree is damn 凶 for me if I pursued what I'm doing now and up the ante with an arts degree. Shit. Why the pre A levels of me thought everything was achievable, till now when I'm really in it, I feel it. And boy, it's not easy.