odor of the man she loves, one woman states, is highly,
sometimes even overwhelmingly, attractive to her; but the
specific odor of the male sexual organs which she describes as
fishy has no attraction. A man writes that in his relations with
women he has never been able to detect that they were influenced
by the axillary or other specific odors. A woman writes: "To me
any personal odor, as that of perspiration, is very disagreeable,
and the healthy _naked_ human body is very free from any odor.
Fresh perspiration has no disagreeable smell; it is only by
retention in the clothing that it becomes objectionable. The
faint smell of smoke which lingers round men who smoke much is
rather exciting to me, but only when it is _very_ faint. If at
all strong it becomes disagreeable. As most of the men who have
attracted me have been great smokers, there is doubtless a direct
association of ideas. It has only once occurred to me that an
indifferent unpleasant smell became attractive in connection with
some particular person. In this case it was the scent of stale
tobacco, such as comes from the end of a cold cigar or cigarette.
It was, and is now, very disagreeable to me, but, for the time
and in connection with a particular person, it seemed to me more
delightful and exciting than the most delicious perfume. I think,
however, only a very strong attraction could overcome a dislike
of this sort, and I doubt if I could experience such a
twist-round if it had been a personal odor. Stale tobacco, though
nasty, conveys no mentally disagreeable idea. I mean it does not
suggest dirt or unhealthiness."

It is probably significant of the somewhat considerable part
which, in one way or another, odors and perfumes play in the
emotional life of women, that, of the 4 women whose sexual
histories are recorded in Appendix B of vol. iii of these
_Studies_, all are liable to experience sexual effects from
olfactory stimuli, 3 of them from personal odors (though this
fact is not in every case brought out in the histories as
recorded), while of the 8 men not one has considered his
olfactory experiences in this respect as worthy of mention.

The very marked sexual fascination which odor, associated with
the men they love, exerts on women has easily passed unperceived,
since women have not felt called upo