Deodorant makes men 'more masculine' to women, says study

Psychologists have probed how deodorant changes perceptions of masculinity and feminity

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Stereotypically "un-masculine" men can significantly boost their “manliness” in the eyes of women by using deodorant, a study has suggested.

Research shows that men that have “highly masculine” traits do not experience a similar spike, according to researchers investigating how perfume can change perceptions of gender.

Psychologists at the University of Sterling asked 130 female and male participants to consider photographs of the opposite sex and rate their masculinity and femininity. A further 239 men and women rated odour samples of 40 members of the opposite sex.

The experts found that females are more sensitive and attentive to odours than males, as all women wearing deodorant were rated as more feminine-smelling by men when compared with those who weren’t.

In contrast, men who were rated as low and high in masculinity, respectively, became indistinguishable when they wore deodorant. “Unmanly” men saw a spike in their perceived masculinity, while the “manly” men saw little change.

Dr Caroline Allen, Psychology researcher at the University of Stirling, who led the study, noted how perfume and body-spray adverts - including Lynx and Old spice - often play with themes of masculinity "claiming that their product will allow you to smell like a super masculine guy."

“Men are able to use deodorant to artificially raise their game so to speak, levelling the playing field by making themselves comparable, at least as far as odour is concerned, to more masculine men," he said.

“Our evolutionary preferences have likely shaped this difference in fragrance design: research findings show that we actually don't like high levels of masculinity which are often associated with aggressiveness and hostility, but we show no upper limit on our femininity preferences."