I don’t much like the smell of stale sweat, or tobacco smoke, but I much prefer the smell of a reasonably clean body to any cologne or perfume in the world.

As for myself, I really like the way I smell when I’ve been spending half a day at the stables. The combined smells of horse, straw, hay, horse manure, the dust from the paddock, the grass from the fields, and my own sweat - they evoke the joy of being with the horses, plus, as you say, the smell of honest work. Unfortunately that predilection isn’t shared by the rest of the household… so when I get home it’s a shower and some deodorant - but no perfume or anything else to cover up the smell of human.

I do know that typically when Filipinas show signs of their first period, they don’t really get the “birds and the bees” talk (it’s not really necessary - they get that from town gossip, usually), but a talk about how their hygiene needs change from that point on.

I did note that Filipinos seemed to be exceptionally concerned with hygiene.

In fact, a common greeting in Indonesia is “Sudah mandi?” (Have you bathed yet?). (You’re expected to respond in the positive; if you respond in the negative, people will make no effort to hide their revulsion.) People bathe at least twice there - once in the morning and once during dusk/evening.

On the other side of the coin, there’s a Balinese story about a particularly pungent villager who helped get his fellow villagers a large piece of land (known as Tenganan Pagringsingan) just by accompanying a court official with a particularly sensitive nose. The land was a reward for the villagers’ discovery of the king’s favorite horse, which was found dead. The king decreed that the villagers would get an expanse of land wherever the dead horse’s odor could be detected. The court official was puzzled that the horse’s odor was strong all the time the villager was with him. After deciding that the parcel of land was large enough, the official went home. With the official out of sight, the villager pulled out a chunk of the dead horse from beneath his clothing. So, I guess being funky does have its advantages - but notice that the funk came from an outside source in this particular story.

Unless it’s got to do with, erm, scented washes and the like; I’ve only heard of those in the context of my elders repeatedly telling my generation they’re silly and a risk for infection. (I’m a current college student, and recognize that I’ve been a bit sheltered so it’s possible they’re more popular in poorer areas and the like.)

Really? Is that common in USA these days? There’s actual deodorants being made for the lower regions? This is the first I’ve heard of the whole thing. I’m European myself and sure hope that trend doesn’t come over here too.

Back in the 1980s I used to take a shower perhaps twice a week and that was normal for everybody. When I was leaving to be an exchange student in USA, one of the things the councellors stressed on us was ‘remember that americans wash every day and if you don’t, you’ll be shunned’. We thought it was a bit weird at the time. Nowadays though everybody washes every day here too.

Can’t say I’m with you on this one—when I’ve been doing heavy sweating, I can’t wait to get in the shower. For me, there’s nothing better than getting the oil slick and dirt off my body, and smelling like fresh, clean skin again. Even more than the smell of day-old sweat, I hate the feel of it. And B.O. is the polar opposite of an aphrodisiac for me. Armpit odor so strong you can chin yourself on it? No thanks.