This may be TMI for some, but I am confused. What’s with this “you stink and are dirty” mentality? I know someone is going to be offended if I don’t fully explain that statement but oh well.
Let’s start with what actor Terrence Howard said in a recent interview:
“Toilet paper - and no baby wipes - in the bathroom. If they’re using dry paper, they aren’t washing all of themselves. It’s just unclean. So if I go in a woman’s house and see the toilet paper there, I’ll explain this. And if she doesn’t make the adjustment to baby wipes, I’ll know she’s not completely clean.” [Source]
This makes me laugh. But it also makes me shake my head because he was dead serious.
Next let’s mention this melon scented panties product.
“Melon scented underwear utilizes a new technology that weaves the same material from a drier sheet into the underwear fabric, creating a powder fresh scent that lasts for up to fifteen washes.”[Source]
So you want me to wipe myself like a baby and then put a dryer sheet in my crotch? Just thinking about it is making me itch. Forget urinary tract and yeast infections; I have to smell like a melon scented baby butt.
The only reason this type of thing bothers me is because stuff like this could potentially have women paranoid all theirs lives. “Do I stink?” “Can he smell me?”"Should I change my underwear 12 times?” And of course there’s those horrible fish jokes.
Am I saying you shouldn’t have a strong grasp on proper hygiene? No, not at all.
For the skeptics, let’s throw some science into this.
“Is a man expected to smell like flowers around his groin at all times? Many of my married patients will testify to the contrary. Humor aside, the truth is, most of these feminine hygiene products actually cause odor by upsetting the vagina’s natural pH balance which encourages bacterial growth. They are equally notorious for causing allergic type reactions, vaginal irritation and itching. “It” should smell like YOU.” [Source]
Myths About Vaginal Health [Dr. Donnica]
Technorati Tags: Myths About Women
30 responses so far ↓
1 SaraJane // Sep 7, 2007 at 11:11 am
Ok, baby wipes are fun and all, but man what kind of messy bathroom habits does this guy HAVE that he insists on wipes? I’m confused. Wipes could probably come in handy for a little bit of the Motezumas Revenge or what not, but good god, that’s not everyday. If your habits, like mine, are quick, clean and relatively compressed theres not …ahem….alot going on down there….
Did I just write this comment? Sheesh.
2 Carolanne // Sep 7, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Wow…that’s all I can say. I thought baby wipes were for babies.
3 Jolie // Sep 7, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Oh god - now I feel guilty! I happen to love baby wipes. I learned to love them when I had my own bouncing babies and I have loved them ever since. I didn’t think I was making a statement. As to other hygiene - I’ll be the judge of that - thank you.
4 alex // Sep 9, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Baby wipes? Great make-up removal, i can attest to that. but … i’m sorry, i must ask this man if HE regularly uses baby wipes to wipe his…. ‘baby’… If so, he is not a guy i would be interested in dating. And the melon smell… good god man, do YOU have fantasies about ‘doing’ a melon???
5 Samsara // Sep 9, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Vaginosis aside. If a man doesn’t appreciate the scent of a “normal vagina” I would encourage all women to encourage him to step aside for the man who does.
For the paranoid women the above statements may affect…please Google for the “Vagina Monologues” and learn to celebrate your vagina; The way it looks, smells, behaves…
…It is not you but it is part of you and it is not defective. It smells, looks and behaves EXACTLY and precisely as it should [unless it gets sick]. Any man who can not appreciate this, cannot appreciate my womanhood and again I say, “Step off brother.”
The patriarchal marketing of FDS, douche, scented tampons, feminine vaginal soap, bikini wax and so forth…and now this? If men do not like the salty oceanic paradise that it my vagina, again I say - be homosexual and be done with it.
Good article and good comments.
Thank you.
6 Ojo // Sep 9, 2007 at 8:21 pm
I’m a man and I affirm and celebrate and am fascinated by the folds and curves and secret places of a woman’s body and the mysterious and powerful currents of ancient seas that drive her heart. I am a bit puzzled sometimes at how insecure women can be - and I hate the false things that prey on that insecurity.
It is good to see women fight back.
7 Snusket // Sep 9, 2007 at 8:57 pm
hmmm Samsara, what smell? A healthy and hygienic ***** smalls close to nothing at all. Hence I am not sure what you are talking about when you insist men should become gay when they do not like your scent? Maybe they should step aside and find a pussy that smells less than yours?
8 Blastkist // Sep 9, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Personally I completely understand his reasoning. Cleanliness not withstanding, I use feminine wipes when I don’t feel “fresh” and it has nothing to do with what any marketing establishment told me to do. I just don’t like how it smells when the “good bacteria” have had some time to get their way on me.
Like it or not the vagina is NOT made as overtly as the penis, thus, less air gets to it and it develops a stink. I for one don’t see it as a rejection of myself that I don’t like having more than a fresh odor happening.
I’m all for the women who sing rah-rah for their natural scent but unless there is something amiss with mine ( doc says everything is A-okay) then I fail to see where we can afford to deny ourselves the pleasure of receiving an oral gift on a clean plate.
If I were lesbian, I would expect the same treatment. I see no problem with what he felt on the issue.
9 Melissa // Sep 9, 2007 at 9:27 pm
This reminds me of the old 50’s ads that told women to douche with lysol. Can you imagine?
The scent of a woman has often been written about, and men that have been away from women pine for it. And I don’t think they were referring to her perfume.
Besides, if you didn’t want to eat the fish, you should have ordered it.
10 Calis // Sep 9, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Okay, I’ll toss in a male viewpoint. Baby wipes? I have been slinging baby wipes pretty much non-stop for the last 5 years now, and when I smell the scent of a baby wipe, my thoughts turn to changing diapers. Believe me, that is the LAST thing I want to think about when I happen to be close enough to smell my wife’s vagina. The natural clean scent that it normally has is good enough for me. Melons? yuck!
Calis
11 Jamie // Sep 9, 2007 at 11:39 pm
The plumber in me cringes at the thought of baby wipes that don’t disintegrate forming a big wad in the sewer pipe or septic system….
12 StupendousMan // Sep 10, 2007 at 1:49 am
“The only reason this type of thing bothers me is because stuff like this could potentially have women paranoid all theirs lives. “Do I stink?” “Can he smell me?””
Most of the time you do. Human bodies just don’t smell all that good if they’re not cleaned regularly.
The baby wipes are for your butt. If you use them on your crotch I doubt that the scent/chemical(I use unscented) is going to upset the flora and fauna inside you.
13 Samsara // Sep 10, 2007 at 9:03 am
Now I do enjoy the Baby Wipes after an extended stint in the bathroom to be sure but not for obsessively wiping the vulvular folds every time I need to use the bathroom.
I remember the Lysol douche - I remember reading about it. Horrid!
As for #7’s comments, I am referencing the above interview that *assumes* women *stink.* Can you pay attention? As for my own feminine secretive pleasure, I can assure you it is not up for debate with the likes of an insipid troll and that my beloved would be able to sing its praises to the feminine gods.
14 saurabh // Sep 10, 2007 at 3:51 pm
You know, I’ve always been dissatisifed with TP. Frankly, it’s disgusting. You’re not getting entirely clean, it’s abrasive, and it’s wasteful to boot. Baby wipes are somewhat superior, in that at least there’s some moisture there, but what Indians have been doing for eons is, in my opinion, much better - just rinse with a cupful of water. No mess. And less risk of UTIs.
15 Jangha // Sep 15, 2007 at 8:56 pm
I dunno man, Charmin does a good job of cleaning up, I’ve never much felt the need for baby wipes. A healthy digestive system should yield healthy movements, though we all know what a burrito can do on occasion. Those points aside, humans smell. Just as there’s a huge market for women’s antiperspirants (because I should be embarrassed by how much I sweat, whether or not it smells?) there will always be a market for vaginal deodorants of all sorts as well unfortunately. Besides the whole breed of people that are trained to keep their intimates at a distance (and call them things like intimates rather than c*nts and c*cks) some people are just a bit OCD when it comes to hygiene and smell.
Really though, penises smell. Sperm smells. Balls smell. Where are male melon scented underwear packs?
A healthy vagina shouldn’t *not* smell as someone said, but rather it should smell healthy. Though it changes during a woman’s cycle, you know if you shower regularly, eat well, etc. The same factors in your diet that’ll keep you from needing those baby wipes will keep the ph levels of your tissues balanced. But you should eat well to feel good and not to smell good to please your male suitors or OCD habits.
Because when it comes down to it, being human’s dirty. Celebrate it. And use Charmin to clean up. =P
16 be free // Sep 20, 2007 at 11:03 am
Men AND women have stinky ****** just using paper after a #2 (stinkier than what they have to be), which is why in Japan they have toilets that can clean you with warm water, and in Europe we traditionally have bides. I’d never use a baby wipe, but regular folded toilet paper and hot water goes a long way. After you’ve seen how much **** you normally leave back there, it’s impossible to go back. I learned this in India. The melon part is of course ridiculous. I’ve been dating 3 American girls now, and yes, they are obsessed with that they think they smell sweat or from their ***. Two had permanent yeast infection - go figure. / A European man
17 The Junky's Wife // Sep 27, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Wow.
D**** smell like socks, universally. Kind of sweaty and like laundry and pee and clean and yucky all at the same time. That’s why I don’t go putting strangers’ wangs in my mouth.
18 sybil // Oct 9, 2007 at 9:39 am
I’d like to leave a comment but it seems a bit too personal!
19 arvan // Nov 13, 2007 at 12:03 am
First of all - Terence Howard, your value to me is as an actor. That means acting. I have no interest in your opinion on personal hygiene. Also directed at Terence - you are making a mighty big, sexist, possessive assumption of privilege that you have the right to tell women what the heck to do with their body - because of what you think. With that attitude, you might as well sit next to Rush Limbaugh and the right-to-lifers on the Sexist Bus.
Second, from my personal view - it is a shame to see women told to cover up, hide and eliminate the parts of their bodies that indicate that they are no longer 13 year old girls (i.e. hair & smell). The men who seek it out and the industries that promote it are either covertly or overtly trying to set up pedophile fantasies. Women shaving their hair off, washing away all musky scent. It’s just wrong - flat out wrong and probably sick, too.
When I am between a woman’s legs, I want the pheromones, the textures, the tastes and touch of a WOMAN and not a sterile imitation of a pre-teen. Sweat, urine, vaginal secretions and whatever else going on down there triggers responses in the male brain that nature developed over hundreds of thousands of years (unless you visit the Creation Museum)…for a good reason. It triggers arousal in the male and production of his own secretions. It also allows the interaction to be pleasant for both.
So, grow it, flow it, show it and smell it!
We’ll let Terence and the chemical freaks wipe themselves into sterility or a rash or both.
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21 Destra // Dec 3, 2007 at 8:47 am
I think the man’s comment on baby wipes is showing his lack of understanding on how a woman’s urethra works. Though, I can’t throw the first stone. I’ve been trying to get men to sit and pee for ages. Really, what do they think will happen when you throw urine at a bowl of water from 2 feet away?
22 lullah // Dec 4, 2007 at 3:10 am
I think it’s disgusting not to use water when you go to the bathroom, for BOTH MEN & WOMEN!
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am Arab & we are trained since we are young to use soap and water every time we go to the bathroom. If there is no space in the bathroom for a proper bidet, then we have a hose next to the toilet.
I am sorry that you guys actually think that just using a piece of paper is enough, watch the face of any easterner when we are on the bus, I just want to GAG! I swear every time I took the bus on my way back from school when I was in University in Canada I had to hold up a perfumed napkin to my nose so I wouldn’t throw up from the smell of s**t all around me, especially since I am short and I am at eye level with most tall men’s midsection.
Also, what is up with not removing the hair under the arms, again, for both men and women, ee-gad that is just horrible.
You may think I am exaggerating, but think of it this way, when you first enter into a strange person’s home, you smell something off, after like 30 minutes, you don’t smell it anymore, why? because you get “desensitized”, that is exactly what goes on in the west, you just don’t smell it anymore.
Everyone of my western friends that has come into my house asked me about the attachment on my toilet that sprays water, when I told them to try it, they never went back to just plain paper, & they all apologized for their previous stinkyness. They all now have the same problem I have on the buss.
There is nothing wrong with being clean ladies, pick another more important battle, like not paying for staying home for a couple of years to raise babies by loosing promotions.
As for the idiot with the baby wipes, dude; that is just going to make you sticky, and smell like formaldehyde, I would never subject a child of mine to those chemicals. The kid just weighs like 5 pounds, pick it up and put it’s bottom under the frigging faucet! I swear I have NEVER seen so many poor kids with diaper rashes as much as I did with my American girlfriends! The poor child can’t defend itself against all the crap that is sprayed, wiped, and sprinkled on it, have a heart please.
You clean the kid with water, some organic olive oil soap, and you very very thoroughly dry their bottoms. If you need to moisturize then some almond oil or extra virgin olive oil, none of that petroleum based baby oil monstrosity. It is also a good time to give the poor thing a massage while spreading the oil, perfect bonding experience too.
As for cleaning the vagina and removing the hair, try it once babe, it feels great, I am single, a virgin (sad though as I’m in my thirties- and not because of religious reasons, anyone wanting in these pants has to beg and commit first, hey, I am an Arab, we never have to wounder if the idiot we are with is going to marry us, they are usually the ones begging to get married and we hold them off).
But, I digress, I still remove the hair because it is an extremely more comfortable state of being, and I love the feeling of being smooth all over, especially after a bubble bath. I don’t bother with all the waxing and shaving though, viva laser hair removal.
Good luck, gals.
23 Tallawah // Dec 9, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Lullah, I had to read your post twice to be sure
I didn’t write it.
I had three kids.
Under the faucet, wiped down, olive oil and
for powder…Corn Starch. That’s right…
toss the tomatos, I’m a making a pizza.
The wipes I can see for the back passage, when
you’re out or when you’ve eaten something
that kind of is messy so you use the wipe instead
of the toilet paper.
As to the front door? Wipe for what?
The vagina doesn’t need to be wiped.
The uretha has expelled the urine,
and there’s no dripping, unless you
get up too soon.
A lot of these every so pretty recycled
dyed toilet papers are not vagina friendly.
Some cause allergic reactions.
My view…baby’s are to be washed off,
then oiled and powdered, and baby will
never know what diaper rash is.
Wipes, great for travel and for extra back
door cleaning after a messy bowel movement
when toilet paper is not enough.
24 noisha // Dec 15, 2007 at 2:18 am
i remember some 30 years ago when i was starting my nursing training along with a group of around 25 other young women and 2 guys. the head nursing teacher asked the 2 guys in the class to be excused for what she was about to say but she had a very important message for the young women.
Now.. remember, this was 30 years ago…
She spoke very well and in depth about vaginas and chemicals and how those feminine hygiene sprays etc were going to do far greater damage to the delicate skin than we could ever imagine. She went on to say, understanding the different smells that come from us indicate a myriad of different things and to become wise to when we are in fact sick or not quite right.
chemicals confuse the body and if your body is smelling a little too strong then your body is out of balance and you need help. This teacher went into a few different things that do happen and some very easy solutions that I have used successfully myself and offered with successful results to friends and now my own daughter.
I was very young, not long out of school.. and while I never used those things anyway, this woman was fantastic and a great mentor for a group of girls entering adulthood. Pity there are not more like her.
25 lullah // Dec 15, 2007 at 11:37 pm
as per the advice of my OBGYN & uurinary tract specialist Aunt, the only thing other than washing with water after you use the toilet, is wash externally with a little bit of salt in water after your period….PERIOD
There is a balance down there, you might kill some stuff you shouldn’t when you use chemicals, if there is a bad smell, then you are probably sick, go to the doctor. The lady has shown me pictures that would make anyone cringe of infections because of douching. Also, apparently; eating really spicy foods makes discharge smell bad.
There is a French trick to make your self smell nice that really works: drink five or six cups cups of chamomile tea, make you smell really nice down there if you are desperate for it.
Now boys, they should use the perfumes, they sweat a lot more than us, especially down under, plus, their equipment is all on the outside, what harm can it do?
26 anne // Dec 17, 2007 at 12:26 am
“I am a bit puzzled sometimes at how insecure women can be - and I hate the false things that prey on that insecurity.”
If you’re puzzled, I’ll clarify for you: it’s because women’s security - about their appearance, their odors, their weight, their abilities, their safety, their sexuality - is preyed on constantly. So much so that most people think it’s “normal.” It’s like the Matrix.
———————————————-
“I use feminine wipes when I don’t feel ‘fresh’ and it has nothing to do with what any marketing establishment told me to do”
Oh, honey. “That not so fresh feeling” is an age-old feminine hygiene product marketing ploy and you don’t think what you’re doing has anything to do with marketing?
———————————————
“you use them on your crotch I doubt that the scent/chemical(I use unscented) is going to upset the flora and fauna inside you.”
Fauna?! What do you think we have woodchucks living in there?
27 Tracee Sioux // Feb 28, 2008 at 3:16 pm
More criminalization of women’s bodies. We’re “unclean” is as old as the Bible.
Yeah -sitting on your balls all day - you smell lovely. Is he a clean freak for himself? Does he wipe his own genetalia down with a baby wipe every time he pees? Like most men he probably just shakes it off and sicks it back in his shorts - probably doesn’t even use toilet paper at all.
28 shazmit // Mar 18, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I guess I’m going to be seen as the oddball here. As long as I can remember I’ve been very obsessed with my hygiene, and I actually use baby wipes after every bathroom use. Though, I don’t do it for the “smell,” I do it to feel clean. I’ve never had a problem with smell.
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30 rebs // Jun 7, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I’m of the opinion hair should be removed, but I can see why people are for keeping it. We’ve evolved to have hair for 2 reasons: for warmth and for hygeine. Pubic and underarm hair traps a layer of air, which stops you from getting so sweaty. It also holds the all the smells and pheromones that come out of our armpits and crotches. However, now that our society is quite sanitized, these smells are a little more noticable than in the jungles of Africa, or wherever.
Basically, we stink. However, it is widely accepted that men stink more than women, so I’m not going to worry too much. If you keep well hydrated and shower regularly, you have no need to be self-concious.
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