Smelling Like Sex: Pheromones and Letting Go

Animals of all kinds react to pheromones -- sex attractant hormones -- so why not humans? Apparently they do. In a study at Rice University, women's brains lit up on fMRI scans when the women were allowed to sniff a sample of men's sex sweat. Sex sweat was collected from men while they were watching porn videos. Women's brains failed to react the same way when sniffing non-sex sweat -- sweat collected while men were working out.

Another study at the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory at Monell Chemical Senses Center, determined that women who are in love tend to fixate on the smell of their lover, and lose the ability to distinguish the scents of other males.

The human sex interaction is clearly a non-rational dynamic. When a woman is swept up into a passionate state, she tends to let go of her inhibitory brain function, and passes into a state beyond good and evil, beyond rationality, beyond accountability. She lets go. How she feels the next morning, when her rational brain centers reassert themselves, may be quite different.

Men tend to wish to take control and dominate. When a dominating male interacts with a female who lets herself go, passion can reach its most profound levels. But there are always exceptions -- the dominatrix and the submissive male.

Generalisations are based upon common observations, but the diversity of natural inclinations in sexual desire is quite great. If an individual's sexual predilections lead him astray of society's traditions and mores, problems can easily arise, including criminal penalties which can be extremely harsh. Within Islam, for example, homosexuals are still stoned to death.

In the future, technology will allow for a wide range of sexual expression. Knowledge of an individual's drives and needs will allow the customisation of the full palette of sexual stimuli. There will be no reason for persons to risk potentially deadly sexual encounters when advanced methods of teledildonics, privacy screens, anonymity devices, and sexual surrogates in full sensory modes will allow sexually intense experiences adapted especially for specific individuals. Such experiences will naturally include the use of pheromones known to trigger the most desired sexual response for the client or companion.

Cross posted at Al Fin, You Sexy Thing!