Should it be illegal to stink and not wear deodorant @ gym?

[nubka]

Probably the one that agreed to pay for that show.

Wow, a whole country paid for a show? It must have been one heck of a show!

[haribobo]

If you're not racist, why are you heistant to name the cultures/countries that are so offensive to your olfactory senses? You know, if it's just a fact.

Because its really not necessary, everyone knows what I'm talking about and its not the whole race, but a definite chunk. And I am not even saying they are the only ones, far from it. But a higher percentage, yes.

http://www.indianj.com/stories/bodyodor.asp
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4211620AA78vqF

Sorry if these views are not PC enough for you. But there it is. Deal with it. That is the world we live in, whether you choose to admit it or not. I am not running for public office, I'm posting on a skating message board.

[haribobo]

I would suggest that as population density has grown and society, cleanliness has become more of a necessity. In the magical "all-natural" pre-history/ancient history times everyone loves to evoke, we didn't operate in such close proximity to one another inside with no fires to cover the smells. Our daily interactions have changed and our hygiene has changed with that. Ms. All-Natural could have reeked outside in a small ancient village without people being too close to her and she could have reeked inside and her smell would have been covered by the smells of the fire keeping everyone warm. She also would not have been working in an unventilated room full of cubicles with recycled air. Things change. Plus we invented indoor plumbing and showers for our houses.

Very good points!

[genevieve]

I'm with lanierb and Aimless on this one. And I don't think Aimless was advocating for people never ever showering

Yes, being next to a sweaty stinky person at the gym can be annoying, especially if your workout involves using a piece of equipment for a set amount of time and so does theirs so you're just stuck there together....but IT'S A GYM. People are supposed to get sweaty.

[mon125]

One thing that really bothers me is dirty feet in the yoga class. If you know you are going to the yoga class, please be sure you have not stinky dirty feet. You can clean them in the bathroom before entering the class or wipe them or put some feet deodorant.

I already know the biggest offender and I wait until she places her mat so I can be as far as I can because the smell is so bad that I cannot concentrate in my breathing. I am not talking about natural stinky feet (which you cannot do much about it), but grime covered feet .

[IceAlisa]

What is this about being mammals? Cats are mammals too and they are generally clean.

Also, we are evolved mammals with a large cerebral cortex (in most cases) who learned to maintain personal hygiene as in brushing teeth, showering, disposing of bodily waste, etc. I find this reference to mammals irrelevant. If someone has a fetish with bodily odors, that's fine, whatever floats your boat. For the rest of us, it's the scent of a freshly showered, not overly scented healthy body that we find attractive.

Of course people are expected to sweat in a gym. If they are not, they are not working out hard enough. However, it would have been nice if they showered at least a day or two before. That's all I ask.

[Rex]

Of course people are expected to sweat in a gym. If they are not, they are not working out hard enough. However, it would have been nice if they showered at least a day or two before. That's all I ask.

Like Redd Foxx used to say, "Baby, you gotta wash your ass!". (This was actually the title of one of his "blue" comedy albums.)

[OliviaPug]

Ever been on a plane next to someone who chooses the "no hygiene" route? Traveling back from the UK, I actually got physically ill from the smell (threw up and everything, which I'm sure delighted this smelly passenger to pieces). Paybacks are a bitch.

Seriously. Everyone should make some attempt to practice good hygiene. There are MANY reasons for doing so that have absolutely nothing to do with smell. People carry bacteria and viruses too. Yes, indeed, people are mammals.

O-

[IceAlisa]

I can tell you all a story from my intern days when I was in my first trimester of pregnancy with Mini Ice. I had morning (make that 24 hour) sickness galore. Smells drove me crazy, I swear I could have served on a K9 unit. Once I was at my parents' house and my dad was pouring some kind of fancy scotch in his glass ON THE OTHER END of the house and it made me sick. Hell, reading a recipe of a martini made me sick.

So. One day I had to make up a clinic shift and picked up another intern's who had this patient in their care with exceptionally poor hygiene. Even non-pregnant clinicians could smell that patient from around the corner, literally.

Normally, I would have soldiered on but in this case my body refused, just refused. I felt like if I got close enough to the patient, I'd hurl (which I was doing regularly anyway). So I went to the clinic manager and said that we had 2 choices:

1. I go see the patient and throw up all over them.
2. Someone else with a stronger stomach and hopefully not pregnant sees them.

The clinic manager went with the second choice.

[julieann]

I agree. One, some people cannot control how they smell, no matter how often they shower. Two, Americans didn't start daily bathing until the late 70s when the young baby boomers being launched into the world were told that they shouldn't smell like they did hard labor. Many in the WWII generation did everything possible to insure that their kids didn't have to work with their hands, and it was very much a status symbol to have an indoor job where one didn't get all sweaty and smelly. Three, marketing, as so well described by Aimless.

Anyone else remember the Saturday night bath?

I remember it, I also remember my Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday bath; and that was in the early 70s. No way would my mom let us go one day without a bath unless we were sick and in bed. When we were little we were three to a bath then down to two as we started school. As long as my sister didn't poo in it, I was fine with the playtime.

I started wearing deodorant at around 11 when the influence of Ban Roll-On commercials became too much for me to handle.

I would hate to think I offended someone with my stink at a gym. I think it's disrespectful.

[nubka]

I remember it, I also remember my Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday bath; and that was in the early 70s. No way would my mom let us go one day without a bath unless we were sick and in bed.

Agree! I was a little kid in the 60's. We lived on a farm, with no bathtub, just a shower. If mom didn't put us in the shower, she would then sponge-bathe us. Everyday.

Thanks, Mom!!

[orbitz]

Seriously. Everyone should make some attempt to practice good hygiene.

It always creeps me out whenever I notice someone walking out of the bathroom stall, adjust his clothings and hair in the mirror and then walk right out the bathroom door. Ugh. When I see that, I make sure to use at least two paper towels to touch the door handle, LOL.

People that use cell phones or any electronic devices while doing #2 are just gross .

[Southpaw]

Whenever someone is on their cell phone in a stall next to me I make sure to flush no less than 3 times.

[Ziggy]

Re: original question.

NO.

[Jenna]

Re: original question.

YES.

There's nothing worse than talking to a person who has offensive breath or body odor. I can't imagine it in a hot, sweaty locker room environment.

[MacMadame]

Not that I ever EVER stink after a good sweaty workout, mind you.

Then, you aren't doing it right. Oh wait, I mean you don't sweat, you glow.

Does this mean all adolescent boys have to be arrested?

Yes, on general principle.

Because its really not necessary, everyone knows what I'm talking about

I didn't know what you were talking about. I guessed another race.

What you don't seem to realize is:

1) very few deodorants will combat the type of sweat you work up when you are working out in the gym

2) deodorant doesn't work for everyone

3) body smells vary by ethnicity (mainly because of what people eat) and people from the same ethnic group often think their smells are great but other ethnic group's smells are horrible. IOW, those guys think you are stinking up the gym.

As for how often we shower/bathe, I am on the school of thought that thinks our culture has gone way overboard and that we're going to pay the price with anti-bacterial resistant germs. I think it's one thing to wash your hands after you use the facilities but now there are anti-bacterial dispensers at the entrance to every store and mall and it's just ridiculous. So is removing all our body hair in the name of "hygiene."

[Badams]

Because its really not necessary, everyone knows what I'm talking about and its not the whole race, but a definite chunk. And I am not even saying they are the only ones, far from it. But a higher percentage, yes.

http://www.indianj.com/stories/bodyodor.asp
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4211620AA78vqF

Sorry if these views are not PC enough for you. But there it is. Deal with it. That is the world we live in, whether you choose to admit it or not. I am not running for public office, I'm posting on a skating message board.

I honestly had no idea what population of people you were referring to. Is it supposed to be common knowledge?

[genevieve]

As for how often we shower/bathe, I am on the school of thought that thinks our culture has gone way overboard and that we're going to pay the price with anti-bacterial resistant germs. I think it's one thing to wash your hands after you use the facilities but now there are anti-bacterial dispensers at the entrance to every store and mall and it's just ridiculous. So is removing all our body hair in the name of "hygiene."

x infinity

I never use anti-bacterial goop. It doesn't do anything for dirt and it just swirls germs around on your hands and gives you a placebo effect.



Several years ago, I went through a phase where, quite frankly, I stank. All the time. I took showers every day (sometimes more), I used deodorant...and within a half an hour, I just reeked. There was some sort of hormonal change happening and nothing I did helped. It was awful - and I was still performing, so I had plenty of rehearsals where I had to get very up close and personal with other people while wearing dance clothes (i.e. not that much). It felt like it went on forever, but it was probably about 3-4 weeks. It's never happened again, but it was weird and unsettling.

I'm not saying that every person with BO is going through something like this, but it's not always a bathing or personal hygiene issue.

[allezfred]

Don't know how true it is, but I've heard that eating a lot of dairy products can affect how your body odour smells.

[IceAlisa]

I am also anti anti-bacterial everything. To quote my husband "Bacteria have rights too". Seriously, we can't sterilize our environment. We can try to be clean but we are not all performing surgery.