Susan's Place Transgender Resources

On occasions, I have encountered MAABs who have had a musky natural smell that I found not unpleasant but disturbing.  I'm sure that some FAABs also have a natural smell that affects the behaviour of the opposite sex.  I once asked my father why he left an earlier girlfriend, who might have made him happier, for my mother.  With surprising frankness, he answered that it was my mother's smell that he found irresistable.  He was not referring to her perfume.  In some books by Desmond Morris, he states that men and women both have apocrine, or scent glands, all over their bodies but especially in the groin area.  He also suggested that this scent stimulates the opposite sex.

A young trans woman, whom I shall call X (no speculation, please), made some frank and intelligent observations.  She was told by a family member that he and his friends had noticed that she had a peculiarly female smell.  He presumably found it unpleasant but he did not specify that his friends felt the same way.  X had not noticed the smell but deduced that her HRT was the cause.  Now, on more than one occasion, X commented on the primate-like behaviour of the family member's friends.  I can't help wondering whether that behaviour was influenced by X's hormonal female aroma.  Her family member would not have been aroused  but his friends may have been driven half-crazy by X's female scent.

So, my question to MTFs and FTMs is this:
Have you, since starting HRT, noticed any strange or aroused behaviour in some members of the opposite sex?

According to Desmond Morris, FAABs have significantly more scent glands than MAABs, so it might be interesting to see how that affects the results.

Every time my estrogen goes up, it seems men are more drawn me to me. This, I observed, over the last 11 years since being post-op.

I second that. Whatever chemicals i am giving off has made a noticeable difference.

Quote from: MaryT on September 18, 2017, 10:29:48 AM
Have you, since starting HRT, noticed any strange or aroused behaviour in some members of the opposite sex?

I personally haven't noticed any effect. However, your question reminded me a of section in David Eagleman's book, "Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain" that cites a study that shows that in gentlemen's clubs, strippers earn significantly more tips during the portions of the menstrual cycle when their estrogen levels were highest. It also noted that strippers that were on birth control pills had reduced and relatively stable levels of tipping.

--AshleyP

The word is Pheromones (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheromone). In the animal world they are responsible for the male knowing when it's the proper time to mate. In the human world there is a debate as to if we are sensitive to them because we enjoy sex for recreational reason however it appears at least some people are sensitive to Pheromones.

Quote from: Dena on September 18, 2017, 02:28:17 PM
The word is Pheromones (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheromone). In the animal world they are responsible for the male knowing when it's the proper time to mate. In the human world there is a debate as to if we are sensitive to them because we enjoy sex for recreational reason however it appears at least some people are sensitive to Pheromones.

There's a crazy amount of debate about human pheromones, and whether or not they actually exist. It's something I've been interested in for a while, just out of pure nerdy curiosity. It's very weird that we can't seem to pin them down one way or the other. Studies repeatedly show preferences based on scent, but yet they have also repeatedly failed to identify any actual human pheromones (despite being readily able to do so in other species). Honestly though, it is all academic in the end what we label it, because scent, carrying pheromones or not, definitely matters.

Personally I am more excited about this than just about anything else that comes from HRT. Not really sure why.

Oh yes.  It seems like men become more flirty each time my fem&m's are increased.

I totally agree with Kay and Robyn,

I have a good (male) friend who lives in London who has only known my formal self and on the rare occasions that I am in London I try to meet up with him and his wife. Obviously now I spend about 98% of my time  fully socialised and dressed as a female, but I haven't yet had the courage to introduce them to the "real me". Anyway both times n the last 6 months, he has on seeing me again (in male mode) given me a huge close hug and also commented on how well I liked at commented that my complexion looked amazing. His wife has also commented on how "radiant I looked and was amazed by how soft my skin was (as she also gave me a hug and kissed both cheeks. I am sure she has guessed, , especially as my breasts are now becoming pretty obvious at 44C) but she looked on curiously as he gave me those hugs. He also did it the day I left with him insisting on taking me to Heathrow to see me off. I almost thought that his wife was a bit jealous. By the way he has known me for some 40 years. I put this down to the fact that my pheromones are now different. Also both times that we met recently followed  rises in my oestrogen levels. Perhaps it is that my E levels are now regularly at 240 and my T levels at just 0.98.
Judith

maybe..but i honestly dont pay attention lol.

however i do have to say that HRT has made me wayyyy more sensitive to pheromones of the opposite sex.

I have to say, I am way more sensitive to smells in general now, since being on HRT.
I'm especially sensitive to the smells of people.
Unfortunately, I've found myself repulsed by most of the men I smell. It's quite a conundrum for me. I'll get a whiff of a guy and I just think, "how can a woman stand to be around that odor, let alone get intimate with him?"

I will admit, on rare occasions, I will smell a man that smells interesting... But it is quite rare.

Most of the women I smell, smell amazing.

I'm sensitive and even aroused by certain smells, especially coming from men...

My wife says since I have been on hormones my sent has changed. She would always comment how I smelt like clean laundry even after coming home from work when in male form.

Since I have been on HRT for 9 months I have no smell to her anymore. She says she smells me more as a female friend if that makes sense.

For me I have noticed my smell receptors are on alert. Some men almost knock me over with a bad smell. I have followed behind a couple of college guys that well made my blood start to boil..

Still learning about my new senses and must admit I luv them.

Huggs Niki

Quote from: Niki Knight on September 21, 2017, 06:40:27 PM
My wife says since I have been on hormones my sent has changed. She would always comment how I smelt like clean laundry even after coming home from work when in male form.

Since I have been on HRT for 9 months I have no smell to her anymore. She says she smells me more as a female friend if that makes sense. 

Still learning about my new senses and must admit I luv them.

Huggs Niki

My wife says similar things and so does my boyfriend (open marriage) "You smell like a girlfriend" she says, he has said "you always smell so clean".

On the other hand, men smell really good to me in general so that has been a change in the positive direction. Even a bit of BO is good for my senses. Of course that has its upward limits.

Thanks for all of the input.  So far, it seems that for MTFs at least, HRT does influence the behaviour of the opposite sex, whether from scent or from pheromones.  Also, some MTFs seem to be more sensitive to scents or pheromones of the opposite sex.

There has been no input from FTMs, so far.  Their observations should also be interesting.

My observations mostly involve my own body, but this discussion has me interested in paying more attention to the scent of others now. I've only been on HRT for a few months, but I immediately noticed a huge difference in my own body odor. Baths are no longer a daily mandatory thing, and my clothes smell much better after being worn. It's a huge shift. My hair is wayyyy less oily, and my skin is very noticeably drier and softer. My wife concurs. Like I said, I'll pay more attention to scents, and also to how people treat me of both sexes. Interesting topic!


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A little man's BO is appealing to me now, I smell things more and my own BO is much less unless my T increases a little.

Still no posts from FTMs.  Is that because FTMs are uncomfortable with the subject, because FTMs are relatively uncommon or because FTMs have not had relevant experiences?  I would be interested in comments from you FTMs, even if you have not had relevant experiences.

No more responses from MTFs for a while, and still no reponse from FTM trans people.  There is a related topic, "smell on testosterone",
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php?topic=95657.0
so HRT does affect the scent of FTM trans people.  There is no mention of whether it influences the opposite sex, though.

Quote from: Dena on September 18, 2017, 02:28:17 PM
The word is Pheromones (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheromone). In the animal world they are responsible for the male knowing when it's the proper time to mate. In the human world there is a debate as to if we are sensitive to them because we enjoy sex for recreational reason however it appears at least some people are sensitive to Pheromones.

    Yep, definitely though the subject goes deeper than that. There have been conclusive, though contested studies done regarding proof of human pheromone production and reception. The problem with those studies is that occasionally a person of the same gender was attracted to pheromones designed for the opposite one. Following the patterns that developed and further background information lead a few researchers to believe that the times it worked on the same gender were due to the receptive party being bisexual or homosexual. It'll take me awhile to find the links on this one as I read them a few years ago, but it is an argument for sexual orientation being innate and defined since birth. It also explains pansexuals and asexuals. Whether someone is receptive to the pheromones of one gender, the other, both, or neither has a direct effect on arousal and whether or not we are sexually attracted to the person sending those pheromones out. So on that note and a humorous one, keep an eye out regarding both genders. If you have decent "gaydar" and a female that sets it off (bi or lez) seems more attracted to you when your estrogen is peaking, I would say that that is just as much confirmation as when a male that doesn't set off your gaydar is as well. As gay men seem to be attracted to male pheromones, they would not be affected by you giving off increasingly female ones.

HUGS!