Dealing with a woman who's got a smelly snatch?

[Lady2020]

Yeah, but shame on the person who said that. And also sad that douching is more likely to cause problems than to fix any.

I agree. The thing is I have a customer who makes money/drugs from sex. She buys a lots of douches.

 

[twister947]

In a lifetime of field testing, I only encountered one that smelled like death. I made a graceful exit...my dick and I are kinda picky.

 

[Dearelliot]

Speaking for myself, I have noticed the more I like a woman, the less things I find wrong with her.
Even things that I took issues with about another woman, I dont seem to notice about her.

 

[jehoram]

Historically, douches were prescribed as a post-coital contraceptive.

I can't say for sure, since my mother passed away some years back, but I think I'm living proof that this doesn't always work.

 

[ericalauren]

If you do not like the taste and/or smell of someone's vulva, move on to someone else.

 

[Lady2020]

History of the douche is pretty fucked up.

There is a huge difference now between professional medical advice and medical folklore, AKA mom's advice. Professional medical advice says do not ever do this. Common medical folklore still says do it to 'stay fresh'.

That wasn't always the case.

Douches are currently marketed as a way to maintain vaginal freshness, I think anyone here with a TV knows. The same is true for vulva/vaginal wipes that seem to be trending away from the more obvious harshness of douching, but this is still the same money-grabbing, body-shaming uselessness of the douche in a different package. It insists on the myth that the vagina is, at baseline, a dirty body part that must be cleaned.

Historically, douches were prescribed as a post-coital contraceptive. The use for this later on was branded with euphemisms about birth control, since obviously it wasn't kosher to suggest that women were guarding against pregnancy (and having sex just for fun!), but it was intentional. Lysol was one of the most popular douches. Some women were poisoned and others died using Lysol as a douche.

Lysol advertisements also portrayed the brand as being especially effective at disinfecting the vagina. So the idea that the vagina was unclean was used to sell Lysol to women (especially unclean because of the "odors," AKA the semen, in there).

That's not new. Ancient Roman poetry characterized vaginas as dirty, disgusting orifices that acted on penises and made them unclean by interacting with them. That women (especially certain kinds, but sometimes all women) had dirty vaginas and made men's penises dirty by touching them.

Now... Feminine hygiene products boasting the ability to improve "freshness" rose dramatically.

So I don't think it is as simple as every woman who douches or uses vaginal deodorant being directly told by someone in her life, "your vagina smells! Use this!"

People are surrounded by this messaging, this pressure. They are surrounded by peers who follow the messaging, who were surrounded by other peers (and/or family) who did the same thing, who carried the same products. And you said, "they wanted to make sure their vaginas didn't stink." So why do they want to make sure of this?

They would only bother with that if they thought it was a problem in the first place. These companies make it seem like a problem and continue to do so. They prey on bodily & specific sexual insecurities, a cultural issue that is not universal* and persists in western societies.

*I'll die on this hill.

I agree with most of what you're saying. Lots of good info. That isn't going to change what I think when I sell a douche product: must be nice to have sex IRL.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

History of the douche is pretty fucked up.

There is a huge difference now between professional medical advice and medical folklore, AKA mom's advice. Professional medical advice says do not ever do this. Common medical folklore still says do it to 'stay fresh'.

... These companies make it seem like a problem and continue to do so. They prey on bodily & specific sexual insecurities, a cultural issue that is not universal* and persists in western societies.

*I'll die on this hill.

Shit, it was over 20 years ago that I first had discussion online about this, and all the Brits were shocked that douches were still sold in America, because in the UK they are unknown except for medical purposes, ie recommended by an actual doctor, which boils down to some STI treatment and maintaining newly-created vaginas for trans women.

I was assured that myths of the need to douche were finally dying away in America, along with other practices that were for docs getting paid rather than the good of their patients (stirrups for exams, pelvic exams, shaving, enemas and stirrups for giving birth, annual PAPs for all cervices, male circumcision... no I'm not going to discuss any of those on this thread).

So I'm a bit shocked that douche discussion is still going.

I've met people who have asked if it's OK to wash me to convince themselves psychologically that it's fine to shove their face between my legs. I've sometimes had the same thought myself - regardless of actual sweatiness etc.

If someone wants to apply a warm wet washcloth but then be enthusiastic about getting their tongue and lips into good places, why would I object to that foible?