Almost certainly, the division comes from marketing. Since gardeny things are perceived as feminine and outdoorsy things are percieved as masculine, that’s how they’re marketed.
How I know this is looking at the most popular scents for each gender. I think the associations are probably arbitrary and just the product of positive reinforcement in social trends (the more men use a scent, the more masculine it is perceived as being and the more men use it). The easy answer is that the creators and copywriters have in mind whatever they can market as masculine to men and feminine to women.
When I smell something, I almost always experience positive or negative affect depending on the smell. I rarely recognize smells, though, except for very common ones. I don’t expect to correctly recognize “garden” vs “forest”.
I wonder if many people reliably react to scents marketed as feminine or masculine by actually identifying them. If someone used a scent marketed to the opposite sex, how many people (being in a position to smell it clearly) would notice a discrepancy? How many would dislike “inappropriate” scents more than regularly gendered ones? Have there been studies (which plausibly weren’t written or published in part as PR copy?)
Even if all the answers are “no”, I think the scents industry would be able to sell products as they do now, on the force of suggestion; so both “yes” and “no” answers wouldn’t contradict the fact that such sales are are successful. But I wonder how much truth there is to this marketing, other than social conditioning (if even that).
Almost certainly, the division comes from marketing. Since gardeny things are perceived as feminine and outdoorsy things are percieved as masculine, that’s how they’re marketed.
How I know this is looking at the most popular scents for each gender. I think the associations are probably arbitrary and just the product of positive reinforcement in social trends (the more men use a scent, the more masculine it is perceived as being and the more men use it). The easy answer is that the creators and copywriters have in mind whatever they can market as masculine to men and feminine to women.
When I smell something, I almost always experience positive or negative affect depending on the smell. I rarely recognize smells, though, except for very common ones. I don’t expect to correctly recognize “garden” vs “forest”.
I wonder if many people reliably react to scents marketed as feminine or masculine by actually identifying them. If someone used a scent marketed to the opposite sex, how many people (being in a position to smell it clearly) would notice a discrepancy? How many would dislike “inappropriate” scents more than regularly gendered ones? Have there been studies (which plausibly weren’t written or published in part as PR copy?)
Even if all the answers are “no”, I think the scents industry would be able to sell products as they do now, on the force of suggestion; so both “yes” and “no” answers wouldn’t contradict the fact that such sales are are successful. But I wonder how much truth there is to this marketing, other than social conditioning (if even that).