Do gaijin smell? (as an ex-Japan player suggested)

[69 5]

Serious poll actually.

 

I was just watching a World cup special on Japanese tv and they had lots of previous Japan daihyo team members and were talking about lots of stuff.

 

They got on the subject of exchanging kit at the end of a match in games. One player, the small chibiko guy who has long hair called Kitazawa said that it was a tradition but pointed out that after a 90 minute game they are quite sweaty. The host of the progam asked if they smelt. Kitazawa basically answered that "overseas players" were smelly, compared to home Japanese games. So, gaijin players are smelly.

 

I've heard this kind of thing a few times before.

 

So..... are we gaijin smellier than Japanese or not?

 

If we do, WHY?

[daver 0]

that is just the run of the mill racist bullsh*t that drives me nuts about living here some times. i have run into A LOT of smelly japanese people. i have run into a lot of smelly gaijin. i have even run into gaijin that can use chopsticks, eat nato and like japanese yougurt.

[nzlegend 1]

I have met some smelly Japanese people for sure but not one yet that was repulsively smelly which back home happens surprisingly often, there the smelly people are on another level.

I worked with one guy in supermarket who when lifting his arms to raise a box, could knock you out with the odour.

I do think is to do with genetics, in general I find the average Japanese person doesnt sweat excessively when excercising, go to a gym there will be an occasional (almost always usually) guy absolutely gushing sweat - totally soaked but the majority seemed to quite dry, a western female friend of mine who sweated a lot when exercising was most jealous of female Japanese.

When I go Mtn Biking my Japanese riding buddies just dont seem to pour sweat like I do, they find it curious that I pour rivers of sweat.

Also think about it, Deodorant is a rare commodity on supermarket shelves in Japan where as in western countries it is a ubiquitous product, could you imagine a 'no deodorant' world back home? I think not.

 

Sweat itself has littel odour, the smell comes from bacteria that manifests itself in the sweat, If you have lots of skin bacteria - you are going to stink if you sweat a lot.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

Id say on average gaijin tend to sweat much more than Japanese. Sure, you see tons of ossan who sweat on the trains/buses etc but dont think the numbers would even be close compared with gaijin.

 

I sweat 10 seconds after walkin outta my apt in the Summer and soak right through my shirt/shorts. It sucks. Its disgusting. Makes me irritated too. Though I wouldnt say I stink. Just sweat like a beast.

 

I smell like roses

[scouser 4]

I saw that - someone called me in when they were talking about the footie. They were having a right good laugh about it.

 

I remember one time though listening to someone saying they swapped with Beckham and it "smelled really nice". Probably his nice perfume.

[marnix 0]

One of my lecturers from uni ( he also worked part-time for Nissan) told me a story once about a big planned business deal between Nissan and a "gaijin company". The whole deal fell through because the head negotiator wasn't able/willing to be in the same room with his counterpart as he could stand his body smell.

[dale#1 1]

Sounds like a great businessman....

 

I don't know about smell, but I sure seem to sweat more and easier than Japanese I know.

[powwwers 0]

put smelly stuff in... get smelly stuff out!

[daver 0]

"I do think is to do with genetics"

 

oh that's right i forgot, EVERYBODY in japan has A blood type and the 'japanese race' has been scientifically proven by all of the most facist quacks this country has to offer.

 

just imagine how this story would go if it were in england and the BBC were talking to a cricketer who had recently returned from playing in India. what would happen if this player said similar things on national tv?

[bobby12 0]

Thats quite a good comparison. They would get the sack.

 

Remember what happened to Glenn Hoddle, former England manager - he got the sack for his innocuous comments about handicapped people.

[daver 0]

egad! i had never heard of the story being from canada, but a quick google search brought the info up. yikes! seriously though, how does this sort of asinine frame of mind manage to coninualy pervade into what we like to see as enlightened societies?

[muikabochi 208]

I don't know about averages, this is totally based on my own experience - but I think gaijin do smell more than Japanese. I can't see how some people here generally aren't sweating like a really hot pig while I'm doing just that, and getting worried about myself being a bit pongy at the same time.

 

This is totally totally not supposed to be in the least bit racist, (ok?), but I have a few Indian friends and they definitely have a distinctive smell about them which is surely due to diet. They themselves would be quick to admit it.

[Rag-Doll 0]

"Asian males have the smallest penises of all the major races, this has been proven in clinical studies, that is genetics my friend.

Asians are shorter than other races too, genetics again. Aborigines in Australia have a very poor tolerance to alcohol - genetics again. Polynesians are very susceptiple to Kidney diseases, perhaps its in their genetics."

 

 

snowglider - mate, not commenting on your flame but I wouldn't place too much faith on the above "genetic facts". Most that stuff is racist hogwash.

 

 

Powwwers is on the right track - smelly stuff in - smelly stuff out.

[daver 0]

snowglider

if you inspect my 'diatribe' you will notice that at no point did i attribute anything to 'japanese people'. all i did was highlight some other ridiculous ideas that are also widely spouted here. in your rush to defend japan it was you that labled said ideas to all japanese people. i don't believe them. that's all. now, is racism found in all societies, yes. but is it accepted in other industrialized countries with the same apathy that it is here? no! and that is a fact my friend.

 

as for genetics. it has also been widely acknowledged that the three 'major races' is unfounded, unrealistic, and leads to the same sort of stereotyping found in your response.

 

now, i have noticed that people here tend not to sweat as much as me. (and they smoke during water breaks yet still manage to be more aerobically fit then me) and you are right that sweat causes odor. but not quite right. the act of sweating does not cause odor, the evaporation of sweat causes odor. and i also agree with powwwers that smelly stuff in - smelly stuff out. when you sweat you release many toxins in you body. which in turn make the scent all the more potent when your sweat evaporates. so in short, people that sweat don't stink, but people that don't wash certainly do.

[Davo 1]

Smelly people smell bad no matter where they're from. Japanese prolly smell less than some other groups due to diet, but junk food munching unwashed slob here would smell bad like one in other countries. Fact is that the Japanese as a generalised group smell less than people from Western countries in my experience.

 

What the guy said was probably true in his experience and perception. Agreed, he shouldn't be saying it on tv to perpetate racial stereotypes and crappy nationalistic horn tooting. Was that his intention or was he just being unknowingly insensitive.

 

The ignorance and racism thing is never really that black and white and I think what is taken for racism here is naivity a lot of the time, or "sheltered twatism" for want of a better term. Plenty of racism in other countries. He shouldn't be saying that on TV but he's probably just a fool rather than a racist. Just because Wetern countries have become more PC doesn't mean that racism has disappered.

 

Anyway Japan does need to sharpen up it's act and become a little more PC and worldly. This "we are so unique" angle is an odd combination of smugness and insecurity imo. It's not unique to Japan though, plenty of people on that gig in NZ and other countries too.

[scouser 4]

 Quote:

Was that his intention or was he just being unknowingly insensitive.

Unknowingly insensitive, but having a right laugh with it. As was all the other celebs there as well. It was "funny".

[pie-eater 207]

I'd be interested to know some good examples of "non smelly" food?

[bushpig 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by daver:
people that sweat don't stink, but people that don't wash certainly do.

Not true daver. I wash well in the morning and in the evening, yet I can stink quite a bit after a lot of sweaty exercise. Sure, not washing makes you stink worse, but washing will not stop the natural smells the body produces, just take them away until it produces more.

[Ocean11 0]

This Wikipedia entry explains why male Japanese laugh at Westerners for their buttery smell, and why Japanese girls seem to like butter so much.

 

Let 'em laugh. Who cares?

[Yuki's Passion 1]

gotta love wikipedia

[powwwers 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by pie-eater:
I'd be interested to know some good examples of "non smelly" food?

i`m not so certain there is such a thing as "non smelly" food the key is limiting the amount of time food is inside the body being processed for nutrients, and then ridding itself of the toxins.
if you leave meat out on the bench all day it will reek. the body takes anywhere between 24 to 48 hours to process meat so you can imagine the `smells` its producing. ever left milk out？same thing. drop an egg on the driveway on a hot day and go back and smell it in an hour- it`ll bowl you over hows that pie eater?

[Ocean11 0]

So the bacteria and other conditions on the bench and driveway are scientifically speaking the same as those in the intestine?

[I'm Sexy 0]

Well, I like the smell of butter, delicious!

[ireallylikebakedbeans 0]

 Quote:

"non smelly" food

Baked beans.

[@tokyo 14]

Don't know about other people but I know on a hot humid day here in July/August I sometimes end up rather 'fragrant' at the end of the day