Grease and Sweat: Race and Smell in Eighteenth-Century English Culture

William Tullett

doi:10.1080/14780038.2016.1202008

Grease and Sweat: Race and Smell in Eighteenth-Century English Culture

William Tullett

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Abstract

From 1690 to 1800 texts printed in England linked racial di erence and foul odour through understandings of occupation, food, cosmetics and sweat. Even by the end of the eighteenth-century racial odour was represented as a labile, culturally and environmentally determined characteristic. This article traces how the social ‘use’ of olfactory stereotypes, particularly their links with cosmetics, food, and odorous spaces, determined the mobilization of explanations for and attitudes to racial scent. It argues that ideas of race should not be considered monolithic or described in terms of narratives that posit a divide between the body/culture, but that racial stereotypes should be understood as collections of traits, of which smell was one, with distinctive histories.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	307-322
Journal	Cultural and Social History
Volume	13
Issue number	3
Early online date	4 Jul 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/14780038.2016.1202008
Publication status	Published - 2016

Keywords

race
embodiment
smell
senses
sweat
cosmetics

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10.1080/14780038.2016.1202008Licence: CC BY

Grease and Sweat TULLETT epub 4Jul2016 GOLD VoR CCBYFinal published version, 1.13 MBLicence: CC BY

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AB - From 1690 to 1800 texts printed in England linked racial di erence and foul odour through understandings of occupation, food, cosmetics and sweat. Even by the end of the eighteenth-century racial odour was represented as a labile, culturally and environmentally determined characteristic. This article traces how the social ‘use’ of olfactory stereotypes, particularly their links with cosmetics, food, and odorous spaces, determined the mobilization of explanations for and attitudes to racial scent. It argues that ideas of race should not be considered monolithic or described in terms of narratives that posit a divide between the body/culture, but that racial stereotypes should be understood as collections of traits, of which smell was one, with distinctive histories.

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KW - embodiment

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Grease and Sweat: Race and Smell in Eighteenth-Century English Culture

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Keywords

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