Gen Z men are skipping showers, drinking urine for viral pheromone-maxxing dating trend

As if dating weren’t already enough of a gamble, a new trend has some men skipping their usual hygiene routines before meeting a prospective partner.So-called “pheromone-maxxing” is a viral TikTok trend primarily associated with teen boys and young men that involves skipping showers and deodorant before a date. Some proponents go so far as to wear unwashed shirts or drink their own urine in an effort to “sweat out toxins,” Vice reported.Pheromones are chemical compounds that transmit signals between members of the same species.They are well documented in insects and other animals, and some pheromones do not have a discernible scent, Scientific American explained.The theory behind pheromone-maxxing is that the stronger a man’s natural musk, the more sexually attractive he is.The scientific evidence behind that idea, however, is inconclusive.Researchers have found evidence that human body odors and secretions can influence physiological or psychological responses in other people.“But there is no evidence of a consistent and strong behavioral response to any human-produced chemical cue,” Scientific American reported.

“To date, scientists have collected evidence for possible pheromone effects but have not definitively identified a single human pheromone.”One of the best-known experiments examining scent and attraction was a 1995 study commonly called the “sweaty T-shirt study.”Male participants wore the same T-shirt for two consecutive nights, after which female participants were asked to rate the odors of six shirts.Women generally rated the body odors of men whose MHC (major histocompatibility complex) genes differed from their own as more pleasant than those of men with more similar MHC genes.The MHC is a group of genes that plays a key role in the immune system and may also influence individual body odor.Among women taking oral contraceptives, however, that preference was reversed.Later research has produced mixed results.A 2019 stu...