Body odor is one of those things that you learn pretty quickly has to be handled. Smell, as it turns out, is pretty important and if people can’t be in the same room as you, that’s a problem. Thankfully, most of us understand this and assume that the majority of people we might date understand it as well. But, there are always some exceptions.
A man asked the internet if he was wrong to ask his girlfriend to maybe not skip showering for weeks. As it turns out, this was not something she wanted to hear. The man who made the post was kind enough to share some more thoughts and details with us.
Sometimes you really need to ask your partner to change
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
But one couple get into an argument when the man asked his girlfriend to please shower
Image credits: Andres Ayrton / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: jet-po / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: john4844
The man got back to us and shared some of his thoughts
Bored Panda got in touch with the netizen who made the post and he was kind enough to answer some of our questions. His post did go viral so we were curious to hear why he thought that happened and how he felt about it. “I think people found it engaging for a few reasons. If it’s a gender to not shower often, people would typically assume it’s mostly men and not women,” he shared.
“And going for such long breaks (1 week) in between is not something the majority of people do, so it would right away be seen as odd. As well as when they don’t realize themselves that what they are doing is considered “disgusting”, it just makes the entire thing worse,” he added. Most of the comments supported this point and some women also shared their perspective.
On that topic, we wanted to hear his thoughts on the discourse his post ended up creating. Some comments I found helpful was that I should’ve been more blunt and honest with her earlier on, and not let it get to this point. Could’ve saved both of us some time by ending the relationship sooner.
The girlfriend’s reaction was excessive and a red flag
First and foremost, just removing body odor alone is a good enough reason to shower regularly. It’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily mean showering every single day. One study suggests that this can end up creating dry skin and even weakening our immune system. It needs bacteria and dirt to keep it active.
Similarly, our skin produces oil to make it soft and pliable, which often gets washed away by daily baths or showers. However, this story isn’t about the woman’s skin being dry, it’s about an intolerable smell. Weeks of no showering, particularly when the person attends the gym, is extreme. Most people will shower immediately after one session of physical activity, so skipping it for this long sounds disgusting.
The bigger issue, however, is the fact that the girlfriend immediately escalated the conflict. It’s possible to make mistakes, to be nose-blind or just be misinformed about how often one should clean themselves. But when asked to shower, she turned it into a fight and demanded to know if he wanted to break up. This shows a deep level of insecurity, which, paired with her delusions, are a good reason for him to get out of this relationship. It’s not only toxic in terms of smell but emotionally as well.
Most sided with him and a few wanted more details
Readers thought the GF was out of line
Some thought everyone was in the wrong
Later, he shared a sizable update
Image credits: Alena Darmel / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: simonapilolla / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: john4844
“She Freaked Out”: Woman Can’t Accept That She Smells After Not Showering For Days Bored Panda
