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Grease and Sweat: Race and Smell in Eighteenth-Century English Culture
journal contribution
posted on 2023-07-26, 14:30 authored by William TullettFrom 1690 to 1800 texts printed in England linked racial difference 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.
History
Refereed
- Yes
Volume
13Issue number
3Page range
307-322Publication title
Cultural and Social HistoryISSN
1478-0046External DOI
Publisher
Taylor & FrancisFile version
- Published version
Language
- eng
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Legacy posted date
2018-12-06Legacy creation date
2018-12-05Legacy Faculty/School/Department
ARCHIVED Faculty of Arts, Law & Social Sciences (until September 2018)Usage metrics
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