The Nose of Hate

Abstract

The paper analyses the olfactory figures of hate and the various kinds of discrimination based on smell. It shows how figures of hate express themselves in the olfactory form of rejecting the other who stinks. All of the categories considered to be contemptible or inferior are olfactorily devalued. The paper examines successively the nose of anti-Semitism and racism, the nose of homophobia and sexism, the olfactory social discriminations, and the fiction of the stinking enemy. One may ask why this theme of the other’s bad smell so thoroughly permeates the discourses of rejection. One of the reasons is doubtlessly related to the uncontrollable nature of smell, which invades space and intimacy, and betrays your identity. Eyes can be turned away or be deceived, but the nose knows. It is supposed to sniff out otherness and perceive invisible differences despite all efforts to hide them.

Keywords

• homophobia
• racism
• sexism
• smell
• social discrimination