Racism and Body Odor | Racism Monitor: Issue #2

01/12/2022

Racism Monitor

Racism Monitor | Issue #2: Racism and Body Odor

Illustration by: Aude Nasr, @ahlan.my.darlings

The “problem” of body odor is a social problem that is, more often than not, linked to patterns of racist behaviors.

For the second issue of the Racism Monitor, we wanted to highlight some quotes from the testimonies we received from migrant domestic workers, which document their experiences with racist violations and discrimination against them based on their “Body Odor.”

These testimonies further our understanding and help us answer questions such as:

“What does it mean to have a ‘strong/disturbing’ body smell?”
“How can racist remarks about migrant domestic workers’ body odor affect their mental health?”

Contribute to the Racism Monitor by reporting racist incidents and reports you come across:

Send us a message on social media @armlebanon , @ARMLebanon , @ARM_Leb
or fill the form

You can read the full testimonies below. Additionally, we compiled some resources and research about the topic:

Body Odor Is Less Repulsive When It Comes from “One of Us” (2016), Scientific American, by Jordana Cepelewicz
Effect of ethnicity, gender and age on the amount and composition of residual skin surface components derived from sebum, sweat and epidermal lipids (2013), National Library of Medicine, by Satyajit S Shetage, Matthew J Traynor, Marc B Brown, Mahad Raji, Diepiriye Graham-Kalio, and Robert P Chilcott
The Effect of Ethnicity on Human Axillary Odorant Production (2015), National Library of Medicine, by Katharine A. Prokop-Prigge, Kathryn Greene, Lauren Varallo, Charles J. Wysocki, and George Preti
Grease and Sweat: Race and Smell in Eighteenth-Century English Culture (2016), The Journal of the Social History Society, by William Tullett

Marie-Christine (Cameroon)

I went through this myself, 10 years ago (…). In these moments, you feel overwhelmed. You feel so bad about yourself when someone tells you this kind of comments. Also, when it is the first time that you hear something like this, it hurts a lot. It hurts you a lot.

Sometimes you ask yourself how those people are so confident about telling others that they have a bad body odor, while they have it themselves too. They forget about it.

Each time there were guests at home, once you finish serving them, they (the employer) tell you to go take a bath because you “don’t smell nice, it is disturbing…” etc.

I was feeling bad, sometimes even depressed. I wasn’t feeling good about myself, because of all this.

Each time I arrive, they tell me “The house smells, that’s because of your odor.” Once you get out of a room, they say the room smells bad. You clean the toilets but it doesn’t smell nice right afterwards “because of your body odors.” That’s basically how it was.

She (the employer) used to tell me to change my diet because it is related to what I eat. The thing is, when you just arrived in a country like this one, it is not easy to adapt to their traditional food. It was hard for me to adjust and eat what local people were eating.

Claire (Cameroon)

When this concerns a black person, it is always an insult. They point it out to you in a very unpleasant way, to make you feel ashamed. While you can tell that, this same person that tells you that you have a bad body odor, has it too and doesn’t shower.

They find it hard to correct themselves but they love to correct us. Have you ever seen a Lebanese woman telling her sister that she smells bad? They never tell each other these kinds of things. They just tolerate each other like that. But to us they say it so bluntly, as if it is a “Hello.” And it is always said in a way to humiliate us. Always.

Gaelle (Cameroon)

I started working for a very inhumane family. Given all the criticism, the insults I had to endure at home, these people were clearly inhumane. At first, I thought it was just a bad start, it was something new. I tried to be patient, kept working for them, and to see with time where it would lead me. (…) I am used to showering in the morning and the evening, that’s a habit coming from Africa. Coming to this house, I realized I have to do my hygiene routine in the morning then get to work.

The woman (employer) was apparently already disturbed, upset. She had some anger problems. She used to dehumanize me, and her children were constantly finding excuses to justify her offending behavior towards me: “She is like this,” “Today is the anniversary of her husband’s death,” “She’s not in the mood,” (…) “Our mum is old”…

One day while I was working, she went out of her bedroom, it was around 8:00-8:30. (…) She was looking for me, I could see her but she couldn’t see me. (…) Once she saw me, she took her distance from me, 2 to 3 meters away and she said: “It smells.” She touched her nose and said: “It smells. Did you take a shower ?” I was so shocked, I couldn’t talk. She had already been very offensive, dehumanizing me before, but this time, it was too much. It was horrible.

I thought: “Woah, so you are used to telling people that they have a disturbing body odor, but the way you refer to me is by saying “it” smells. It is like I am not even a human, I am an animal, I am a paper sheet that “smells.”

She offended me many times. I have been working there for a month and half. I didn’t want to lose my temper on this day. I just kept my mouth shut. I was hallucinating. I was wondering: In which reality are we living, where a human being refers to another as an “it?”

I wanted to cry and also stand for myself, but to what end? She had said what she said. Her children came over and tried to calm things down. I couldn’t continue working in this house. I decided to leave some days later. Her son threatened me. I was about to see what he’s going to do to me, he was gonna push me to do something bad.

When he told me that, I realized: the mother considers me as an animal, and the son wanted to push me doing something I couldn’t imagine. You don’t see me as a human, I can’t continue working for you (…) so I stopped after only 2 months at their service.

Today I shiver remembering this image, her going out of the room saying “it.” (…) I am traumatized by this sentence.

Chloé (Cameroon)

That is quite actual and shocking, we are frequently told we smell bad.

Working at a childcare center, we are in constant contact with children. We were first forbidden to touch the children because we “smell bad.” Then we were no longer allowed to come close to them. When the parents came, we were asked to keep our distance, not going out at all even. It is psychologically shocking, It is humiliating. As if being Black is synonymous with dirt. I heard a sentence that I will never forget, which calls to block their nose when they see us pass.

Nana (Cameroon)

I had to work in a house where, as a black person, I was not allowed to touch the house’s belongings because my skin color can change the color of the house’s stuff.

I had one chair, one plastic glass (…) that was only for me. One spoon, one fork, one knife and two plates, all made of disposable plastic. Imagine yourself living in this place, where everything is forbidden to touch, while they brought you here, they are the ones that need you. How will you feel about yourself?

I happen to go to Lebanese people’s meetings. One time I entered the room, some Lebanese put on their masks. When I stand up to start to speak, some put on a second mask. Can you imagine this?

More than 50 people were there. You are the single black person, people call you a monkey and you can’t say a word. Imagine how it feels!

Everyday I wake up thinking about this, I go to sleep thinking about this but I don’t let myself be pushed around.

Also at the church, there is one lady that never says hi to me and always when I say something she’ll respond something against it. Only because of the color of my skin.

Yes it is not only about body odor. Overall a black being suffers in the hand of the Whites. A black person suffers in the country of the Whites. So here is my message : let’s stop this from happening ! We are humans like they are and we must create a place for ourselves at all costs. Because what we are, they are too. We are the same. They have body odors, they even have bad skin problems that we don’t have, seriously. Awareness must be raised it is important.

Cyprienne (Benin)

These people have nothing in their heads. Absolutely nothing. For 13 years, I lived in a house with a lot of patience. I was told for real that I smell. I was asked to wear a scarf to cover my hair when I am in the kitchen. I must wear gloves when I do the dishes and even when I clean the bathroom. When I make her bed again : wear gloves.

I told her : “ Madam, if I smell bad, if I am the one in this house who stinks and you have no body odor please let me go. Because everywhere I go in the house it stinks, you won’t have to face this anymore so please set me free”. So a war started !

When I cook my hair is very well braided, I am clean but I am told “wear a scarf, put on some gloves”.

I said no madam, if the racism brings you so far that you think I stink.. I am the one who cooks for this house plus for 3 other houses and how am I ? Set me free madam. Of course she doesn’t want to set me free, already 17 domestic workers were working in this house before me. I was the 18th. So it went on like this for 3 – 4 years.

After these 4 years I decided to quit. I don’t want to wear gloves nor a scarf to do this job. I put the deodorant she bought me on the table and I said to her, put it on yourself ! Do you tell this to your children ? What about you, you don’t stink ? It has been 2 weeks you haven’t shower and you tell me, who showers every morning that I stink ? What is this ?

Even early in the morning, she smells so bad you can’t breathe but I am the one who stinks in her house. Even to her grandchildren she tells them I stink.

Her daughter just gave birth and since children like to be with me so I was supposed to look after the baby. I said no I stink, I don’t want this child to catch my germ. From this started the real war. I said I quit, I didn’t come to look after the child, to take care of the house of your child, nor to cook for the three other houses, while hearing that I stink. I cook the food for you that can be infected by me, they too they will start smelling like me. When I said this she (the daughter) laughed. That is when my employer started being less racist with me and I started to get some peace. Since this happened, I stayed for some more years. In total I worked for them for 13 years. That’s how it is, they are racists. (…)

Some people are even bothered by your voice. Once I was in a cab talking on the phone, the driver told me to get out of the car, I asked what I did wrong, he said : “Get out. You piece of shit get out ”. (…) They are racists and they will stay like this. They are nasty, that is awful and that hurts. I used to cry, I cried.

When I see them sitting in the living room I don’t want to enter it but they keep calling me and telling me to put on gloves. I said I am not coming. I won’t put gloves on. That is how I stayed for 13 years in this house in spite of myself.

Really it hurts, it hurts. I cry, I cry, I don’t know what to do. But I do not smell bad, or even my clothes while she does, on the contrary. She doesn’t shower for 3 days, I do it every morning and to her mind I am the one who stinks. It is serious, It is bad. Stay strong, keep your head up because it hurts.

Chantal (Cameroon)

Regarding racism in Lebanon, we won’t change this mentality. I believe that these people have been colonized by racism and discrimination. I suffered from this body odor topic several times. What shocks me the most is the fact that these people who criticize about it, forget that they have this body odor too and we put up with this.

I don’t want to talk about old stories so recently I was working for a lady. I was doing everything in an abandoned house. After I left the bathroom, she told me that the bathroom stinks. I said how come? When I arrived, the bathroom did not smell of anything , how come that now it smells bad? I asked if that was because of me, she responded “I don’t know, you need to mix some cleaning products.” I said I would not, so we stopped there.

Some days ago, it was raining, so I took a cab. After less than 5 minutes the driver turns on his cigarette, he asks me and the woman behind if we want some. We both say no. As soon as the woman gets out of the cab, he sprays the whole car with perfume. I ask him to drop me off at this certain place. He says he can’t and he will drop me off somewhere else. I said I want to get out there, it is inacceptable.. I don’t know where you’re from, where you go, I just entered the car and you spray deodorant everywhere. I do not use deodorant, nor perfume, never so I get out. When you have black skin, everybody thinks you have a bad body odor. Very rare are the ones that tolerate it, that tolerate us. The ones that do not tolerate us, have no other choice. They already have in mind that they must traumatize us at any possible time. And I say for this fight, if you need some voices I will be part of them. Because I have lots of stories like these ones about racism and discrimination at parties, at the supermarket, in public transport, at work in the houses.

Agnes (Cameroon)

The first house I was working in in Lebanon was in Achrafieh. I have been so shocked and so hurt. I am still deeply hurt today.

My employers were the grandparents of the family, their children were married and had children of their own. Filipinos were working in their children’s homes, I was the only one black person working for the family.

When I arrived there, the first thing that was done was to show me the small room I would sleep in. I was sleeping on a sofa and I had one plate, one cup, one spoon, one fork all made of plastic. I wasn’t supposed to mix my stuff with the rest of the house. I was allowed to use one plastic stool and I had to eat my meals in the kitchen on my plastic stool.

At the beginning I wasn’t allowed to go out, I did not have access to the outside world, so I was thinking it’s probably like this everywhere. But when the Filipino women were coming to the house with the grandchildren, they were allowed to sit in every chair of the house. They would go in every room, would sit on every chair, every bed.

It hurt me so much to hear this but surprisingly, the grandparents specified to me that I was not allowed to sit on the chairs, ever. When I came with the Filipinos and the children from one room to another to play, I had to sit on the carpet on the floor. On the floor. It was like this. Even the chairs that I was cleaning, I was forbidden to sit on, while the Filipinos were domestic workers like me and they were allowed. Not me.

Also when these people used to come closer to me, especially the daughter-in-law – If I see her again today I don’t know what I would do, what I would tell her – She does everything to show you that you are a subhuman. When she came closer to me, she used to block her nostrils. Even at that time, the covid was not current, still she was wearing a mask. At that time I used to shower in the morning and in the evening, sometimes even more than twice a day when I have been working a lot. (…) Still this lady would block her nose, wear a mask, stand far from me and couldn’t touch me. She was dealing with a piece of waste. I felt so uncomfortable in this family that if I had the possibility to make this story public, I would give their names and say whatever’s on my heart about them.

At another time, I used to work part time for a company. We’d go from houses to houses to do the job. I worked in a house at Monte Verde, the clients were from Saudi Arabia, I think the princely family.

Before arriving they apparently specified that they needed Filipinos or white domestic workers. But since Cameroonian women were much more diligent in their work, our employers decided to send us there, with some Lebanese and Egyptians. Because it was huge (…) One day we were only Cameroonian people (…) when we were working, children were in another room. When these children realized we were here, they were outraged. They shouted, they ran to their masks as if they had seen something horrible, they blocked their nostrils. It was 3 years before the covid happened, there was no question about wearing a mask or not. After this we never worked again in this place. My employer has sent white domestic workers. It was so hurtful, so humiliating… It is hard to live in Lebanon.

By the way, when I was working for the family in Achrafieh, my employer (the man) used to shower 2 to 3 times a week and the lady once a week, in the summer. On the saturday. I know precisely when because she could not shower without my help. I was the one that was helping prepare the bathroom. I accompanied her to rub her body because she couldn’t bend down. She had health issues so she washed on Saturdays only, in summer and in Winter it was also every other Saturday. So in Winter she used to wash twice a month and in Summer four times.

But I was told I had bad odors, that I was dirty. I was told I was dirty, I couldn’t sit on the chairs, I couldn’t touch the house’s stuff, I couldn’t mix with other people, I couldn’t stay where people were because I had body odor issues and that I was not clean enough.

Once I went to the daughter-in-law’s house, the one who blocked her nostrils when she saw me. Her cleaning lady was traveling, there was a reception in the evening so I was here to help do the dishes. During the entire evening I did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen and when I needed to eat something, they gave me a plate that had to be thrown away. When I finished eating, we put the plate in a trash bag with the rest of the waste.

While everybody could use clean and decent dishes, that was the treatment I was given. It was the only time I worked at her place.

Princess Zouli (Cameroon)

I suffered here in Lebanon. Everyday, my lady (the employer) used to tell me I smell. I clean the house, I put perfume in the house and my lady used to say that I smell. I used to wash my clothes by hand (…) I wash myself three times a day, she keeps telling me that I still smell.

If I tell you that I suffered here in Lebanon, I suffered. I worked for three different houses here. At the lady’s place, the lady lives alone, she tells me I smell. At the man’s house, the children were over there. The children tell me I smell.

My place of employment has changed, at a new man’s house. He had a wife and three children. Two daughters and one son. The lady used to tell me and her children that I smell, that I have bad body odors.

I prayed day and night but my lady would tell me that I smell. She buys perfume a lot and I put it on because I am told I smell bad. I don’t know what the truth is. Only God knows. I don’t know. I called relatives in Cameroon, and they gave me a Cameroonian recipe to prepare and drink. I prepare it and I drink it every day and night. Still I was told I smelled, odors stick to the house. Why does the house smell like this ? People come to the house and they don’t say I smell bad right ? But when the lady is at home with me, it’s a disaster. I am always told I smell.

What saved me here in Lebanon was to be able to quit the job. I wouldn’t have made it if I hadn’t left. I felt like I had the rope around my neck. But God is big, God is big. (…)

Grace (Kenya)

When I went to my employer’s house, I used to walk. (…) All she did was insulting me, telling me that I am smelly and I stayed three years without washing myself. And that made me feel bad because I myself know, I shall wash myself three times a day so it really pained me. And about the situation I did not respond to her insults. In fact I left her house and returned home. I never wanted to argue with her because I know how to respect people.

Tags :

Lebanon, Media, Racism, racism monitor

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The Anti-Racism Movement (ARM) was launched in 2010 as a grassroots collective by young Lebanese feminist activists in collaboration with migrant workers and migrant domestic workers.

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