DCML Explained - Part 10: What's the smell?

What is that stench?

You don't participate in daily hygiene rituals (i.e. shower)

Perhaps it's an American thing. Perhaps it's a luxury thing. Perhaps it's an unrealistic expectation. Perhaps, and just perhaps, I don't like to climb into bed dirty.

Daily showers are practically a necessity for me. There are few occasions where I can't force myself to climb into the shower at some point in a 24-hour interval. However, I find that this is not the case for everyone.

I dated Jerry for almost half a year and he opened my eyes to a new unexpected lifestyle. Jerry didn't shower often. Maybe he showered 2 or 3 times a week. I realized this one day where he came over to visit me. He had an odor. I smelled him with a disgruntled look upon my face. I really should have recognized it when I noticed the dander the first time we hung out alone. "Did you shower today?" I asked him. He looked at my shyly and responded that he did not. Then Jerry became defensive and told me about his lifestyle. Daily showers are not part of his routine.

Well perhaps Jerry had a good excuse. He was straightedge and into the hardcore scene. If you ever been to a hardcore club, like the Black Cat in DC, you'll notice there are definite whiffs of body odor passing by. Anyway, his main excuse was that he just didn't have time to shower daily.

That was a new one to me. How could you not go out of your way to shower? Unfortunately this aspect made me a bit paranoid and frequently, and quite possibly obnoxiously, I questioned if he showered.

Jerry and I made a pact that he would shower if he saw me that day, which came true most of the time. I noticed over time his dander problem dropped off as he showered more, but the boy was just not naturally motivated to rinse off daily. His brother is similar so perhaps this philosophy runs in the family.

Anyway, there are enough things to be annoyed about in a relationship. Maybe I'm high-maintenance, but I don't think I should be deemed unrealistic if I want my partner to be clean on a daily basis. Who doesn't like to climb into bed smelling good?