I

s a passion for men's armpits a nauseating fetish or just a lingering evolutionary instinct from our primal past? We want our men to be men; to look like men and to sound like men. We like men who go to the gym, eat meat and radiate testosterone.

But there's one thing sure to get many of us screaming and that's body odor. We want our men to look like they've been working out all day, we just don't want them to smell like it. Let's take a deep breath and examine why some of us revel in the marvels of male musk.

I believe armpits are an important part of a man's sex appeal. Look at those topless poster boys, why do they go to so much effort to raise their arms to strike a *memorable' pose if not for the allure of a shapely, furry pit? To catch attention in internet dating sites, many men expose their pit or even put a close up of it as their profile picture - as if the hair can say something!

Some like it hairy, some like it shaved and some aren't bothered at all, but to me the ideal sexy man's armpit is the one with a regular amount of hair, not too much, not too little, positioned nicely at the junction of toned bicep (hmm.), bulky deltoid (grrr.), and firm pectoral (woof!).

But what is with this precoital business of "hang on, I need to take a shower"? To me there's something vulnerable, yet so-sexy, about a pit with its natural odor. It gives me *comfort' when I have my face near it, makes me purr like a warmly coddled cat expressing its affection.

I have nothing against him being clean and freshly showered but the crucial parts of him Iwant to smell and taste like he's supposed to, not of the latest pour home shower gel from the beautician's rack, some old spice scented body splash, or even worse, a revolting deodorant - what a bitter taste!

There's a never ending list of pros and cons when it comes to preferences of how a man's armpits are suppose to smell.

According to some celebitchy-agent sources, a few male celebrities - Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrel, Russel Crow, and even Mr. Benjamin Brad Pitt Button! - are known for their bad body odor.

The hot mama Madonna also refuses to wear deodorant because she believes some of the ingredients in it can cause breast cancer. This habit of hers was revealed in an interview with one of her dancers who described how bad she smelled. But who cares, they're still hot!

You may think it's the perspiration that makes someone smell, but it's not the water in the sweat that smells, honey, it's the chemicals, known as pheromones (which means communicator or excitement in Latin), that animals (including humans) produce to communicate on a baser level.

The pheromones of two people in a close relationship will either seem deliciously intoxicating or will make one run screaming from the bedroom with a hankie over their nose.

Another pheromone called androstenone, also found permeating from under the arm, has a very different effect. Its smell conveys dominance and lures others who feel a sense of security and warmth emanating from him.

A recent scientific study indicates that androstenol has qualities which have a tranquilizing effect that can be likened to aromatherapy. This is why that certain guy's armpit feels like home - its aroma is stimulating you sexually and physically while at the same time relaxing you mentally and emotionally. Walk into the locker room of any gym to test this theory.

There are also pheromones in saliva and semen that can trigger the same response of exuberance. Mother Nature designed it so you'd let down your defenses and open your legs - and who can argue with her?

So while the eyes may well be the windows to the soul, your sense of smell is the doorway. Certain pheromones can tell us who is the right partner and explain why we like the smell of one man and not another.

So when you really can't bear the smell coming from your lover's armpit, and it doesn't excite and relax you, well, you can turn your nose up as much as you like but that's just nature's way of telling you that he's not the one. Love may be blind, but it has a keen sense of smell.