Smell is a very charged topic as I learned almost 20 years ago when working on a master’s programme on creating writing and digital technology via distance education. I had innocently suggested that we include the sense of smell when looking at immersive technology.

One of the members in our group of three ‘blew up’. As someone who had led the Irish teams involved in Microsoft’s multimedia efforts, he asserted his superior understanding of multimedia and narrative. Never one to go away quietly, I persisted, as did the other member of our group, in the discussion.

The whole thing culminated in three projects where our ‘expert’ colleague titled his project ‘STFU’. It was a several minute video diatribe starting with the words ‘shut the …’ You can probably fill in the blanks.

It seems that smell is a very charged topic when applied to creative writing and/or literature. Amelia Louks, research supervisor in English literature at the University of Cambridge, writes about her experience with smell and literature in a December 16, 2024 essay on The Conversation, Note: Links have been removed,

In November [2024], I celebrated finishing my PhD. After three and a half years of writing and research, it was an occasion I wanted to share with my academic network, so I posted a photo of myself holding a physical copy of my PhD thesis on X. The post amassed 120 million views and sparked a lot of anger in response to its title: Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose.

The title received criticism from those who were wilfully misrepresenting the nature of the research. “Smells are racist,” became a misguided refrain. One user commented that it was a study of “why it’s racist and/or classist to not like it when people exhibit body odors consistent with poor hygiene”.

My thesis studies how certain authors of the past century used smell in literature to indicate social hostilities, such as prejudice and exploitation. It also connects this to our real-world understanding of the role the sense plays in society.

For instance, in The Road to Wigan Pier (1936), George Orwell states that “the real secret of class distinctions in the West” can be summed up in four frightful words: “The lower classes smell.” Orwell proceeds to unpick the harm that this kind of messaging causes and how we might combat it.

It is well documented that smell has been used as a justification for expressions of racism, classism and sexism. Since the 1980s, researchers have been assessing the moral implications of perceptions and stereotypes related to smell.

My thesis adds to this work by assessing the contributions of a selection of books and films that take smell seriously. In each of the texts I considered, smell takes on a role beyond mere sense perception.

I include examples from well-known works by George Orwell, Vladimir Nabokov, J.M. Coetzee and Toni Morrison, as well as notable recent examples, such as Bong Joon-ho’s film, Parasite.

…

Sheena Goodyear’s December 5, 2025 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) article based on the interview conducted with Louks for the CBC/s As It Happens radio programme delves further into Louks’ experience with posting about her PhD and how she responded to the barrage,

When Ally Louks posted last week that she was “PhDone” with her English literature thesis, she didn’t expect to find herself at the centre of a culture war.

Louks posted a picture of herself on X, formerly known as Twitter, smiling proudly and holding a bound copy of her University of Cambridge thesis on the “politics of smell” in literature. 

One week later, the seemingly innocuous post has been viewed 117.1 million times, made headlines around the world, and put Louks on the receiving end of plenty of praise but also heaps of hate, including a rape threat that’s now under investigation by police.

“I couldn’t possibly have anticipated that this post would even go beyond my little academic community on Twitter of about 200 people,” Louks told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. 

At the heart of the backlash is the title of Louks’s thesis, visible in the photo: “Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose.”

CBC reviewed dozens of comments on the post, many from men saying the topic was too “woke,” or a waste of time and money. Others suggested women don’t belong in academia.

“What a stupid f–king thing to ‘study,'” wrote one person. 

“You have made no valuable contributions in your thesis, and perhaps in your entire life,” wrote another. 

“You would have spent your years better by getting married and having children,” someone else posted.

Louks says she doesn’t take it personally. 

“I do think that it’s clear that misogyny is at play [emphasis mine], especially since I’m a young and high achieving woman,” she said.

“But I also think there’s a kind of broader arc here going on about people questioning the value of literary study and of the humanities and, indeed, of academia [emphases mine].”

…

Louks says she decided not to lock her account or take the post down. She also isn’t squabbling with commenters.

“I didn’t want them to think that they’d chased me off or that they’d affected me in any way because they truly haven’t,” she said. “I do feel safe.”

he barrage of hate, she says, was quickly followed by a surge of support. 

“This has been a bit of a case study in how we present ourselves online,” she said.

“Being polite and respectful has actually done something kind of magical here in that so many people have rallied around me and supported me just because I didn’t stoop to the level of the online trolls.”

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May you experience the freedom to explore even topics that seem obscure.