erotic manipulation: soap as food

this trend, of marketing soaps and lotions as practically good enough to eat, is not new. i guess it must be 10 or 15 years old. think of the rise of soap marketing: the obsession with erasing the natural smells and excretions of the body from social space, the paranoia over smelling "human," the expulsion of the animal from the person. in that light, selling soap of coconut creme or luscious mango is an interesting trend. the body, long since swept clean of all that is unpleasantly animal, is now a blank screen upon which a censored, fragrant version of nature can be re-implanted.

this is a good example of the way american industry makes good money off of the emotional, sensory, social, and erotic deprivation of most americans. these complex cravings are manipulated through the mouth and the nose. people grow fat through loneliness and the junk food offered them to ease the condition. it is only a small step to make non-food industrial products smell like food, and ride the same gravy train to maximum profits.