As you can readily tell from commercials, Americans have been taught that the natural smells of people's bodies and breath are unpleasant. Most Americans bathe or shower daily (or more often if they engage in vigorous exercise), use an underarm deodorant, and brush their teeth at least twice a day. In addition, they may rinse with a mouthwash or chew mints or gum in order to be sure their breath is free of food odors. They will not wear the same clothes more than once during a week, often discarding them to be washed after one use.

It is common for women to shave their legs and underarms and to use a small quantity of perfume every day; many men use a scented cologne or aftershave lotion to impart what they believe is a pleasant smell. Most Americans will quickly back away from a person who has "body odor" or "bad breath." This backing away may be the only signal that they are "offended" by another person's breath or body odor. The topic of these odors is so sensitive that most Americans will not tell another person that s/he has bad breath or body odor.

Some international students come from places where the human body's natural odors are considered quite acceptable, and where efforts to overcome these odors, at least on the part of men, are considered unnatural. Still other students come from places where personal cleanliness is considered more important than Americans consider it to be, and they may view most Americans as "dirty."

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