This work has been commissioned by and presented at Ada X (2019) in Montreal (CA), as well as the Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan (2019) in Bangalore (IN).

I Smell a Rat is a workshop which challenges the fact that “so-called female”* body scents have a history of particularly negative associations. Participants critically engage with gender-related perceptions about body scents through presentations, discussions, and hands-on experiments. With special attention given to the social and cultural norms of “so- called” female body scents, the work sets out to explore the following two questions: 
(1) How do we perceive and judge “so-called female” body scents?
(2) How can we overcome prejudice or even disgust of “so-called female” body scents” by cultivating curiosity?

* The term “so-called female” is a critique of the biological perspective of gender and includes people who identify as women and others who identify as female to the extent they choose (e.g. non-binary individuals). Mannigel employs this term to refer to the complex and potentially problematic word women (people assigned female at birth, those who identify as women) as it might not be inclusive depending on how and who uses it. In discussion with participants, Mannigel critically questions this term in discussion and asks if we might need a new more inclusive one.

Credits
Photo: AdaX, Gabriel Beck
Photo: Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan, Magali Couffon de Trevros
Supported by: Goethe Institute Bangalore
Special thanks to: artist/curator Natacha Clintandre, cultural coordinator Maureen Gonsalves