Deodorants (also called antiperspirants) are substances applied to the body, most frequently the underarms, to mask the odor of perspiration. They do so by inhibiting the bacteria which cause odors. Deodorants are usually applied in an aerosol spray or in a roll-on form, but other forms also exist, such as crystals.
Antiperspirants will attempt to stop sweating from the armpits as well as being perfumed.
The underarm areas are breeding grounds for such bacteria because of the sweat glands in that part of the body. Armpit hair contributes to prespiration odor because of the increase in surface area.
Cultures and individuals differ in their attitudes about the need for deodorant, and on whether natural body odor is offensive. Various foods (e.g., garlic) may also effect one's natural body odor.
Other parts of the body besides the armpits are targets for commercially manufactured deodorants, most notably the genitals, and particularly the female genitals, which are a staple of sexually graphic humor (usually, it seems, produced by men) and certain circumspect commercials ("Mom, sometimes I don't feel 'fresh.'"). A novel by Tom Robbins, Cowgirls Get the Blues, contains (among many other things) an amusing plot line that takes a stance in favor of natural body odors and presents the positions of partisans on both sides of the question.
