I am not one to defend body odor, as I'm very sensitive to smells, but I've worked with enough 'non-Americans' to know that not all cultures are as odor-averse as we are. In fact, in some cultures, the more pungent the body odor, the more masculine the male. I've read that in 'natural' cultures, a woman's fertility can be detected by her 'aroma.' Talk about an aphrodisiac. Parfum au naturel.
It's all about hormones and pheromones.