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Dr. Ally Louks (born 1998) is a researcher from Cambridge, England who came to prominence after her PhD dissertation started a massive discourse online, bringing attention to her research topic of the politics of smell.

Education & Research

Dr. Louks received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Literature from the University of Exeter, and a Master's at London's Global University.

In 2024, Dr. Ally Louks graduated with her PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Her dissertation was titled "Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose." It examines "morally exigent olfactory language in relation to disgust and desire affects."

When explaining her thesis to the average reader, she has said, "I draw on the well-documented history of olfactory prejudice in order to examine its contemporary relevance...We tend to think that our desire to avoid bad smells is an instinctual, protective mechanism, but evidence suggests that we are taught which smells to find disgusting, since, the disgust response is almost entirely lacking in children under the age of two. The sense of smell, then, is shaped by society and is influenced by the prejudices that pervade it."

PhD Virality

On Novermber 27, 2024, Dr. Ally Louks posted a photo of herself holding her dissertation, with the caption "PhDone." Dr. Louks' post went viral with over 120 million views. Initially, comments were largely positive, until the post broke through to a number of right-wing accounts.

A large backlash began, which an overwhelming amount of comments from men who implied or outright said women didn't belong in academia, with comments like, "You would have spent your years better by getting married and having children," someone else posted. "Thousands of people questioned Dr. Louk’s work on the politics of smell, saying it provided 'nothing of value' and it’s 'a completely ludicrous waste of university resources, time and energy.'"

Dr. Louks received a number of rape and death threats. Specifically, one rape threat came to an email address not easily available online. The threat was credible enough for Cambridgeshire Police to confirm they had begun an investigation into a report of a hate incident.

In response to the backlash, she stated, “I really don’t feel that my work is above criticism... It’s just that the criticisms levied at me were not based in reality.” "I'm honestly doing just fine... I really haven't taken the vitriol to heart because it's ultimately not really about me or my work."

As of December 2024, she had gained over 100,000 new twitter followers.

Cambridge University, the institution where she studied and teaches, publicly stood in support with her, congratulating her for finishing her PhD with no corrections, and stating they believed the backlash was a sign of harassment and misogyny.

Others responded to the backlash as well; Journalist Callum Booth said, "The reaction to Dr. Ally Louks’ olfactory PhD, sadly, shows the worst side of the internet. The part that believes it knows better than experts, that utterly misjudges the point of a post, and the one that resorts to vile insults over discussion."

The viral post inspired numerous discourses about gender and academia.

References

1. ^ Bellware, Kim (December 7, 2024). "The internet made a stink over her 'politics of smell' PhD thesis". The Washington Post.
2. "What's The 'Smells' PhD Discourse On Twitter About? Dr. Ally Louks' 'Olfactory Ethics' Thesis Explained". Know Your Meme. 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
3. ^ "Faculty of English: Graduate Students". www.english.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
4. ^ Goodyear, Sheena (December 5, 2024). "She posted about her PhD, and went viral in the worst possible way". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
5. Louks, Amelia (2024-12-16). "My research on the politics of smell divided the internet – here's what it's actually about". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
6. RV, Lei (December 2, 2024). "Woman Goes Viral And Receives Violent Threats From Aggressive Men After Sharing Her PhD Thesis". Bored Panda/AOL.
7. ^ "Cambridge University issues statement after woman subjected to 'misogyny' after PhD". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2024-12-13. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
8. ^ "Academic trolled for Cambridge Uni PhD 'unfazed by the vitriol'". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
9. ^ Booth, Callum. "The Online Reaction To The 'Politics Of Smell' PhD, Examined". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
10. "Cambridge University issues statement after woman subjected to 'misogyny and harassment' after finishing PhD". Yahoo Life. 2024-12-06. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
11. "Cambridge University stands with teacher trolled for her 'politics of smell' PhD: 'It's harassment and misogyny'". Hindustan Times. 2024-12-07. Archived from the original on 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
12. Jennings, Rebecca (2024-12-04). "Why did the internet lose its mind about a woman getting a PhD?". Vox. Retrieved 2024-12-25.

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