>> human beings evolved to associate certain senses of grime or uncleanliness with something that could hurt them.
Given that bathing habits and frequency have varied widely by time period and region, I doubt this gut level response is the result of some biological evolutionary process. It seems much more likely that the response is cultural in nature.
You are right, I edited to my comment to fit that.
That being said, being socialized to believe something starting at a very young age and continuing throughout your life creates a gut level response in the same way physical evolution would.
People aren't going to just dismiss that gut level response, the reasons behind those feelings have to be discussed to break through them.
Given that bathing habits and frequency have varied widely by time period and region, I doubt this gut level response is the result of some biological evolutionary process. It seems much more likely that the response is cultural in nature.