Human Sexuality: SEXUAL ECONOMICS

Dr. Jocelyn Elders, Surgeon General Under President Clinton

"We say that [prostitutes] are selling their bodies, but how is that different from athletes? They're selling their bodies. Models? They're selling their bodies. Actors? They're selling their bodies."

Sex Drive

- Men on average have a higher sex drive than women - On average, men are going to want sex more (sex is a scarce commodity) - Women maintain choosiness when picking sexual partners (ST or LT), while men do not as much

Sexual Economics Theory

- Suggests that male-female differences in sexual relationships can be understood in terms of economic principles (e.g., supply and demand) - Sex is what women have & men want - ie., Sex (commodity) is a resource and can be bought/sold in exchange for goods & services.

Contrasting Moral Stances on Prostitution

1.) One perspective: Prostitution should be illegal and criminalized because it is degrading to women 2.) Another perspective: Women should have the right to use their bodies in any way they wish

Sexual Market Place

Men standards of female attractiveness have certain components & vice versa. Men: Cues to youth & cues to health Women: Resources Ex.) China is going through a major mating crisis: More men than women = unbalanced sex ratio In a sex positive culture: Sex is not as valuable (cost less) In a sex-restrictive culture: Sex is valued (costly)

University of Michigan Students

Question: Have you ever had sex in exchange for something tangible? • 9% reported trading sex for tangible benefit • "It's more about getting what you want than getting what you need, unless you think everyone needs a Louis Vuitton bag."

Cross-Cultural Perspective: Harvard Relations Area Files (HRAF) Files

Students collected ethnographic data and recorded them: (Going into different cultures and learning their ways) (cultures studied were more "Hunter/Gatherer" than cultures with cash economies) DO men or women give gifts in culture? • 79% (1) only men give gifts • 5% (2) men and women exchange gifts; men's more valuable • 16% (3) men and women exchange gifts; no mention of relative value • 0% (4) men and women exchange; women's gifts more valuable • 0% (5) only women give gifts

Obligatory Parental Investment

The amount of individual investment necessary to produce an offspring: • 9 months for women • Contribution of sperm for men

Egg vs Sperm Donation

• $5,000 - $25,000 for egg donation • $35 - $150 for sperm donation

Evolutionary Perspective

• All these key gender differences, stemming from human reproductive biology, create large gender differences in sexual economics

Male Desire for Sexual Variety

• Creates a huge demand for sex • Access to sex, in men's minds, is perpetually in short supply

Prostitution

• Legalized, but regulated, in many cultures • Totally illegal in some cultures • 99% of those who purchase sex are men • More than 90% of those who sell sex are wome

Gender Differences in Standards for ST Sex

• Men lower their standards dramatically • Women maintain relatively high standards

Gender Differences in Ease of Sexual Arousal

• Men more aroused by simple visual cues • Men more quickly sexually aroused

Prostitution Motivated by Desperation

• Some women have no other means of obtaining resources

Prostitution by Choice

• Some women see prostitution as a better option than the drudgery or marriage - Some cultures have marriages that are very oppressive and abusive, so prostitution is the better option. • Some women use money to hire men to do the drudge work normally expected of wives

Street Prostitutes, Call Girls, Escorts

• Street: paid the least; sometimes used to support drug habit (50% of street prostitutes are addicts) • Call girls and escorts: paid the most • Example: Ashley Dupre, paid $4,300 by Elliot Spitzer per session

Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddies

• Study of Kisumu Kenyans: 7% of women reported being in a relationship with a 'sugar daddy' • SeekingArrangements.com: one of fastest growing internet dating sites

Trading Sex for Resources

• To get a raise • To get a job • To get a promotion • Someone offered me money to do it • I wanted to make money • Offered me drugs for doing it

Why is Women's Sexuality so Valuable?

• Why do men treat it as a scarce resource? • Why are men worldwide willing to pay for it?

Trobriand Islanders

• Women and men have great sexual freedom • Women have equality with men, especially sex • Women reported to be just as interested in sex as men •Nonetheless, 'custom . . . decrees that it is a service from women to men, and men have to pay' (Sahlins ethnography)

Sex Trafficking

• Women deceived by men offering jobs • Women forced into prostitution • Especially prevalent in Myanmar, Pakistan, India, Cambodia, and Thailand

Conclusions on Sexual Economics

• Women gain sexual power from men's sexual psychology • Sex is a valuable resource over which men compete • Women can and sometimes do use that power to gain resources • Exchanges are common in courtship, seduction, and prostitution • Psychologically: Huge difference between literal exchange of sex for resources and gifts in context of honest courtship

Thought Experiment from 'Indecent Proposal'

• Would you have sex in exchange for 1 million dollars?