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Economy of Sex: It's Cheap These Days
The Washington Times ^ | 15 June 2011 | Cheryl Wetzstein

Posted on 06/15/2011 8:15:36 AM PDT by Vigilanteman

Think you haven’t heard of sexual economics? Listen to the pop culture.

“Money can’t buy me love,” crooned the Beatles. “My love don’t cost a thing,” pledged Jennifer Lopez. MTV artists got “money for nothing and the chicks for free,” groused Dire Straits.

Even Adele, in her current No. 1 hit, “Rolling in the Deep,” warns an ex-lover, “Go ahead and sell me out, and I’ll lay your ship bare.”

Evidence of sexual economics — a mashup of Adam Smith and Dr. Ruth that seeks to explain how the “sexual market” works — is everywhere, said University of Texas sociology professor Mark Regnerus.

“One of the biggest unacknowledged facts about sex is the underlying economy to it all,” he said. “When you look into it, it’s really amazing how it works. And it’s fairly elementary as well: We put a price tag on sex. You might not think we ought to do that, but we do. Sex, at one level, is an exchange. … Each person gives the other person something of themselves. But it is typically a different something.”

Mr. Regnerus and co-author Jeremy Uecker use sexual economics theory in their new data-driven book, “Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate and Think About Marrying.”

Their conclusion is that, for young single Americans, modern rules of romantic engagement “clearly favor men” and penalize women who want to marry — especially those who want to save sex for marriage.

The price of sex today is “pretty low,” Mr. Regnerus said.

So what was the old “exchange rate” for sex, and how has it changed? Researchers have long recognized that male-female mating systems revolved around exchanges. Even in ancient times, men and women bonded because one could cook . . .

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: immorality; marriage; moralabsolutes; morality; sex
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Excellent read all the way through. It also does a good job of explaining why the Left does everything possible to encourage slutty behavior.
1 posted on 06/15/2011 8:15:45 AM PDT by Vigilanteman
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To: Vigilanteman
Along these lines, another great article from the same newspaper:

Marriage culture key to economy, study says
Offers best outcomes for kids, nation

2 posted on 06/15/2011 8:42:45 AM PDT by Albion Wilde (Congress must protect the taxpayers, instead of handing favors to Wall Street. -Michelle Bachmann)
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To: Vigilanteman
It is an excellent read and well reasoned argument - with the last paragraph being the ultimate:

“When women collude to restrict men’s sexual access to women, all women tend to benefit,” he said, noting that “if women were more in charge of how their romantic relationships transpired … we would be seeing greater male investment in relationships, more impressive wooing efforts, fewer hookups, fewer premarital sexual partners … shorter cohabitations, more marrying … and more marrying at a slightly earlier age. In other words, the price of sex would be higher. It would cost men more to access it.”

However, he said, “none of these things are occurring today. Not one. The price of sex is pretty low.”

3 posted on 06/15/2011 8:45:42 AM PDT by daniel boob (No Mitt)
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To: Vigilanteman

Two sexes for the price of one?


4 posted on 06/15/2011 8:48:38 AM PDT by woofie
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To: daniel boob

Women do not achieve genuine equality and respect from men by “hooking up”?

Geehoodathunkit!!!?


5 posted on 06/15/2011 8:52:30 AM PDT by elcid1970 ("Deport Muslims. Nuke Mecca. Death to Islam. Freedom for mankind.")
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To: Vigilanteman
“When women collude to restrict men’s sexual access to women, all women tend to benefit,” he said, noting that “if women were more in charge of how their romantic relationships transpired … we would be seeing greater male investment in relationships, more impressive wooing efforts, fewer hookups, fewer premarital sexual partners … shorter cohabitations, more marrying … and more marrying at a slightly earlier age. In other words, the price of sex would be higher. It would cost men more to access it.”

While true, this article disregards several key points from the male perspective. For example, this article does not touch on the age-pool. A young girl may have many suitors, and can be picky. But, after 10 years - the number of females to marriage-able males ratio shifts dramatically out of her favor. Aggravating this fact, is that many males are establishing their education and careers during the female's "prime", thus these males are forced to postpone their marriage until such a time as they are influential enough to attract the women they desire. Thus, by the time a male has completed his college education and has established himself in the market - he is in his mid to late 20's. At this point, many of the potential mates are either now divorced with kids, his age and single, or older - females now out-number the elgible males; and the late 20's male has absolutly no need to 'settle'.

Secondly, the article fails to point out the obvious tax and legal reasons why a man would never NEED to marry (not want to, NEED to). Sexually, a man need never marry - he can get sex with minimal effort. The only viable reason a man would want to marry today is to have a family, or he has fallen in love. Consider, if a Man gets married, he not only forfeits his possessions, but his possible future income - based upon the whim of his mate and the state in which he resides. Would any rational being, logically conclude that he would risk 50% of what he makes this year, and for several years into the future - based upon the emotional state of another individual? Furthermore, he will have no 'vote' on the children, number or timing. His wife may chose to use protection (he cannot prevent this) or may opt to abort (he may not prevent, nor force this). This is 100% out of his area of control; yet he is forced to live with whatever decision is made. If his wife decides to have another man's baby - he is legally forced to provide for that child for the next 18 yrs (24 years in states like Washington, where a college tuition for the child is a 'right').

In the past, many marriages were little more than business type arrangements where safety and security were traded for sex; and a family was created for the mutual benefit for both parties. The "love-less" marriage was a fact of life for many individuals who 'settled' for a partner they could tolerate. While not ideal, this arrangement provided both parties with security and a social stigma should either or both parties abandon the union.

While not pleasant; these are factors that are being disregarded.

6 posted on 06/15/2011 8:52:54 AM PDT by Hodar (Who needs laws .... when this "feels" so right?)
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To: wagglebee; little jeremiah; DJ MacWoW

moral absolutes ping


7 posted on 06/15/2011 8:59:47 AM PDT by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: Vigilanteman

“Female sexuality has high value to men” - So, rich guys get the babes. How rare.


8 posted on 06/15/2011 9:01:55 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Hodar
Sexually, a man need never marry - he can get sex with minimal effort.

That seemed to me to be the point of the article. Women shortchange themselves when they give it away for casually and for free. If women did not do that, then men would be forced to pay for sex via hookers or would have to marry.

9 posted on 06/15/2011 9:02:38 AM PDT by MEGoody (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.)
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To: Vigilanteman

Promiscuous sex is a lot like Liberal Policy, there is an overwhelming amount of hidden costs and unforeseen negative consequences.


10 posted on 06/15/2011 9:02:50 AM PDT by GraceG
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To: Hodar
Good point. But I would still argue that the so-called loveless marriages of years past were still far superior to today's culture of hook-ups and irresponsibility where out-of-wedlock births are glamorized and even rewarded (more illegitimate kids= bigger government cash payments).

In time and with proper care, these so-called loveless marriages could and many, in fact, did grow into useful, happy families. This is something which almost never happens with today's fatherless marriages where daddy is, at best, an ATM and, at worst, another government dependency check.

11 posted on 06/15/2011 9:03:45 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: Vigilanteman

“Let me woo you with sweet words”

“Honey, my family has enough money to give us a beachfront house with ten bedrooms and eight bathrooms”

First guy will be a bachelor for awhile.


12 posted on 06/15/2011 9:04:26 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Vigilanteman
Women have outnumbered men at College for over ten years now.

The recession hit men harder than women and for the first time in American history, women outnumber men in the workforce.

As such, single college educated employed women are chasing a shrinking pool of single college educated and employed men.

At Colleges where men outnumber women you see more dating, more engagements, more marriages, and unwed motherhood is almost unheard of.

At Colleges where women outnumber men you see more ‘hooking up’, engagements and marriages are almost unheard of, and you do see women impregnated and the ‘sperm donor’ not interested in marriage.

Great article about this in “slate” that I saw e-mailed around.

http://www.slate.com/id/2286240/

13 posted on 06/15/2011 9:04:55 AM PDT by allmendream (Tea Party did not send the GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism.)
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To: GraceG

Profound wisdom and so true.


14 posted on 06/15/2011 9:05:04 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: MEGoody

[ Sexually, a man need never marry - he can get sex with minimal effort.

That seemed to me to be the point of the article. Women shortchange themselves when they give it away for casually and for free. If women did not do that, then men would be forced to pay for sex via hookers or would have to marry. ]

Why wake up at 6:00am to feed and milk the cows when he can get the milk for free?

Of course this leads men to treat women like a slob receiving welfare benefits, they both abuse them...


15 posted on 06/15/2011 9:05:32 AM PDT by GraceG
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To: Vigilanteman; MrEdd; 185JHP; 230FMJ; AKA Elena; Albion Wilde; Aleighanne; Alexander Rubin; ...
Moral Absolutes Ping!

Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.

FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
[ Add keyword moral absolutes to flag FR articles to this ping list ]


16 posted on 06/15/2011 9:06:23 AM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: GraceG
Of course this leads men to treat women like a slob receiving welfare benefits, they both abuse them.

Agreed. If women think so little of themselves that they treat their bodies as toys for any guy who happens to come along, then why are they surprised when the guy treats them in accordance with that behavior?

17 posted on 06/15/2011 9:11:05 AM PDT by MEGoody (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.)
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To: daniel boob

At this rate, in ten years, women will be paying for it.


18 posted on 06/15/2011 9:13:14 AM PDT by Haiku Guy (If you can read this / (To paraphrase on old line) / Thank a TAXPAYER!.)
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To: Vigilanteman
Angelina Jolie Let me know when she goes on sale.
19 posted on 06/15/2011 9:13:40 AM PDT by 47samurai (The last real conservative)
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To: Vigilanteman

“Woman’s liberation” only liberated men from their responsibilities to women.


20 posted on 06/15/2011 9:15:48 AM PDT by PGR88 (I'm so open-minded my brains fell out)
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