Sex as a Female Resource for Social Exchange

[wait_out]

STR8UP as an economically-oriented guy I'm particularily interested in your take on this.

http://www.csom.umn.edu/Assets/71503.pdf

I've been sitting on this article a while, it dates back to 2004. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else, so it may be new to some of you. Because so many PUA community concepts spring from evolutionary biology, where women are reactive and essentially codes to be cracked, in contrast a model of economic exchange emphases creating your own value so you have capital to exchange with.

One might simply say that cultural ideals of love and romance are incompatible with exchange analyses, hence the reluctance, but that response fails to indicate why cultural ideals should favor high-flown concepts of romantic love over practical and concrete discussions of sexual exchange. However, incompatibility might arise because antagonistic exchange relationships are divisive whereas sexual relationships are often sought as positive, even communal bonds.

Explicit acknowledgment of exchange processes in sexuality would certainly raise a set of difficulties that could well make people reticent. Few couples will exactly match the average going rate for sexual exchange, and one or the other of them is getting a poor deal. To acknowledge that would reveal the man and woman as having an essentially antagonistic relationship at precisely the moment when they are presumably trying to form a united partnership, and so downplaying the exchange process would be valuable for avoiding the divisive recognition of exchange.

A too-precise negotiation of how much the man should contribute might also force the woman to acknowledge that she will charge one man more than another, more attractive man, thereby striking a blow to his ego. Her prestige could also be at stake, especially if to make explicit negotiations she came under pressure (comparable to the disclosures required of housesellers) to reveal what she was offering in terms of willingness to perform various acts, actual physical traits undisguised by clothing and makeup, and extent of prior sexual activity. In any case, however, the reluctance to acknowledge sexual exchange is itself an intriguing challenge for further research.

Some dry stuff and I'm sure most of these points are already obvious to most, but there's some interesting stuff too. Enjoy

 

[STR8UP]

The fact that sex IS an economic exchange is an unpleasant truth for some people.

I got part of the way through the article, enough to get the gist of it. Essentially, sex is a bargaining chip for women.

It's good to see that scientist are beginning to study the "darker" side of the mating game.

 

[rocco]

Don't women enjoy sex if not more than men? Then why do guys pay for sex, and women rarely as often?

I have been on dates, where the woman paid my way throughout the date or we paid more or less equally. It wasn't until I attempted to have sex with her one night, that she began to use sex as a analogous "bargaining chip" as a means for me to commit to a more emotionally commited relationship with her. She even used the word "love."

 

[edger]

The fact that sex IS an economic exchange is an unpleasant truth for some people.

Relationship wise, it's unpleasant for people, because they realize the woman doesn't truly love them, that instead of this relationship being based on actual interest and love, it is based on a bartersianship of money for sex. That's why I say prostitution is really legal in the U.S. and elsewhere. These women are technically prostitutes whether guys wanna admit that or not.

 

[edger]

Then why do guys pay for sex, and women rarely as often?

Dude, that answer should be so easy for you. Women don't need to pay for sex, because they can sleep with any guy they want, considering they're attractive. Because attraction works differently for men, is why it's so easy for women to get laid. Men don't have as much criteria at all that a woman has to meet for his intimacy, other than the fact that she must be hot, whereas a woman requires a guy to have "game", as well as other factors, for her to exchange her intimacy.