What is Sexual Capital?

Product Information

This particular form of sexual capital has long since been circulating not only in the sphere of private intimate relations, but throughout the entire sphere of capitalist reproduction. From this perspective, the question of class and gender hierarchies thus appears in a new light. Martin, John Levi; George, Matt (2006). "Theories of Sexual Stratification: Toward an Analytics of the Sexual Field and a Theory of Sexual Capital". Sociological Theory. 24 (2): 107–132. doi: 10.1111/j.0735-2751.2006.00284.x. S2CID 144177617. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Green, Adam Isaiah (2008). "Health and Sexual Status in an Urban Gay Enclave: An Application of the Stress Process Model". Journal of Health and Social Behavior. American Sociological Association. 49 (4): 436–451. doi: 10.1177/002214650804900405. PMID 19181048. S2CID 32929594.

a b c Riggs, Damien; Abraham, Ibrahim; Callander, Denton (2017). The Psychic Life of Racism in Gay Men's Communities. Lexington Books. pp.67–79. ISBN 978-1498537148. A second definition is developed by Hakim, treating erotic capital as the fourth personal asset. This definition is a multifaceted combination of physical and social attractiveness that goes well beyond sexual attractiveness that is the focus of the 'fields' perspective. Unlike Green's conception of sexual capital, Hakim's erotic capital is an individual capital with no necessary referent to a field. [2] Farrer, James C. (2010). "A foreign adventurer's paradise? Interracial sexuality and alien sexual capital in reform era Shanghai". Sexualities. 13 (1): 69–95. doi: 10.1177/1363460709352726. S2CID 144501924. Because desirability in a sexual field may depend on more than merely sexual attractiveness, Green (2014) develops the concept, capital portfolio, to capture the particular combination of capitals that make an individual or group more desirable than others. Capital portfolios typically involve a combination of sexual capital with economic, cultural and social capitals. [6] As an example, to the extent that women, on average, value financial resources (i.e., economic capital) in their male partners more than sexual capital, and men value sexual capital more than economic capital in their female partners, so one may conclude that heterosexual women and men seek out distinctive capital portfolios that include a different, gendered balance of capitals. [35] [6] Criticism [ edit ] More and more, "capital" is deployed for conceptualizing and theorizing around the many aspects of the self that can be leveraged for profit. In What Is Sexual Capital? Dana Kaplan and Eva Illouz take on the titular form of capital to examine how sexuality, as it has historically progressed from traditional religious morals through a more secular modernity and entered the neoliberal era, has become inextricable from capitalist social structures.It discusses how the women develop and mobilize their sexual capital, using their bodies and sexual practices to constitute themselves as erotic As sexual capital and related theories by Catherine Hakim have gained public exposure, there has been criticism from several researchers.The arguments have focused largely on how Hakim's theory disproportionately impact women, even though she considers it a universal theory. [36] Female sexuality varies to a greater extent across culture and socioeconomic status than male sexuality. [37]Women from racial, socioeconomic, sexual, or gender minority groups may face additional pressures in what is considered attractive depending on their environment. [34] [37]Additionally, Hakim's theory of sexual capital, including the idea that an individual can change their level of capital, is limited through these considerations. [36] a b c Green, Adam Isaiah (2014). Sexual Fields: Toward a Sociology of Collective Sexual Life. University of Chicago Press. a b c d e f Green, Adam Isaiah (2008). "The Social Organization of Desire: The Sexual Fields Approach". Sociological Theory. Philadelphia: American Sociological Association. 26: 25–50. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9558.2008.00317.x. S2CID 144338029. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013.

a b Brooks, Siobhan (2010). Unequal desires: race and erotic capital in the stripping industry. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 9781441678867. OCLC 676700473. Accordingly, I argue that this typology renders the book an invaluable resource that gender/sex(uality) scholars can use to guide their future research. Through its class-based perspective, the book would be also helpful for those interested in the political economy of sex(uality), while it would be an invaluable resource for sociologists who study the embeddedness of economic and social relations into each other with a gendered focus.

Leave A Comment

Callander, Denton; Holt, Martin; Newman, Christy E. (1 February 2016). " 'Not everyone's gonna like me': Accounting for race and racism in sex and dating web services for gay and bisexual men". Ethnicities. 16 (1): 3–21. doi: 10.1177/1468796815581428. ISSN 1468-7968. S2CID 147130084. Dana Kaplan and Eva Illouz disentangle the current cultural politics of heterosexual life, arguing that sex - that messy amalgam of sexual affects and experiences - has increasingly assumed an economic character. Some may opt for plastic surgery to beautify their face or body, while others may consume popular sex advice or attend seduction classes. Beyond particular practices such as these, the authors trace an emerging form of "neoliberal" sexual capital, which is the ability to glean self-appreciation from sexual encounters and to use this self-value to foster employability, as exemplified by Silicon Valley sex parties. Sexual capital may be related to both sexual and mental health, as when individuals with low sexual capital show diminished ability to talk about or negotiate condom use with a partner possessing greater erotic capital, and develop negative emotional states as a consequence of feeling unattractive. [16] Sexuality ("sexual competence, energy, erotic imagination, playfulness, and everything else that makes for a sexually satisfying partner" [14]) Hakim, Catherine (2011). Erotic Capital: The Power of Attraction in the Boardroom and the Bedroom. Basic Books. pp. 16–18. ISBN 978-0465027477.

Conner, Christopher T.; Okamura, Daniel (31 March 2021). The Gayborhood: From Sexual Liberation to Cosmopolitan Spectacle. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-7936-0984-7. Catherine Hakim argues that erotic capital matters beyond the sexual field, and beyond private relationships. Her research suggests that erotic capital is important in the fields of media, politics, advertising, sports, the arts, and in everyday social interaction, and consists of six elements: [2] Hamermesh, Daniel S; Meng, Xin; Zhang, Junsen (1 July 2002). "Dress for success—does primping pay?" (PDF). Labour Economics. 9 (3): 361–373. doi: 10.1016/S0927-5371(02)00014-3. ISSN 0927-5371. Green, Adam Isaiah (2008). "The Social Organization of Desire: The Sexual Fields Approach". Sociological Theory. Philadelphia, PA: American Sociological Association. 26: 25–50. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9558.2008.00317.x. S2CID 144338029. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. There's plenty of food for thought here, and Kaplan and Illouz offer an important contribution to understanding the socioeconomic function of sex.« Publisher's Weekly

References

However, as certain social restrictions waned, such as the erosion of laws and norms impeding interracial and interfaith marriages, sexuality became less restricted and increasingly viewed as a source of interpersonal pleasure. In turn, a new sort of rationality emerged wherein sexual capital became intertwined with the domestic household's ability to produce. Production, in this sense, has a double meaning. On one hand, sexual activity should literally reproduce the household (and population) by way of offspring, while at the same time monogamous sexual activity within the marriage should produce docile workers capable of participating more fruitfully in the market economy. If workers, in this case men, are satisfied at home, their fortunes will multiply. Illouz and Kaplan note an interesting realisation: the current discussion on sexual identities overlooks an important problem – namely the fact that the ability to benefit from sexual capital unequally distributed across society. Self-employed, creative professions in particular are subject to the performance pressure of sexual capital. A theory, therefore, that every freelance artist should engage with for their own benefit!« Sarah Pines, Die literarische Welt Lucidly the book analyses how little sexuality has to do with us and how much it has to do with society.« Silke Weber, DIE ZEIT Boysen, Benjamin. "Houellebecq's Priapism: The Failure of Sexual Liberation in Michel Houellebecq's Novels and Essays." Canadian Review of Comparative Literature 43.3 (2016): 477–497.

What is Sexual Capital? sets up an ambitious query and offers bold, illuminating answers. With historical evidence and incisive theoretical logic, Theories of Sexual Stratification: Toward an Analytics of the Sexual. Field and a Theory of Sexual Capital*. John Levi Martin.

Project MUSE Mission

Koshy, Susan (2004). Sexual Naturalization: Asian Americans and Miscegenation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-8047-4729-5.