Sexual capital

social value from sexual attractiveness

Sexual capital (or erotic capital) is the social value an individual or social group gets as a function of their sexual attractiveness. Like other forms of economic capital, sexual capital can be converted to other forms of capital.[1][2][3][4] Sexual capital can be useful in getting social or economic capital.[4] British sociologist Catherine Hakim first used the term "erotic capital", in the early 2000s. French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu had already defined other forms of capital, such as economic, cultural, or social capital. Hakim saw sexual capital as different. She says erotic capital is independent of class origin; for this reason, it enables social mobility. Hakim argues that this makes erotic capital socially subversive, which results in the prevailing power structures devaluing and trying to suppress it.[5] In the manosphere, the parallel term sexual market value or its abbreviation SMV is often used.[6]

Marilyn Monroe, in 1952. Monroe was considered to be attractive.
An ad in 'Ladies' home journal' from 1948. Both the man and the woman are considered attractive (they have a large amount of sexual capital)

Nobel prize winner Gary Becker developed a theory of human capital. In 1972, Michael Grossmann had developed the term "health capital". Robert Michael extended this term to include sexual capital. Maichal says, if an individual choses to use his or her sexual attractivness, this is a rational choice, and the individual will expect something in return.[7]

References

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  1. Green, Adam Isaiah (2008). "The Social Organization of Desire: The Sexual Fields Approach". Sociological Theory. 26. Philadelphia, PA: American Sociological Association: 25–50. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9558.2008.00317.x. S2CID 144338029. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05.
  2. 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.
  3. Koshy, Susan (2004). Sexual Naturalization: Asian Americans and Miscegenation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-8047-4729-5.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Hakim, Catherine (2010). "Erotic capital". European Sociological Review. 26 (5): 499–518. doi:10.1093/esr/jcq014. S2CID 198118608.
  5. Hakim, Catherine (2011). Erotic Capital: The Power of Attraction in the Boardroom and the Bedroom. Basic Books. pp. 16–18. ISBN 978-0465027477.
  6. 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.
  7. Michael, Robert T. (2004). "Sexual Capital: An extension of Grossman's concept of health capital". Journal of Health Economics. 23 (4): 643–652. doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2004.04.003. PMID 15587691.