This notion aligns with what I’ve recently read in “What Is Sexual Capital,” which defines the term as “Returns people may receive from investing money, time, knowledge, and affective energy in constructing and enhancing their sexual self.”
The authors showcase that sex is no longer private and intimate. It became an inherent part of #capitalism.
Selected examples are:
1. We use our sexual selves to gain profits and ascend in the social hierarchy. There is a big pickup industry for both men and women and an even bigger market for plastic surgeries.
2. As a result, models are often used as “furniture” where high-status men gather and want to signal their importance. Access to beauty is an asset in itself, and there are people leveraging it skillfully.
3. Companies are proud of their diversity programs, and the pinkwashing became another way to maximize profits. Your sexuality can impact you positively or negatively, depending on the context. How scary is the fact it has become a part of capitalism?
4. Even sex work, stigmatized through centuries, becomes wildly accepted, with OnlyFans “freelancers” making good money on a “social platform” without the dark side of being exploited in brothels. The lines get increasingly blurred, and even the conservative Dubai is a perfect example with its sex tourism.
5. Even traditional brothels have transformed. They now resemble party clubs with the great company of skilled masseuses or even therapists of some kind, and the job is a conscious choice for more and more young people.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of how this intimate sphere becomes monetized. This is one of the concerns authors raise - capitalism is overwhelming. It changes every area of our life to another arena of middle-class struggle to stay relevant in the job market. The pressure to constantly reinvent to match the business needs is real.
But at the same time, this dynamic has brought us the safest and most abundant times ever.
Is there anything interesting you would like to add to any of the topics? I am not an expert in #economics and #politics, just a curious and open-minded mind willing to explore.
