Sexuality and Sexuality

Naturally, all human beings find themselves with the constant need for interaction and companionship. As a matter of course, people are passionate beings and are born with an instinct that seeks personal relationships. People do not want to be lonely, a condition that is a result of a prolonged state of loneliness. Therefore, everybody is in a ceaseless quest to feel connected and experience social relationships. These personal interactions foster friendships and romantic partnerships. Attraction, and possessing feelings for other people is an innate characteristic of human beings. In the pursuit of emotional and personal connection, people develop a sexual attraction to other people. Sexuality is an integral cog in the wheel of human life, regardless of stature, age or gender. Human beings experience various sexual preferences. Merrick, Tenenbaum, & Omar (2013) claim that these orientations as heterosexuality, attraction to the opposite gender; homosexuality which is a same-sex attraction; bisexuality- having both gender preferences and asexuality, the absence of any sexual attraction to anyone. This research paper seeks to expound on sex marketplace, sexual economics, and the human conception and cultural adaptations of the sex marketplace (SMP). Moreover, the research will put its focus on the trends in SMP, and different ways men and women contend in the sexual marketplace.

             Sex marketplace is explained by Drexel (2018) as a situation where members of the same sex regularly compete to boost their chances of survival and reproduction. In SMP, winning this contest entails securing an intended mate to fulfill one’s desire and prerogative to procreate. Men and women continuously compete to find one another’s, mate. Both genders can improve their ranks on the sex marketplace by either growing their sexual market value (SMV) or by weakening that of their competitors. Sexual relations are usually viewed as intimate and private, but there is much more to it. Human beings must overpower other contestants to acquire a compatible partner. In heterosexual relationships, for instance, men require to beat fellow men in the race to secure themselves a woman for cognitive and physical contentment. Likewise, women contend against other women to get their intended male partners. This underlying competition creates hierarchies and ignites almost all human contention and progress in the world.

            According to Drexel (2018), there are two options for successfully competing in the sexual marketplace; raising one’s sex market value or lowering the rival’s SMV. Men grow their desirability through an array of choices. Acquiring wealth or achieving high status is a boost for men’s SMV. Studies reveal that women are attracted to confident, refined and well-off men. Male contestants in a sex marketplace can also find ways to improve their attractiveness to women such as impressive grooming and proper hygiene maintenance. Besides wealth and enhancing attractiveness, men can also elevate their sex market value by displaying dominance over fellow men. It is further argued that women are curious to know a man’s position in the pecking order of other men. Other men’s perception of you is relevant to women’s determination of your masculinity and thus their attraction to you.

            To undermine a male counterparts SMV, a man could get a fellow male colleague dismissed from work to limit his resources. Decreased resources make the man inferior and hence less suitable to compete fairly for a woman. Talking ill of other male contestants lowers their attractiveness to women. Trash-talking other men could involve accusing them of femininity tendencies, assertion that they mistreat women and citing mental health problems. Physically overpowering other men can also lower their sex market value putting them way down women’s pecking order. Merrick, Tenenbaum, & Omar (2013) assert that women mainly go after men around them who are good-looking, well-built and those oozing off masculinity.

            Women, on the other hand, have fewer options to improve their sex market value compared to men. A woman can opt to refine her seduction prowess or improve her looks, usually done artificially and recently through cosmetic surgery (Sledge, 2018). Today, women have diversified into the career world; a move studies have further viewed as making women more masculine, seemingly competing inside the male hierarchy. However, exercising and not neglecting family roles such being an available spouse and parenting is seen to decrease women’s sex market value rather than increase it. In the quest to be ‘strong, independent women,’ women have let go of femininity traits. Heterosexual men are not hypnotized by women seeking to compete in the male social scale. It is notable that more feminine women wind up with wealthy and prominent men as they both possess a high sex market value.

            Body shaming is one of the circumstances that seem to be imparting greatly on the sexual market value in the SMP. Body shaming refers to uttering demeaning sentiments about a person’s weight or body size.  The blade cuts both ways in terms of petite and plus-size women. He christens the movements, ‘Thin shaming and Fat Acceptance.’  There have been smear-campaigns by some women labeling thin women as objectified. This group accuses thin women of being unhealthy in an attempt to lower their social market value. The fat acceptance campaign involves women who try to raise their SMV by asserting that there is no problem with their weight or size. Many beautiful women are fully in support of the fat acceptance campaign because they assume that more plus-size women will feel comfortable about their weight and decrease their SMV. The decrease in other women’s social market value directly translates to the increase beautiful women’s SMV.

             In sexual economics, research has put individuals in sexual relationships as equal and interchangeable. Men and women are placed in a market context of a buyer and a seller. A heterosexual setup portrays men acquiring sex from women by exchanging resources. Society hence perceives gender roles as women being sex sellers and men being the buyers. Economic fundamentals state that the cost of sex depends on the laws of demand and supply where the low amount of sex relates to the high application of it by men and vice versa. Tania & Kathleen (2017), however, opposes the conclusion that sex is a female resource that men, referred to as commodity seekers, pursue. The last fifty years have seen a surge in feminism that has attempted to level the playfield of both men and women.

            In the society today, people’s behavior is longer restricted to as many social rules particularly when their sexuality is involved. Many sexual practices such as fornication, childbirth outside wedlock and open relationships were once rare or rendered taboos. These practices have become familiar with statistics showing that in most Western countries, divorce rates have skyrocketed to a surprising 50%. Regulation of the sex marketplace had been upheld until recent times. The reason for supporting these regulations was perceived to be social stability. During that period, women’s sexuality was controlled to ensure that even though the wealthy and powerful men got more attention, most ordinary men also got a partner. Scholars reiterate that today; the regulation has been dropped causing men with higher sex market value to command women’s attention. Men with lower SMV have been disadvantaged as a result, and have been forced into involuntary celibacy.

            Furthermore, society has been adversely affected by the sex marketplace. The collapse of the family unit has come as a result of men disregarding their duties in pursuit of resources to increase their sex market value. Women, on the other hand, have contributed in the breakage of family units by obsessing over men with higher SMVs. A woman married to a middle-class earner might be tempted to leave the relationship for a more powerful and wealthy partner. Excessive social inequality emerges as a result and studies have shown that crimes have occurred based on this inequality. The 2014 premeditated murder of six people by American Elliot Rodger, who later committed suicide, was based on his insecurity of being an involuntary celibate or ‘incel’ as he put it. The attack was instigated by sexual frustration as he could not get a female partner.

Reflection

             I used to hold that studying human sexuality was unnecessary as most of the sexual processes are acquired naturally. Sex can be quite an uncomfortable subject to discuss; hence I could avoid discussing it at whatever cost. However, the course has evoked quite some exciting topics and arguments. My understanding of human sexuality has broadened, and I have been able to relate with subjects I earlier concluded to be grey areas such as sexual aggression, sexual orientation, and sexual health. Real life situations concerning sexuality have also become easier to discern. I will base my contemplation of the syllabus on the importance of sexuality in the day to day living. Also, this reflection will also touch on my understanding of human sensuality and respect for diversity in sexuality.

            Sexuality studies have quite many impacts on individual and societal fronts. Research on human sexuality builds the main creative and healthy foundations for a lot of people. Studying reproductive health, for example, is vital for anybody planning on having a child.  Research helps in accruing knowledge on prenatal care given to an unborn child. Abuse of unprescribed drugs such as tobacco and alcohol hurt the unborn child. Human sexuality also provides guidelines for those who seek effective contraceptive methods to befit their lifestyle or those looking for health-related pregnancy-termination. The study of human sexuality also helps counselors better comprehend and advice people looking for help in their sexual relationship, whether past, present or future. Cases such as the 2014 suicide and murder case involving Elliot Rogers, a victim of involuntary celibacy, can be dealt with before they implode and claim victims in the society. Elliot was suffering from sexual frustration, citing his aggravation on being a virgin for too long. The necessity to help people and victims deal with such instances has driven my appreciation of studying human sexuality. Personally, giving correct advice on sensitive areas such as prenatal care gives me satisfaction as it helps give back to society.

            My understanding of sexuality has contributed a lot to my profound respect for diverse sexual orientations. The social inclusion of sexual diversity is only achievable when everyone can identify their sexual preference without fear of discrimination. Equal human rights and freedoms should be awarded to all people regardless of their sexual orientation. A society that recognizes diversity fully embraces people’s free will to communicate their feelings, appearance, and behavior labeled as feminine and masculine. In a school setup, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students feel included when conditions that enable them to express who they are reinforced. Their indiscriminate inclusion in the curriculum, both curricular and co-curricular, give them a sense of belonging. It feels terrible to witness members of LGBTQ marginalized and bullied. A person of any sexual preference should be accorded respect without prejudice.

            The sex marketplace proves to be an integral segment of human sexuality. SMP exposes human cognitive desires that are in most cases, subconscious. Individuals strive to increase their social market value to be able to compete stiffly in the sexual marketplace. Men have been viewed to go to the extent of physical confrontation and to tarnish their competition’s personalities to ensure they win their desired partners. The sex marketplace is regarded to be a competition for love and exchange of sexual relations with resources for both genders. Contrary to the belief that companionship should be fostered by connection and emotion and mutual basis, the research shows that resources such as beauty, stature and money go a long way to ensure first-place consideration by likely partners

References

Sledge, C., (2018). A harsh truth about the sexual marketplace. Retrieved from http://charlessledge.com/a-harsh-truth-about-the-sexual-marketplace/

Drexel, S., (2018). The Sexual Marketplace: A Primer | Girls Chase. Retrieved from

            https://www.girlschase.com/content/sexual-marketplace-primer

Tania, R & Kathleen, D.V. (2017). Competing for love: Applying sexual economics theory to mating contests. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016748701630277X

Merrick, J., Tenenbaum, A., & Omar, H. A. (2013). Human sexuality and adolescence. Frontiers in public health, 1, 41. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2013.00041