Cheap Sex: The Transformation of Men, Marriage, and Monogamy

by Mark Regnerus

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Author: Mark Regnerus

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Hardcover:
ISBN 10: 9780190673611
ISBN 13: 978-0190673611

Sex is cheap. Coupled sexual activity has become more widely available than ever. Cheap sex has been made possible by two technologies that have little to do with each other - the Pill and high-quality pornography - and its distribution made more efficient by a third technological innovation, online dating. Together, they drive down the cost of real sex, and in turn slow the development of love, make fidelity more challenging, sexual malleability more common, and have even taken a toll on men's marriageability.

Cheap Sex takes readers on an extended tour inside the American mating market, and highlights key patterns that characterize young adults' experience today, including the timing of first sex in relationships, overlapping partners, frustrating returns on their relational investments, and a failure to link future goals like marriage with how they navigate their current relationships. Drawing upon several large nationally-representative surveys, in-person interviews with 100 men and women, and the assertions of scholars ranging from evolutionary psychologists to gender theorists, what emerges is a story about social change, technological breakthroughs, and unintended consequences. Men and women have not fundamentally changed, but their unions have. No longer playing a supporting role in relationships, sex has emerged as a central priority in relationship development and continuation. But unravel the layers, and it is obvious that the emergence of "industrial sex" is far more a reflection of men's interests than women's.

Review

"In this groundbreaking book, Dr Regnerus draws on several large, population based surveys to provide a representative overview of what Americans think and do with regard to sexual relationships, supplemented by stories from in-depth interviews with100 young adults aged 24-32 conducted by his research team." -- The Family Education Trust Bulletin Issue 170

"This book has the same message as George Gilder's Men and Marriage which came out a couple of decades back... Is this book unduly pessimistic? No, it is quite realistic...and a much needed wake-up call." -- Dr Pravin Thevathasan, Catholic Medical Quarterly

"A magisterial study of the changing sexual landscape today, which gives special attention to the impact of the digital revolution on sexual behaviour and relationships. Will become a standard work of reference in the field."
-- Anthony Giddens, author of The Transformation of Intimacy: Sexuality, Love, and Eroticism in Modern Societies

"Mark Regnerus has been a pioneer in the study of how sexuality is changing in modern society. This book is an utterly fascinating, sometimes disturbing, occasionally provocative, brilliantly thoughtful, and always informative account of what he has learned about sex in America in the 21st century. It offers a wealth of insights about changes in how love relates to sex and friendship, in how people form and change their sexual self-concepts, and in the directions of sexual trends. This is an indispensable read for anyone wishing to understand the sex lives of today's adults, as well as how the rapid changes in sexuality reverberate through the complex negotiation of romantic relationships."
-- Roy F. Baumeister, co-author of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

"Mark Regnerus shows us that when sexual access is plentiful and requires little effort, then sex is cheap--easy to get and not a big deal. The shift from expensive sex to cheap sex was ignited by the pill, fueled by the internet and dating sites and the ready availability of high-quality pornography. The consequences of cheap sex are profound and complex, and not all positive. Regnerus has a breezy, likable way of telling this fascinating and engaging story. A great read."
-- Linda Waite, Lucy Flower Professor in Urban Sociology, University of Chicago

"Too many young men in America are checked out from work, family, and community. Why are so many of our young men floundering? In this provocative new book, Cheap Sex, Mark Regnerus argues that the availability of low-cost sex and the decline of marriage have made it harder for young men to embrace adult responsibilities. Everyone concerned about the plight of young men in America should wrestle with the arguments in this important book." -- W. Bradford Wilcox, Director, National Marriage Project, University of Virginia

About the Author

Mark Regnerus is Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Texas, Austin. His research is in the areas of sexual behavior, family, marriage, and religion. He is the author of Forbidden Fruit (OUP, 2007) and Premarital Sex in American (OUP, 2011).

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Cheap Sex: The Transformation of Men, Marriage, and Monogamy