The Economics of Sex and Manhood

"Every day seems to feature a new complaint about the state of manhood in society," write Gannon LeBlanc and Bjarna O'Brien, who argue that birth control, the rise of feminism and "good old rational self-interest" have enabled men to extend adolescence well into their twenties.

Birth control and the rise of feminism has made the “price” of sex very cheap. By price, we are not talking strictly about a dollar value, but rather about opportunity cost. Back in our grandparents’ day before birth control was widely accessible, women collectively kept the price of sex very high because of the high risk of pregnancy. A hook-up culture was simply infeasible because women did not have access to birth control to effectively prevent pregnancy or the economic independence required to support a child on their own. A woman had to be able to trust that if she became pregnant, the man would stick around and be a good father and husband. As a result, women made men work, and work hard, to have sex with them and expected their suitors to have an honorable reputation, a good job, and an education.

Once birth control became more accessible and acceptable in society and once women gained more economic opportunities, women could virtually unshackle themselves from the biological risks associated with pregnancy and become more promiscuous. While this was great in the eyes of feminists, who believed that women should be equal to men and shouldn’t be shamed for their sexual desires or activities, this transition came with tradeoffs. Instilling a culture of promiscuity increased the supply of sex available to men, yet the demand for sex from men never changed. When supply skyrockets and demand doesn’t move, price plummets. This is called a supply shock.

Women have set the price of sex so low that men now have no incentive to compete for female favor. Unlike their forefathers, men today don’t need to have a solid job, good manners, be in top physical shape, or have a strong sense of honor to get sex. More often than not, taking a girl out to dinner and inviting her back to his place can be enough. Granted, having the above qualities can make men more successful in the dating game, but it doesn’t incentivize them to be more committed. In fact, supply is so high that this has the opposite effect. The more successful a man is with women, the less incentivized he is to enter a committed, monogamous relationship.

 Read The Economics of Sex: Where Have All the Good Men Gone?