Sexual Economics: Sex as Female Resource for Social Exchange in Heterosexual Interactions

[lumberjack_jeff]

59. One "sells" assets.

Money is simply the medium of exchange. He's bartering the hours of his life/marketable skills/net worth in exchange for a relationship with her.

I think it's a matter of degree. A super desirable woman is more likely to dump an unemployed husband than one who is less so. A newly graduated doctor is more likely to dump the wife who put him through med school if his new-found alternatives are better looking.

Climbing up and down the economic ladder effects relationships. I think few people really mean "till death do we part". People engage in all sorts of rationalizations to explain why their relationship failed. "After he lost his job, he started drinking, getting up late and hanging with his friends, and I guess I just lost interest" or "The new job required long hours, and I met this nurse, and one thing led to another. I guess my wife and I just didn't make enough time for each other."

It's amazing how many of those "wastes" are out there given the right circumstances.

What advice does Dear Abby give? "Are you better off with him or without?" How does one measure "better off"?