Playing the sex card to get ahead: new book Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital by Catherine Hakim.Ms. Hakim openly blasts Western “radical feminism” for diminishing the importance of a woman's sex appeal, provocatively asking, “Why does no one encourage women to exploit men whenever they can?”

Hypersapien · 2012-02-18T13:36:29+00:00

“Why does no one encourage women to exploit men whenever they can?”

they don't?

2012-02-18T11:39:54+00:00

It depends on which feminism you mean:

"A la carte" feminism is happy to exploit men via sex/appeal, all the while saying not to be viewed sexually!
Fat ugly bitter feminism doesn't like sex appeal though, because it is a game they lose at versus most other women. To them feminism is a way to tell men they aren't allowed to find certain things attractive.
Egalitarian feminism is farming unicorns. It doesn't really exist.
"but voting.." feminists don't really care. They are just riding the suffrage movement's final ripples.
Sex-positive feminists at least see sex as the goal and not the means, in theory.

primaloath · 2012-02-18T11:42:16+00:00

So this is what psychopaths write about.

stemgang · 2012-02-18T15:57:34+00:00

I remember prior references to Dr. Hakim. She was previously known to oppose feminist orthodoxy.

Dr Catherine Hakimis one of this site's heroines because she is never fails to stand her ground and challenging the myths of the feminists. She is certainly up there with people like Erin Pizzey.

I would not be so quick to judge her on this latest quote. She is an academic, not an ideologue.

Here is another quote from her latest book.

In other words: good looks and a substantial degree of charm can help you succeed in life. The fact that such a statement is unlikely to come as a surprise to almost anyone with a pulse rate is acknowledged by Hakim herself in the introduction: "Erotic capital seems such an obvious idea that one has to ask why it has never been identified before now."

In other words, women prefer attractive men, and vice versa. It is no surprise, and it should not be controversial, to notice that people exploit their "sexual marketplace value" to secure better partners.

Men and women both do it, and it is normal.

tl;dr: Hakim is not one of the oppositional feminists that routinely oppose men's rights.

jacobman · 2012-02-18T16:39:43+00:00

What is there to really say? While I don't think that it really makes for good character to exploit other people via sex, you can't stop a woman from being attractive and using that to her advantage. The best any guy can do is to not let themselves get taken advantage of because of sex and encourage other guys to do the same. Good luck with that though.

curious67 · 2012-02-18T08:27:20+00:00

While naturally beautiful and socially astute women and men hold an advantage, Ms. Hakim notes that anyone can increase their erotic capital. Boosting your appeal can be as simple as smiling or it can include dieting, personal trainers, fashion and even plastic surgery. Although erotic capital can be used by men and women alike, Ms. Hakim feels that women have a longer tradition of developing and exploiting it.

fondueguy · 2012-02-18T16:54:54+00:00

the importance of a woman's sex appeal, provocatively asking, “Why does no one encourage women to exploit men whenever they can?”

I think a lot of that (extra) sex appeal is basically hype.

Women collectively slut shame so other women don't give out sex too cheaply and it increases their own sexual value. Men don't the same. Women also punish bi sexual behaviour in men, by dating choices, so that men remain exclusive to women.

In both cases women as a whole are actively disrupting other options for men to make their sex more valuable. It's not that the sex appeal was simply engineered in men, its also women defensively making it out to be more by eliminating other options. I wouldnt be surprised if women do this kind of stuff in general.

Oh course not all women want to be so defensive about sex and there have been times when bi sexuality in men was accepted.

Vordreller · 2012-02-18T14:52:43+00:00

Why does no one encourage women to exploit men whenever they can?

Because it's sexual discrimination.

And no, turnabout is not fair play. That's a politely worded phrasing of "an eye for an eye".

Revenge should never be the goal.

brunt2 · 2012-02-18T15:39:58+00:00

Tldr?

2012-02-19T10:38:44+00:00

This is why I follow the rule that the better looking a girl is, the harder she has to work to prove she's worth talking to and not just using her looks to get something.

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