Do you think of your sex as Prada or Marshalls? Discount or high end? If you’re not sure, you are probably going to want to read this. Recently, the New York Post published an article about a new short animated film, entitled the “Economics of Sex,” that uses the language of “economics” to explain why marriage rates in the U.S. have hit a historic low.
The piece centers around the idea that there is a supply and demand problem going on with sex — that currently the supply provided by women is too high, and as a result the “price” has dropped since men won’t pay more for something that’s “so easy to find.”
And what’s to blame for this market shift? It’s really original, so hold on. BIRTH CONTROL!! Let’s all run to our pharmacists and return it, because ladies, birth control is a dream-killer.
To start, the piece suffers some very basic flaws in understanding economics or I should probably say, statistics — because they claim to find causation where there is none. Then, to add insult to offense, they paint women (and men for that matter) in a very narrow light in terms of their wants and needs.
Will I, based on my own personal experiences, deny that I think a shift has occurred in marriage and dating? No, of course not. There is some truth to what the video discusses. But the way it presents the issue exploits some women’s fears, gives men no credit, and uses a whole lot of sexism.
I do see more and more of my amazing female friends waiting longer to get married, some willingly and some not-so-willingly. But the source of this shift, I can say most confidently, is not birth control. In fact, birth control has, alongside landmark laws like Title IX and Title VII , allowed women to purse advanced education and careers. Overall, birth control has helped women better control their lives and pursue their goals — including the ability to find and marry the partner they want to marry when it’s right for them, not the one they happen to become pregnant by.
Birth control actually gave women more quality choices in marriage, not fewer. Build me a chart for that.
The video is so clearly starting from a particular viewpoint — one that uses a fake “scientific” analysis to hide the fact that it’s just restating the same old conservative argument that tries to shame women for their sexuality and for their educational and professional advances.
Through visual effects and a cutesy story line, this video purports to show the consequences of “good” and “bad” women as defined by their sexual behavior. The bad women are left fighting off their friends over the last few men, and the good women end up married with eternal security and love. Gag me.
Last night, I was so consumed by all the things about this video that bothered me, I couldn’t sleep. Finally, in the middle of the night, I got up and made this list.
- The video implies that fertility, enjoying sex and finding happiness are all competing priorities. I’m confident there are millions of women who would disagree — and happily, from bed.
- In this video, men come off as pretty lazy, and devoid of any feelings of love, affection and commitment. (When I said this video was sexist, I meant it was sexist to everyone.)
- Speaking of “everyone,” the video is very heterosexist, and clearly chose not to include or even recognize there is a big segment of the population that is not reflected in this story about marriage and relationships.
- The video claims men enjoy sex more than women. Oh really, you've been in our bedrooms lately and checked? Took a very short survey that included no women?
What’s probably most embarrassing for the video’s creators is that their entire premise is factually incorrect. The piece assumes that getting married later in life (or not at all) is a bad thing when in fact, the exact opposite is true. Studies show that most women earn more money if they wait until they're 30 or older to get married, women who marry later are less likely to get divorced, and women who have an education are actually more likely to get married, and have a partner who carries their weight equally in the house and in the bedroom.
Now let’s talk about what I’d pay for that...
Watch the "Economics of Sex" video below to see for yourself: