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Catch-All/Student Discussion Questions

Some questions from chs. 1-3 in _Cheap Sex_

Feel free to pick and choose among these as you will.

  1. What is a ‘mating market’?  Why is it a useful way to sociologically discuss mating?
  2. What is the importance of the sex/gender difference in mating and marrying?  What’s the evidence that such a difference exists?  Why does it matter in terms of what happens in mating markets?
  3. Regnerus writes:  “Talk to most any thirty-something woman who wishes to marry and you are apt to get an earful, a window into the vagaries and frustrations of finding a mate today” (43).  What ‘frustrations’ is Regnerus talking about?  Why do they exist?
  4. What is the ‘paradox’ Regnerus describes in chapter 2?
  5. Regnerus describes how some feminist commentators talk in frustration about the relative lack of “evolved men.”  What are they talking about, and why does Regnerus suggest that they are missing important elements of the current mating and marrying market in the US?
  6. How do dating apps affect commitment in relationships?
  7. How has frequency of intercourse among young adults changed in recent years?
  8. What explains why liberal women typically report wanting more sex than conservative women?
  9. What do the data comparing heterosexual and homosexual populations on amount of sex and contentment with amount of sex tell us about the sex difference?  What about monogamy and non-monogamy rates in homosexual and heterosexual relationships?
  10. What is the 20/80 theory of sexual partners?
  11. Does cheaper sex = better sex, according to Regnerus’ findings?

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