In chapter 2 of Cheap Sex by Mark Regnerus, Regnerus gets into the basics of what he calls “cheap sex”. Cheap sex is defined as sex that is easy to get, with little or no risk. This can happen through hookups, and also through easy to access porn, which is the cheapest sex. He argues that there has been a large increase in this ever since the invention and distribution of contraceptives. Unlike the past, now people can have sex without a huge risk of pregnancy, and therefore have sex with less commitment. Young people today often take this for granted, as we’ve always lived in a world where this was possible.
Regnerus argues that with these developments, in recent years, sex has become even cheaper. Many more people report having sex on the first date than even 20-30 years ago. A lot more people have sexual intercourse with someone before committing to a relationship with them. Hookup culture is far more widespread than it once was. Regnerus doesn’t elaborate on whether he thinks this is a good thing or a bad thing, but he does talk about how this causes sex to be cheaper. Where at one time, it usually came at the cost of a relationship, or at the economic cost of a few dates, now sex can be found with almost no commitment. This contributes to many social changes, including people having more sexual partners in their lifetime, later marriages, and more overlapping partners.
Regnerus also speaks on how the male and female play different roles in the “market” where cheap sex is acquired. He argues that woman are primarily the gatekeepers of sex, while men are the pursuers. Because of this, women may be able to get sex whenever they want it, so long as they signal that they do. He touches on how these change in homosexual relationships, but primarily addresses heterosexual relations. He mentions that for the most part, men pursue sex in a single minded way, primarily wanting the physical pleasure. However, women pursue it for a variety of reasons, pleasure being one of them, but also for the connection and validation. The disparities between men and woman greatly affect the “market”.