Cheap Sex - Marketplaces and Those Who Have Given Up on Shopping

Cheap Sex: The Transformation of Men, Marriage, and Monogamy

By: Mark Regnerus Published: 2017 280 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

A data-driven look at the modern dating and "hook-up" culture. As you can tell from the title, he argues that sex has become cheap, not so much in dollars and cents, but in the level of commitment it requires. He points to three reasons for this change: the pill, porn, and dating apps.

What's the author's angle?

As I was reading this book, I was trying to remember where I had heard the name Regnerus before. It took me a while to get around to looking him up in Wikipedia, at which point I was reminded of the "New Family Structures Study". He was the lead author on this study which claimed that children raised by a parent who had been in a same-sex relationship had worse outcomes than those raised by heterosexual parents. If you guessed, based on this, that he's a conservative, then you would be correct. However, that didn't really come through very much while reading the book.

Who should read this book?

If you want data to back up the online arguments you've been making. Or if you're looking for a better understanding of the underlying reasons for the continued decline in fertility.

What Black Swans does it reveal?

Most of the trends he described are continuing to worsen. Sex just continues to get cheaper. As bad as it is already, it's not crazy to imagine that VR, AI, and sex bots might really cause the bottom to drop out.

Specific thoughts: Differing views of sex