sexual economy and psychology

As an everlasting movie genre, gangster movies have been intriguing audience since the emergence of Progressive Era (1900-1920). In some typical gangster films like Scarface (1983), The Godfather, we are fascinated by Tony Montana’s and Michael Corleone’s masculinity. These specific male characters are physically alive; they totally dominate the screen. But what’s the role of females in these movies? They are obedient and have no status in gangster affairs; they are merely the tools and dolls of male characters. In Godfather, for example, Kay is depicted as a naïve and gullible woman: when Michael deceives her that he doesn’t kill a member of Corleone family, she trusted him without hesitation.

This traditional opinion on the role and characteristics of male and female to some extent influenced Freud when he came up with the idea of gender identity. In Freud’s view, women, who are in a disadvantageous situation, admire men’s power and freedom and thus even may have envy for penis, the symbol of masculinity.

It seems that evolutionary gender theory also back up with this perspective, though indirectly. Having faced various yet similar challenges throughout the history, men and women are alike in many ways, but the difference in reproduction decides the different attitude between men and women towards sex.

Research shows that men are more easily to get sexually aroused than women do. Hardly any women would go to bed with a total stranger while half or even more male would like to try a new face lady. According to sexual economists, this is due to the different trade-offs men and women bear in the process of reproduction.

Men disperse sperm while women have to bear the risk of pregnancy and pain of giving a birth to a child. Men are more likely to boost their sex experience to their friends and receive cheer as heroes, while women may be looked downed upon. Besides, when a man gets bored or afraid of taking responsibility, he may leave but the girl will have to endure other’s tease and may have to raise child herself. So in short, the cost of sex for women is large, leaving women insensitive to the “price” men offer to have sex. So in the past, man usually have to show considerable determination to give commitment so that he can have sex with a girl. That can explain why girls like to marry males who are mature because they don’t want to cost much to get nothing in the end.

But with the legislation of abortion and the invention of contraceptive medicine and condoms, the cost of sex activity for women has dropped significantly, and thus more and more women no longer regard sex as precious resource. (In fact the reality to some extent forces them because men have substitutes, which means that men can hunt another girl more easily even if they are refused by some females)

This big change, in my opinion, greatly challenges evolutionary theory’s explanation of sex activity. Women today actually don’t regard sex merely as means of reproduction. Instead, some very strange and surprising reasons occur.