From Academia: Adultmatchmaker Data Used to Explore Sexual Economics

New research published in the journal Applied Economics has used data from Adultmatchmaker.com.au to investigate aspects of Sexual Economic Theory (SET).

SET suggests the world of heterosexual dating can be analysed as a marketplace, with female sexuality holding a high value. 

Women in this framework are seen as the “sellers” of sex, whose “price” changes depending on demand, competition or cooperation with other sellers, and other economic factors. 

The new study, titled Sexual economic theory & the human mating market, considered how people of different genders and sexual orientations valued themselves in the sexual marketplace. 

It analysed survey responses from 3,261 participants who self-identified as either heterosexual, pansexual or bisexual. 

The findings revealed that women’s self-valuation did not change much with age, while men’s self-valuation varied considerably by education; men who were more educated tended to ascribe a higher sexual value to themselves.

Dr. Stephen Whyte of Queensland University of Technology outlined more results in a conversation with Phys.org: “Our results showed that bisexual and pansexual women enjoy a market premium, but this is not the case for bisexual and pansexual men.”

Whyte previously collaborated with the Australian online dating group Giga Pty Ltd to carry out an analysis of personality traits and sexual activity. That study found that men who are less agreeable have sex more frequently.

Read more here.