Erotic Capital
The Power of Attraction in the Boardroom and the Bedroom
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
In 2010, pioneering sociologist Catherine Hakim shocked the world with a provocative new theory: In addition to the three recognized personal assets (economic, cultural, and social capital), each individual has a fourth asset -- erotic capital -- that he or she can, and should, use to advance within society.
In this bold and controversial book, Hakim explores the applications and significance of erotic capital, challenging the disapproval meted out to women and men who use sex appeal to get ahead in life. Social scientists have paid little serious attention to these modes of personal empowerment, despite overwhelming evidence of their importance. In Erotic Capital, Hakim marshals a trove of research to show that rather than degrading those who employ it, erotic capital represents a powerful and potentially equalizing tool -- one that we scorn only to our own detriment.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This enthusiastic but unpersuasive book succeeds in marrying economics with eros, but suffers from its shallow analysis. Piggybacking on Pierre Bourdieu's concept of "social capital," Hakim argues that in addition to our economic and social privilege, our attractiveness (or lack thereof) plays a powerful role in the public as well as private sphere. While readers might expect Hakim's multidisciplinary approach to make surprising connections, her book, aside from its provocative premise, contains no eureka moments. The author, an expert on women's employment and family policy, has a surprisingly thin understanding of feminism's relationship with sexuality. She writes, "Even attractive feminists like Gloria Steinem, who once worked as a bunny in a Playboy club, have never championed women's erotic capital" without addressing how the sex-positive movement explicitly addressed the positive side of women's sexuality (in and out of the workplace). Some of her reported research is fascinating say, while attractive women and men are more likely to get hired, attractive women are less likely to be promoted than good-looking men she rarely investigates the broader ramifications of such behavior. She falls back on such dubious claims as, "Physical attractiveness enhances productivity in management and professional occupations... mainly because attractive and agreeable people are easier to work with, and more persuasive."
