Sexual Economics: Sex as Female Resource for Social Exchange in Heterosexual Interactions  

"Although applying economic principles to sex may seem novel, psychology has invoked economic theories in other contexts. Social exchange theory has been used to analyze a broad range of social interactions (e.g., Blau, 1964; Homans, 1950, 1961; Sprecher, 1998), based on the assumption that each party in an interaction gives something and gets something in return. Analyzing the costs and benefits of various interpersonal behavior furnishes a useful basis for making predictions about how people will think, feel, and choose to act."--"Sexual Economics: Sex as Female Resource for Social Exchange in Heterosexual Interactions" (2004) by Baumeister and Vohs

"Previous attempts to apply social exchange theory to sex have neglected one crucial aspect, which will be featured in this article. Specifically, sex is a female resource. Put another way, cultural systems will tend to endow female sexuality with value, whereas male sexuality is treated by society as relatively worthless."--"Sexual Economics: Sex as Female Resource for Social Exchange in Heterosexual Interactions" (2004) by Baumeister and Vohs