Annual revenue of the online dating industry is at an all-time high. $1.049 Billion.

線上交友產業出現前所未有的高年營業額，十億四千九百萬美元

Ever wonder if romantic relationships are getting increasingly more difficult to navigate these days?

是否覺得情感關係變得越來越難以掌控？

Why fewer couples are getting married and later than ever before?

為什麼相較於過去，結婚人數變少婚齡也變晚？

Time for a crash course on the Economics of Sex.

歡迎收看「性愛經濟學」懶人包！

Let’s think about sex as an exchange where each person gives the other person something of themselves.

假設性愛是場交易，每人都要拿出自己的東西與另一人交換

It might appear at face value that they are giving the same thing - - intimate

表面上看來，他們付出的東西相同 --

access to each other’s bodies - - but there’s more going on here than meets the eye.

身體上的親密接觸，但事情並不只你看到的那樣

Men and Women both enjoy sex. We all know that. But what’s interesting is how the data tells us that men and women experience sex differently.

我們知道男女都享受性愛，有趣的是資料顯示男女雙方對性愛的感受相異

On average, Men have a higher sex drive than women. Blame it on testosterone, call it whatever

一般來說男人的性慾比女人強，要怪就怪睪固酮素吧~隨你怎麼說

you want--but on average, men initiate sex more than women, they're more sexually permissive

男人往往比女人主動，性觀念也比女人開放

than women, and they connect sex to romance less often than women. Nobody’s saying this

他們比較少將性愛與感情聯想在一起

is the way it ought to be. It’s just the way it is.

沒人說這樣是應該的，但事實就是如此

Women, on the other hand, are likely to have sex for reasons beyond just simple pleasure.

相反地，女人做愛不只是為了享受魚水之歡

Her motivations for sex often include expressing and receiving love, strengthening commitment, affirming desirability, and relationship security.  

她們的動機通常包含情感交流、鞏固承諾，肯定自我魅力，以及獲得安全感

So in an exchange relationship where men want sex more often than women do who decides when it will happen?

所以在這場交易中，男人比女人渴望性愛由誰決定發生的時機？

She does, of course. Sex is her resource.

當然是女人！性是女人的籌碼

Sex in consensual relationships will happen when women want it to.

在兩廂情願的關係中，性愛在女方想要時才發生

So how do women decide to begin a sexual relationship?

那女人該如何決定發展床上關係？

Pricing. Women have something of value that men want…badly, something men are actually willing to sacrifice for.

依性愛的價值而定。女人擁有男人極度渴望的珍寶，男人願意為此犧牲奉獻

So how much does sex cost for men?

他們付出的代價是？

It might cost him nothing but a few drinks and compliments, or a month of dates and respectful attention,

除了酒和甜言蜜語之外，也許其它什麼都不需要，也許要約會一段時間還保持君子風度

or all the way up to a lifetime promise to share all of his affections, wealth and earnings with her exclusively.

或是始終如一，承諾她終生寵愛並與她共享畢生積蓄

The “price” varies widely. But if women are the gatekeepers, why don’t very many women “charge more” so to speak?

代價可多可寡。但如果女人能掌控主權，她們何不予取予求呢？

Because pricing is not entirely up to women.

因為定價不全由女人決定

The “market value” of sex is part of a social system of exchange, an “economy” if you will,

性愛的「市場價值」是社會交易體系的一部份，也就是 「經濟」

where men and women learn from each other – and from others – what they ought to expect from each other sexually.  

男女雙方可從另一半或其它人身上，滿足各自的性需求

So sex is not entirely a private matter between two consenting adults.

所以性愛不全然是兩人私下約定好的事

Think of it as basic..Supply and Demand.

想想最基本的供給和需求

When supplies are high prices drop, since people won’t pay more for something that’s easy to find.

供過於求時價格會下跌，因為人們不會為唾手可得的物品花費

 But if it’s hard to find, people will pay a premium.

但如果很稀少，人們可就願意花大錢了

And the same rings true with sex.  Men know that sex is cheap these days, if they know where to look.

性愛也是相同的道理，現今男人知道只要有管道，「性」可以很廉價

So how did we get here? How did the market value of sex decline so drastically?

何以形成這樣的局面？性愛市價為什麼會暴跌呢？

Economists often speak of “technological shocks” that dramatically alter markets.

經濟學家常說「科技衝擊」造成市場劇烈變動


 Take pesticides for example…

以殺蟲劑為例

Pesticides revolutionized agriculture, enabling its mass production on a level unparalleled in the history of human civilization.

殺蟲劑造成農業改革，量產技術達到人類文明史上空前進步

Lawns became greener. Produce became better, and

草地更青綠、農產品更優良

widely available with a marvelous variety. We eat like kings now.

也更具豐富多樣性，我們現在餐餐山珍海味

And the market has changed ... forever.

市場也自此永遠改變

Here’s another example: Artificial hormonal contraception or The Pill, allowed men and women to have sex while avoiding pregnancy.

另一個例子：人工賀爾蒙避孕法，也就是避孕藥，讓男女做愛同時也能避孕

This was a technological shock that forever altered the mating market, by profoundly  lowering the cost of sex.

這個科技衝擊大幅貶低性愛價值，導致擇偶市場的改變

It didn’t change overnight, but the effects have been … one might say… revolutionary.

雖然轉變不在一夕之間，但卻造成，嗯~革命性的巨大影響

Before contraception, sex before marriage took place during the search for a mate- someone to marry.

避孕藥發明前，婚前性行為在尋找結婚對象時才會發生

Sex didn’t necessarily mean marriage, but serious commitment was commonly a requirement for sex.

性行為不一定意味著結婚，但通常伴隨著重大承諾

Sex was oriented towards marriage.

性愛以婚姻為導向

Don’t believe people who say your great-grandparents were secretly as casual about sex as your friends are. They weren’t,

別聽人說曾祖父母那一代，私生活跟你朋友一樣隨便，這是不可能的！

because to mess around with sex eventually meant, well, becoming parents.

因為遊戲人間的結果，就得為人父母

Now...remember the example of “pesticides?” It turns out that they had unforeseen effects

還記得殺蟲劑的例子嗎？事實上它帶來不可預見的後果，造成環境浩劫

that are wreaking havoc on the environment and weakening the natural ecological systems that we depend on.

導致我們賴以生存的自然生態體系惡化

Scientists believe that because of pesticides, the bee population is dropping at an alarming rate.

科學家相信，殺蟲劑使蜜蜂數量以驚人的速度銳減

One-third of all the food we eat depends on those bees for pollination.

而我們有1/3的食物須仰賴蜜蜂授粉

And that’s just one example. It is now feared that the overuse of pesticides is throwing ecology as we know it into disarray. 


這只是其中一個例子，現在擔憂的是過度使用殺蟲劑，將導致生態環境陷入混亂

While the original purpose of the Pill was to prevent pregnancy, the data reveals an unanticipated side-effect:

避孕藥最初目的是避孕，研究卻意外揭露一項副作用：

the Pill threw the mating market into disarray.

避孕藥使擇偶市場陷入混亂

Having sex and thinking about marriage have now become two quite different things.

如今性愛與婚姻已成為不相干的事

We now have a split mating market:

擇偶市場變得兩極化

One corner where people are largely interested in sex and one corner where people are largely pursuing marriage.

一端是對性愛大感興趣的人，一端是對婚姻殷殷期盼的人

And there are more men looking for sex than women, and more women looking to marry than men.

男人比較想要性愛，而女人比較想要婚姻

The language of online dating reinforces the reality of this split mating market.

交友網站上的用詞，證明擇偶市場兩極化的事實

Men are more apt to write that they’re “looking for fun,” while women tend to signal very

男人傾向表達他們只想逢場作戲，而女人似乎發出完全不同的訊號

different things, saying things like “only serious inquiries, please” or “not into games.”

她們寫著「非誠勿擾」、或是「不玩愛情遊戲」的訊息

So this split mating market poses a particular problem for women.

因此擇偶市場的分歧，為女人帶來嚴重的問題

They certainly call the shots when it comes to short-term sexual relationships because men outnumber them.

在短暫性關係中，她們當然可以發號司令，因為男性人數比女性多

This enables women to be more selective in the short-term. But the reverse is true when they decide they want to settle down.

所以女人在短暫關係裡，多的是選擇。但當她們想要成家時，情況卻相反

We often hear about “men’s lack of commitment,” but the blunt reality is an economic one:

我們常說「男人害怕承諾」，但經濟上的殘酷現實是

Women vastly outnumber men in the "marriage market" which means men can be picky and can insist on extensive sexual experience before committing.

女人在「婚姻市場」的數量大幅超越男性，所以男性得以在選對象時吹毛求疪，他們可以在許下承諾前，享受大量的性愛

Men are in a position to maximize their rewards while investing fewer resources.

以男性的立場，他們利用小投資將利潤極大化

Why do men do this? Because they can. Here’s the thing:

為什麼？因為他們有本錢！事情是這樣的

In the past, it really wasn’t the patriarchy that policed women’s relational interests. It was women.

在過去，悍衛女人相關權益的其實不是父權社會，而是女人自己

But, this agreement, this unspoken pact to set a high market value of sex …

但這項協議，這種把性愛市價訂得很高的默契

has all but vanished.

如今已消失無蹤

But in a brave new world where having sex no longer means babies and marriage has become optional,  

在這美麗新世界，做愛不再意味著傳宗接代，婚姻只是個選項

the solidarity women once felt toward each other in the mating market…has dissolved.

擇偶市場中，女人團結一致的情況已經瓦解

Women no longer have each other’s backs, on the contrary…

女性不再是彼此的靠山，相反地

they’re now each other’s competition.

她們現在互為敵手

And when women compete for men, they tend to do so by appealing to what men want.

當女人為了男人相互競爭，她們試圖取悅男人


 Here’s where women are wrong about men:

但是有一點她們錯了

Men are not actually afraid of commitment at all. While women are the gatekeepers when it comes to sex,

男人其實一點也不害怕承諾，當女人在性愛上把關

the deal is that men are in the driver’s seat in the marriage market.

男人反過來在婚姻市場上掌控主權

They can navigate it in exactly how they want to. And unlike women’s fertility, men’s

他們可以輕易扭轉局勢，而不同於女人的生育率

virility doesn’t expire by 40, or 45, or 50, or even 60. So what’s the rush?

男人的精氣到四、五、六十歲都很旺盛，所以急什麼呢？

Talk about having the upper hand! 
So... it should come as no surprise that

看看誰佔上風吧！所以毫無意外地

the average age of first marriage in the United States continues to rise,

美國人首次結婚的平均年齡持續上升

and that the share of Americans between the ages of 25-34 years old who are married is continuing to drop.

介於25-34歲的已婚人數則持續下降

While there are certainly factors that contribute to each of those trends, the gender imbalance in a split mating market is a big one.

這兩項趨勢形成的原因很多，但擇偶市場中的男女失衡是關鍵

Talk about a profound irony: by nearly every measure, young men are failing to adapt to contemporary life.

天大的諷刺是，從各方面看來年輕男子應無法適應現代社會

When attractive women will still go to bed with you, life for young men

當充滿魅力的女人仍願意跟你上床，年輕人的日子過得也不差

—even those who are floundering—just ain’t so bad.

就連不是很優的男子也一樣

In reality, men tend to behave as well or as poorly as the women in their lives permit.

現實生活中，男人似乎在生活表現上與女人相當

Economists say that collusion—women working together—would be the most rational way to elevate the “market value” of sex.

經濟學家說，女人同謀合作是提高性愛市價最明智的辦法

But there is little evidence of this happening among women today.

但女人似乎沒有發展出這種現象

At least, not yet…

至少...還沒出現...

If women were squarely in charge of how their relationships transpired and demanded a “higher market price” for the exchange of sex so to speak,

如果女人能恰好掌控男女關係的發展，藉此提高性愛市價

we’d be seeing—on average—

平均來說，我們將會預見

more impressive wooing efforts, greater male investment, longer relationships, fewer premarital partners,

更熱烈的追求、更願意付出的男人、情感關係穩定、不婚伴侶減少

shorter cohabitations, and more marrying going on.

同居時間縮短、步入婚姻者增加

For a woman to know what she wants in a relationship and to signal it clearly,

女人清楚自己在感情中尋求什麼，並明確表達

especially if it’s different than what most men want … This is her power in the economy.

這是女人在性愛經濟中的力量，尤其當妳所期盼的與男人不同時

 But none of these things seem to be occurring … not now… at least…

但似乎這些事情都還沒發生，至少目前是這樣

Today, the economics of contemporary sexual relationships clearly favor men and what they

如今，現代的性愛經濟很明顯對男性有利

want, even while what they are offering in the exchange has diminished.

即使他們付出的代價逐漸減少

And it’s all thanks to supply, demand, and the long reach of a remarkable little pill.

這一切全歸功於供給和需求，以及神奇小藥丸的深遠影響

Brought to you by the Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture.

本集節目由奧斯汀家庭文化研究協會贊助播出