pWe thought of culture as a disinterested activity but sociologists showed long ago that it is a form of capital, used to gain power, status or money. This book does to sex what other sociologists did to culture it shows that sex, no longer defined by religion, now plays a role in the economy and can yield tangible benefits in terms of money, status and occupation. How do people accumulate sexual capital, and what are the returns for investing money, time, knowledge and affective energy in establishing and enhancing our sexual selvesp pDana Kaplan and Eva Illouz disentangle the current cultural politics of heterosexual life, arguing that sex - that messy amalgam of sexual affects and experiences - has increasingly assumed an economic character. Some may opt for plastic surgery to beautify their face or body, while others may consume popular sex advice or join 'seduction communities' in order to train their sexual subjectivity to become more confident. These different investments genera