126 8 Sexual Behavior

p1
price of nonmonetary payment ($)

p2

D5

Q1 Q2
Quantity of sexual experiences

Fig. 8.1 The Demand for Sex

relative to the cost he or she is willing to incur for the sandwich. For some people,
however, the sandwich can deliver more utility than intercourse does. Not everyone
may consider sex to be within his or her own choice domain just as not everyone
may wish to purchase pickled pig’s feet.
Oddly enough, even the person who never engages in sexual activity can receive
considerable utility from sex. He or she may refrain from engaging in sexual
activities because of the extent of the cost. Because of this, it is extremely risky
(if not impossible) to make interpersonal utility comparisons regarding the absolute
psychic value of sex just as it is risky to suggest that the people who attend
Shakespearean plays enjoy the plays more than those who never attend.
Given that sexual experiences can yield utility as other goods do, it follows that
for the fully rational person the quantity of sex demanded is an inverse function of
the price—that is, the demand curve is downward sloping as in Fig. 8.1. If the price
goes up, the quantity demanded goes down; if the price goes down, the quantity
goes up. This means, in effect, that given the price of sex, the consumer will want
only so much sex supplied by another and will vary his or her consumption with the
price that is charged. The reason for this relationship is simply that the rational
individual will consume sex up to the point where the marginal benefit equals the