ABSTRACT
The relationship between sexuality and labor is abundant in the contemporary landscape of everyday sexuality. While much attention has been given to sex workers and the exchange of money for sex in the official labor force, in this chapter I direct attention instead toward the mundane aspects of sexual labor and the labor that connects to the logics and priorities of capitalism. I ask: What does it mean to have sex in a capitalist economy? How do the practices and priorities of capitalism, particularly as seen in the US, seep into the most intimate aspects of people’s personal lives? In this chapter, I take Marxist feminist arguments about capitalism’s destructive impact on women a step further and invite consideration of the ways that capitalism fundamentally alters the way that people have sex. Capitalism also profoundly affects the structures within and around which people have sex, including leisure time, vacation time, breaks from work, and rest/relaxation. I outline here ten specific ways that capitalism is destroying people’s sex lives, drawing on my experiences as a psychotherapist specializing in sexuality and as a teacher and researcher of women’s sexuality. I ultimately argue that living in a capitalist system prevents people from fully addressing their sexual problems and complaints, and limits expression of sexual freedom and enjoyment.
