May 21, 2025 • 8 mins
In this episode, Dr Catherine Hakim explains all about erotic capital. Erotic capital is a combination of "beauty, social skills, good dress sense, physical fitness, liveliness, sex appeal and sexual competence" and Hakim explains why our erotic capital is so important in terms of how we are viewed by others and how succesful we are in life.
You can now book online tutoring for Sociology here -https://calendly.com/sociologyshowtutoring
You can now book online tutoring for Sociology here -https://calendly.com/sociologyshowtutoring
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Sociology Show podcast. In this episode,
doctor Catherine Hackem is going to explain all about erotic capital.
Now you've probably heard of economic capital or cultural capital,
maybe even social capital, but what about erotic capital. In
this episode, Hackem talks all about how important our looks
are in terms of how we progress in society, how
(00:21):
we're viewed from others, and how successful we are. So,
without further ado, let's go over to the episode with
Dr Catherine Hackem talking all about erotic capital.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I think and prousion. I drew from a study of
online dating, whilst the crucial importance of good looks, especially
for women. This will not surprise young people, but sociology
has never paid proper attention to the importance of appearance.
Oh I changed that. I gave it the label erotic capital,
(00:54):
and I regard it as a fourth personal asset alongside
the three personal assorts that Bordeaux identified. He called them
capital and he identified free capitals economics capital sensally money
and land, human or cultural capital sensally education and saying.
(01:17):
And then the third one is social capital. Who you
know instead of what you know? So I seated erotic
capital as the fourth personal effort that people can use
in just the same way as the other three. And
as soon as I published an article describing this fourth
(01:39):
personal assets of erotic capital, and then also a book
on the same topic, everyone else piled in saying they
got their first. The labels multiplied. A whole pile of
different labels were offered, some of them knew and some
of them not new. So they include appearance, beauty, attractiveness,
(02:02):
good looks, body capital, physical capital, physical attractiveness, esthetic capital,
esthetic labor, emotional labor, effective capital, and in some cases
sexual capital. I say that erotic capital is multifaceted. It's
(02:24):
a combination of physical and social attractiveness with six elements.
So the first is facial beauty, very obviously as you
see it in photos. A second one is a good body,
which everybody recognizes is important. The third one is fitness
(02:44):
and liveliness as displayed in dancing sports. The fourth charm
and social skills, a positive personality that makes people enjoy
your company and like to meet you. Another one is
good dress sense and style, knowing how to present yourself
(03:05):
in terms of how you were, what codd you wear,
and so on, And I would also add sex appeal
the ability to flirt and to make yourself appealing to people.
In the first article that I published on this, I
included sexual competence, but I think I now think that
(03:26):
I made a mistake in that you can't include sexual
competence firstly, because it can't be measured. All the other
things can be measured. There's some difficulty about measuring all
of them, but you can measure them. Sexual competence can't
be measured because it's too private and it only matters
in any case to the particular people that you have
(03:49):
sexual relations with, and tastes differ in that area. So
it's a combination of visual, physical, esthetic, and social attractiveness
to other members of your society in your particular culture.
Young people understand the concept easily. Older people often reject
(04:12):
the idea out of hand, saying it should not matter
because they can't compete, of course, And I've also noticed
that in journalists, the journalists who are commenting on the
theory of erotic capital, it's the ugly ones and the
older ones who tend to be very negative about it
and essentially argue that it shouldn't matter, even if it
(04:35):
does matter. Well, that's no good. The fact is social
science sociology looks at how the world works and what
is real, whether you like it or you don't like it.
Research those that people who score high on effectiveness earn more,
are promoted more quickly, have more friends than lovers, are
(04:58):
assumed to be clever of well as affective. They smile
at everyone, and the world smiles that. There are three
reasons why erotic capital matters more today than in the past,
and why it's becoming increasingly important and valuable. First, new
(05:18):
technology have made everyone visible. Digital photographs on Facebook and
newspapers make it possible to see people who remained invisible
in the past unless you have met them face to face.
The Internet expands the use of photographs. Everyone can see
those clooney He has become globally famous well beyond his films. Today,
(05:44):
film styles, singers and musicians, writers, even politicians need to
be attractive as well as skilled in their profession because
their photos will be seen everywhere. People who are beautiful
have easier access to these occupations, so that helps get
them in the Second reason is the Western world and
(06:07):
many other countries are more affluent now, so we value
and buy luxury such as beauty, courtesy, charming, good manners, knife, clothes,
pleasant service, good looks. Wealthy countries spend more un luxuries
than poor countries. Wealthy people spend a lot more on
luxuries than poor people. Beauty is one of the most
(06:31):
popular luxuries wealthy men, for example, through beautiful wives, as
illustrated by Donald Trumk. Thirdly, the workplace of saints. The
social skills and palms are crucial now in many jobs
except for manual and laboring jobs. The professional and white
(06:52):
collar work conservice sector work makes erotic capital more important
because look good social relationships and smooth social interaction are
crucial in the workplace. Attractive lawyers and salespeople earn more
than ugly lawyers and salespeople. Attractive political candidates get more
(07:15):
votes than ugly candidate. A nice measure of that from
several studies is they get fifteen percent more votes than
unattractive candidates. And it's particularly important for young people and
newcomers to politics, and you get roughly the same figures.
(07:36):
Also in the labor market, on average, it's around fifteen
percent more the earnings for people who are attractive rather
than unattractive, but I say in my book that it's
between ten percent more and twenty percent more. And of course,
in certain jobs like being models or whatever, you can
(07:56):
earn or film stuff, you can earn hundreds of times
more than people who are not attracted. So this is
an important element that we have to recognize now in
a modern world that wasn't as important in the past.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
The Sociology Show podcast now offers online tutoring. Whether you
want a single session or a regular slot, then you
can book up depending on your needs. You can book
a one hour, one and a half hour, or two
hour slot by simply visiting www dot Calendly dot com
Forward slash Sociology Show Tutoring. That's c A l e
(08:37):
N d l y dot com. Forward slash Sociology Show Tutoring.
Thank you for your continued support of the show.
Hello and welcome to the Sociology Show podcast. In this episode,
doctor Catherine Hackem is going to explain all about erotic capital.
Now you've probably heard of economic capital or cultural capital,
maybe even social capital, but what about erotic capital. In
this episode, Hackem talks all about how important our looks
are in terms of how we progress in society, how
(00:21):
we're viewed from others, and how successful we are. So,
without further ado, let's go over to the episode with
Dr Catherine Hackem talking all about erotic capital.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I think and prousion. I drew from a study of
online dating, whilst the crucial importance of good looks, especially
for women. This will not surprise young people, but sociology
has never paid proper attention to the importance of appearance.
Oh I changed that. I gave it the label erotic capital,
(00:54):
and I regard it as a fourth personal asset alongside
the three personal assorts that Bordeaux identified. He called them
capital and he identified free capitals economics capital sensally money
and land, human or cultural capital sensally education and saying.
(01:17):
And then the third one is social capital. Who you
know instead of what you know? So I seated erotic
capital as the fourth personal effort that people can use
in just the same way as the other three. And
as soon as I published an article describing this fourth
(01:39):
personal assets of erotic capital, and then also a book
on the same topic, everyone else piled in saying they
got their first. The labels multiplied. A whole pile of
different labels were offered, some of them knew and some
of them not new. So they include appearance, beauty, attractiveness,
(02:02):
good looks, body capital, physical capital, physical attractiveness, esthetic capital,
esthetic labor, emotional labor, effective capital, and in some cases
sexual capital. I say that erotic capital is multifaceted. It's
(02:24):
a combination of physical and social attractiveness with six elements.
So the first is facial beauty, very obviously as you
see it in photos. A second one is a good body,
which everybody recognizes is important. The third one is fitness
(02:44):
and liveliness as displayed in dancing sports. The fourth charm
and social skills, a positive personality that makes people enjoy
your company and like to meet you. Another one is
good dress sense and style, knowing how to present yourself
(03:05):
in terms of how you were, what codd you wear,
and so on, And I would also add sex appeal
the ability to flirt and to make yourself appealing to people.
In the first article that I published on this, I
included sexual competence, but I think I now think that
(03:26):
I made a mistake in that you can't include sexual
competence firstly, because it can't be measured. All the other
things can be measured. There's some difficulty about measuring all
of them, but you can measure them. Sexual competence can't
be measured because it's too private and it only matters
in any case to the particular people that you have
(03:49):
sexual relations with, and tastes differ in that area. So
it's a combination of visual, physical, esthetic, and social attractiveness
to other members of your society in your particular culture.
Young people understand the concept easily. Older people often reject
(04:12):
the idea out of hand, saying it should not matter
because they can't compete, of course, And I've also noticed
that in journalists, the journalists who are commenting on the
theory of erotic capital, it's the ugly ones and the
older ones who tend to be very negative about it
and essentially argue that it shouldn't matter, even if it
(04:35):
does matter. Well, that's no good. The fact is social
science sociology looks at how the world works and what
is real, whether you like it or you don't like it.
Research those that people who score high on effectiveness earn more,
are promoted more quickly, have more friends than lovers, are
(04:58):
assumed to be clever of well as affective. They smile
at everyone, and the world smiles that. There are three
reasons why erotic capital matters more today than in the past,
and why it's becoming increasingly important and valuable. First, new
(05:18):
technology have made everyone visible. Digital photographs on Facebook and
newspapers make it possible to see people who remained invisible
in the past unless you have met them face to face.
The Internet expands the use of photographs. Everyone can see
those clooney He has become globally famous well beyond his films. Today,
(05:44):
film styles, singers and musicians, writers, even politicians need to
be attractive as well as skilled in their profession because
their photos will be seen everywhere. People who are beautiful
have easier access to these occupations, so that helps get
them in the Second reason is the Western world and
(06:07):
many other countries are more affluent now, so we value
and buy luxury such as beauty, courtesy, charming, good manners, knife, clothes,
pleasant service, good looks. Wealthy countries spend more un luxuries
than poor countries. Wealthy people spend a lot more on
luxuries than poor people. Beauty is one of the most
(06:31):
popular luxuries wealthy men, for example, through beautiful wives, as
illustrated by Donald Trumk. Thirdly, the workplace of saints. The
social skills and palms are crucial now in many jobs
except for manual and laboring jobs. The professional and white
(06:52):
collar work conservice sector work makes erotic capital more important
because look good social relationships and smooth social interaction are
crucial in the workplace. Attractive lawyers and salespeople earn more
than ugly lawyers and salespeople. Attractive political candidates get more
(07:15):
votes than ugly candidate. A nice measure of that from
several studies is they get fifteen percent more votes than
unattractive candidates. And it's particularly important for young people and
newcomers to politics, and you get roughly the same figures.
(07:36):
Also in the labor market, on average, it's around fifteen
percent more the earnings for people who are attractive rather
than unattractive, but I say in my book that it's
between ten percent more and twenty percent more. And of course,
in certain jobs like being models or whatever, you can
(07:56):
earn or film stuff, you can earn hundreds of times
more than people who are not attracted. So this is
an important element that we have to recognize now in
a modern world that wasn't as important in the past.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
The Sociology Show podcast now offers online tutoring. Whether you
want a single session or a regular slot, then you
can book up depending on your needs. You can book
a one hour, one and a half hour, or two
hour slot by simply visiting www dot Calendly dot com
Forward slash Sociology Show Tutoring. That's c A l e
(08:37):
N d l y dot com. Forward slash Sociology Show Tutoring.
Thank you for your continued support of the show.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.