Capitalism's Sexual History

Download or read book Capitalism's Sexual History written by Nicola J. Smith and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sexuality is often understood to be uniquely private and intimate--something that can and should be protected from capitalism's influence. This book argues, in contrast, that the histories of capitalism and sexuality are closely intertwined. Integral to this story has been the illusion that economic and sexual practices are tied to fundamentally different realms. Focusing on the history of sex work in Britain, the book shows that capitalism has long needed theconstruction of artificial boundaries around sex and work in order to extract profit from sexual labor, both paid and unpaid.