经济学人：美貌之人更有市场_演讲_双语阅读-查字典英语网

经济学人：美貌之人更有市场

哈金女士之所以认为女人一开始比男人有更多的魅力资本，是因为在过去几个世纪里，她们已经在这方面作出了巨大努力。但女性在魅力方面占优势的另一个原因在于：男性的“性感赤字”。尽管事实上两性在性爱方面都比以前要积极，而且在30岁以后，女性的性欲趋于下降，男性则不然。因为女性在性爱方面的兴趣要少与男性，所以简言之，这是一个卖方市场。对于精力旺盛的夫妇而言，控制进行性生活比赚钱更为重要，哈金女士说道。因为大部分女性的收入仍然低于其另一半，故魅力就成了她们的主要筹码。哈金女士认为，那些希望女性抛弃其女人味的女权主义者忽略了一项强大的资产。

This is controversial stuff. Even those who reject the notion that women are just not that into sex can support Ms Hakim’s call for the full legalisation of prostitution and surrogate pregnancies for profit, thus giving women the freedom to earn a return on whichever personal asset they choose.

这个说法极具争议。即便是那些反对女人对性爱不那么感兴趣的人，也能支持哈金女士的号召：将妓女这一职业全面合法化；实行营利性的代孕。不论女性选择利用何种个人资产，这样都能给予她们从中获取回报的自由。

All three authors are in or fast approaching their 60s. They are contemporaries of the generation of feminists who waged war against the beauty culture, leaving unshaved legs and allegedly burned bras in their wake. But life has moved on. Sexualised images are everywhere, and the world that has emerged is one in which no one can afford to pretend beauty does not matter. Men too, having lost their monopoly of well-paid jobs, are investing in their erotic capital to enhance their appeal to mates and employers. They are marching off to gyms and discovering face cream in record numbers. Perhaps this explains Mona Lisa’s bemused smile. She knew what was coming.