Eroticism, market and gender: an ethnography of sex shops in São PauloAbstract
The ideas in this paper aim at deepening the discussion on the erotic market (production, commercialization and consumption of erotic goods) and thinking its more general connections to the market, i. e., to an operative logic that implies the production of differences, from the supply of goods and services. It aims, on the other hand, at analyzing the articulation of this supply from the assumption that the objects searched for and valorized are precisely those that stress the difference and transgression. Besides the theoretical discussion, the paper reports an ethnography of sex shops in São Paulo. Against views that take the market for a mere reflection of social demands or as a manipulating force before passive consumers, we see the creation of a niche of sex shops that configure new positions vis a vis sexuality, widening the scope of sexual choices, especially for women.
Eroticism; Erotic Market; Sex Shops; Gender