Sexy, sexy economics: Local prof to give saucy TED talk

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of economics?

Despite being rife with suggestive terms like “naked short selling,” “widening crack spread” and “leveraging assets,” it’s probably not “sexy.”

But a UBC professor might just change your mind with her talk tomorrow at TEDxVancouver.

Marina Adshade is a sex economist, studying market forces through the analysis of patterns of love and sexuality.

“I didn’t really intend to get into this field of research, but I started down the path because I wanted to propose a new course that undergraduate students could take to get them excited about economics,” she tells NEWS 1130.

In 2008, Adshade made a pitch to Dalhousie University, where she was teaching at the time, that they offer a course in the economics of sex and love.

“They loved the idea — students loved the idea and I’ve been doing it ever since,” she says.

So what can market forces tell us about love, lust and libido?

“There’s so much there. People just don’t realize the scope of the ways you can apply economics to personal relationships,” says Adshade.

“I’m offering a course at the moment where in the first week, we talked about the economics of ‘slut shaming’ — why it is in society that people feel the need to condemn women who openly act on their sexuality. I think there are some interesting economic stories to tell about why we do that and what people hope to gain by that.”

Other topics include online dating and the evolution marriage, though the economic historian won’t reveal too much about what she will be focusing on at TEDxVancouver.

“Without giving too much away, I’m going to be talking about sexuality — particularly female sexuality — and what economic stories have to tell us about how our perspective on it has arrived to where it is today.”

Rogers and NEWS 1130 are partners with TEDxVancouver. Click here for a full list of speakers.

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