Sexual Fields

Abstract

In recent years, sociologists of sexuality have begun to conceive of sexual social life as a particular kind of social life in its own right. Drawing from Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, these scholars define sexual social life as comprised of multiple sexual fields, each with their own particular sociodemographic composition and internally constituted status order. In this work, the central insight highlights how sexual fields shape desire and desirability in a manner irreducible to individual desires alone. In the present chapter, I outline the sexual fields approach, beginning with a discussion of its roots in field theory and an enumeration of its core conceptual elements. I then outline three ways in which the sexual field may shape desire and desirability, including: (1) the popularity tournament; (2) socialization processes; and finally (3) aggregation and intensification processes. Finally, I review some of the most important sexual fields scholarship and conclude with a discussion of the future of sexual fields research.