| Summary: | Analyzing the relationship between sex and money in swinger clubs suggests a number of ambiguities in the contemporary West. In these spaces, paid sex is strictly illegal, but games that simulate prostitution do occur. Women are encouraged to wear clothing consistent with stereotypes of the feminine body as an object of desire. The resulting enhancement of women’s seductive capital is a potential aid in upward social mobility. Indeed, the savoir-faire acquired by the more actively seductive women enhances their self-confidence in the face of male domination, even in other contexts. This competitive edge sometimes helps these women to develop alternate ways of behaving in the street, the workplace, or in their social lives. Conceptualizing libertine spaces in terms of heterotopias contributes to a broader understanding of contemporary Western sexuality.
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