My partner and I have well-defined boundaries to our relationship; they are already liberal, and we are now considering permitting liaisons with others. The benefits for my partner are enormous, as she is an attractive young woman interested in men and women alike.
I, on the other hand, am an awkward wallflower of unremarkable appearance, who has trouble attracting women. Or at least I was until I met my partner. In the years we've been together, I've received a startling amount of unsolicited attention from women who would not have looked at me twice when I was single.
Can economics explain why I'm unappealing as a singleton, but hot property when with a stunning girlfriend? More importantly, will I still be hot property in a non-monogamous setup? As a consumer I seem to be able to have my cake and eat it, but as a commodity, can I both be had and eaten?
Confused, Paradise
我和女友把雙方的關系劃分得清清楚楚，給彼此留下自由的空間，現在我們還考慮允許各自與他人交往。這對我的女友十分有利，因為她是位頗具吸引力的年輕女子，對男人和女人都有興趣。而我卻貌不驚人，笨手笨腳，總是站在角落，很難吸引女性。至少在遇到女友之前是這樣的。我們在一起的這些年里，女人們主動注意我的次數之多令人吃驚。可是在我孤身一人的時候，她們是不會看我第二眼的。經濟學能夠解釋為什么我孤身一人時毫無吸引力，與漂亮女友在一起就惹人注目嗎？更重要的是，在多邊關系中，我還會有這么高的人氣嗎？作為一名消費者，我似乎能夠魚與熊掌兼得，可作為一種商品，我能夠既是魚又是熊掌嗎？