Social structure and the structure of desire

Bourdieu’s influence on the contemporary sociology of sex

Abstract

In this paper, I address the impact of Pierre Bourdieu in the contemporary sociology of sex. I start from the problem that most sociological work on social structure deals with the question of sexual practice or sexual identity, and these interpretative frameworks usually ignore the question of sexual desire. I present two concepts, drawing on Bourdieu, which I see as potentially suitable for capturing the interrelations between social structure and the structure of desire. First, I outline existing trends in sociology and at the boundaries of sociology to investigate the relationship between sexuality and social structure. I then outline the concepts of erotic habitus and erotic capital, and finally consider the usefulness of these concepts.