Men in the U.S. are turning away from the altar because they have a greater access to sex, one author concludes.

In his book, Cheap Sex: The Transformation of Men, Marriage, and Monogamy, sociologist Mark Regnerus argues that “cheap sex” is the reason for the declining rate of men who get married.

According to the New York Post, the share of Americans ages 25-34 who are married dropped 13 percentage points from 2000 to 2014. The term is rooted in economics and refers to sex that has very little cost in terms of time and emotional investment. This gives it very little value.

Regents arrived at his conclusions in part thanks to the work of British social theorist Anthony Giddens. Giddens argued that the birth control pill isolated sex from marriage and children. Online pornography as well as dating sites also make sex relatively easy and accessible for men.

As a result, “two overlapping (but distinctive) markets, one for sex and one for marriage, with a rather large territory in between comprised of significant relationships of varying commitment and duration,” Regnerus writes.

He further asserts that previously, women generally made men wait until marriage to engage in sexual activity.

“To get a wife (and, therefore, sex), men had to be clean and presentable and have a good job,” the NY Post wrote. “This, Regnerus reasons, gave men all the motivation they needed to become respectable members of society. Now with porn on demand and greater reproductive freedom, sex is a commodity available at any time. This has left men with little motivation for marriage …”

Well.

Do you think men are turning away from marriage because they’re able to have their sexual needs met without it? Sound off in the comments.