Dr. Jameca CooperForensic Psychology Consultant, Emergence Psychological Services · Board Certified Counseling Psychologist and Forensic Psychology Consultant

Kevin Samuels and Sexual Marketplace Value

16 Nov 2021 · 3 min

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3:19

In this solo commentary, Dr. Jameca Cooper examines Kevin Samuels' concept of "sexual marketplace value," which rates women on a 1‑10 scale based primarily on physical attributes such as height, weight, dress size, and overall appearance. She outlines Samuels' methodology—particularly the avoidance of the number 7—and notes that his ratings often diverge from the women's self‑assessments. Cooper then presents the main criticisms of this framework: it reflects a Western, objectifying view of women, especially targeting African‑American women over the age of 25‑30, and reduces dating to a narrow focus on looks. While acknowledging that appearance does influence dating outcomes—potentially more so for African‑American women—she argues that a holistic view of dating should also consider compatibility, chemistry, shared values, and beliefs. The video concludes with a call for viewers to subscribe and a promise of future content on Kevin Samuels.

Chapters

Hi, I'm Dr. Jameca Cooper. Today I'm talking about everyone's favorite image consultant, Kevin Samuels. So everyone hates him, but why? Today I want to talk about his whole concept of the sexual marketplace value. So if you've ever watched any of his YouTube shows, you'll see that one of the concepts that he has is about, for women, what is your sexual marketplace value? In other words, what is your value on the dating marketplace? And it includes things like your height, your weight, your dress size, your physical appearance. And he usually asks women to rate themselves on a scale from 1 to 10, and you cannot choose 7 because that's the go-to number. So usually whenever he chooses, um, what the woman's actual number is, sometimes he agrees with the woman's choice, sometimes he doesn't.— but usually it's solely about the physical appearance. So now what the critics of Kevin Samuels say is that this is a very Western view of, of dating, of appearance for women, and it's really objectifying women if you get to the bottom of it. Um, but one of the things that he says is that your sexual marketplace value is a major component in if you will be selected on the dating market. And I think when he says this, he's specifically referring to African-American women, probably over the of 25 or over the age of 30. And women have a problem with that because they feel like it is a very Western and a rigid and a narrow view of what women should be and who they should be, because it really looks too much about appearance. But I want to add one thing. If you're a single woman and you're out on the dating market, one of the things you'll learn fast is that your appearance really is a factor in the dating market. It really does determine if you're rated higher or lower on the dating market. And if you're African-American, it could mean even more than maybe what it does in other groups. So appearance is an issue wherever you are. It's especially an issue on the dating market. Now, should we expand our view on what that means? Because at the end of the day, when you're meeting someone and you're dating, it's not just about appearance, it's really about compatibility and chemistry. And if your values and beliefs mix with theirs, right? So I think it minimizes and belittles the whole process of dating and courting all the way down to appearance, and it shouldn't be. But my question for you is, why is this such an issue for women? Why do we have such an issue with appearance being a huge factor in your dating selection? Because at the end of the day, no matter who you are as a woman and what you have— and if you're an African-American woman, this is likely true— that no matter what degrees you have, your titles, your income, everything at the end of the day is going to include your appearance. So think about that. Make sure you subscribe to this channel. Don't be afraid to comment. I'll make sure to do other videos regarding Kevin Samuels and his image consulting. I'm Dr. Jameca Cooper.