Senior English major
The prevalence of “hookup culture” has branded our generation as either sexually repressed or sexually liberated, depending on who’s speaking. Some make it an issue over whether women are allowed to express their sexuality, while others debate whether it’s a healthy trend for young people as a whole. Still others argue over whether the hookup culture is an existing phenomenon or just a made-up buzzword.
An American Sociological Association study described the hookup culture narrative as a potential myth. A professor of sociology at the University of Portland found “no evidence of substantial changes in sexual behavior that would support the proposition that there is a new or pervasive ‘hookup culture’ among contemporary college students.”
But the common idea of hookup culture is improperly defined. According to leading studies on the issue, it seems to refer to the simple act of having casual sex. Yet according to the American Psychological Association, people began hooking up in the 1920s. So why is this supposedly modern “phenomenon” such a hot-button issue today?
One of the only feasible reasons I can see for this surge in popularity of the hookup culture issue is the idea that young people are so much more informed about disease and the repercussions of casual sex today than they were in, say, the ’70s. And this, in some people’s minds, makes casual sex more deplorable than in the past. Yet the justification often touted is that because women are trying to be “more like men” — in other words, have careers — they must not want to have relationships.
It’s upsetting that people have the audacity to say that women with ambition and drive can’t have relationships. In a July New York Times article, “Sex on Campus: She Can Play That Game, Too,” reporter Kate Taylor explored the different types of sexual relationships at the University of Pennsylvania, writing that “In [one girl’s] view, her classmates tried very hard to separate sex from emotion, because they believed that getting too attached to someone would interfere with their work. They saw a woman’s marrying young as either proof of a lack of ambition or a tragic mistake that would stunt her career.”
I’m not going to college for my MRS degree, but why would wanting to have a career and working hard to get there detract from my ability to be in a functional, happy relationship? It’s an excuse for people to justify those who are avoiding vulnerability using casual sex.
I’m not even a big proponent of college relationships, but the thought that women would actively be working against having one, just for the sake of furthering their career because they don’t have time or some other ridiculous excuse, is abhorrent.
According to authors of the article “Sexual hook-up culture” on the American Psychological Association’s website: “By definition, sexual hookups provide the allure of sex without strings attached. Despite their increasing social acceptability, however, developing research suggests that sexual hookups may leave more strings attached than many participants might first assume.”
This is something important to consider. Hookup culture has become socially normal — at least according to the media — and that can be detrimental to those having casual sex.
I’m not trying to preach some ideal of going out and getting into meaningful, lasting relationships. Nor am I saying to go out and strive for simple, casual sex because you don’t think you have enough time to be an independent woman and have a boyfriend (or girlfriend). I’m saying that everyone needs to cater to their individual needs at a certain time in their lives rather than subscribing to some norm forced upon us by older generations.
Maria Romas is a senior English major. She can be reached at mromasdbk@gmail.com.
