Sex on university campus Look at these three statements and ask yourself which might be correct: Students on US campuses today are more sexually active than those of previous generations. They have more sexual partners than their counterparts before them. “Hook-up culture” pervades campuses, with adventurous students doing their own thing. Did you say “all correct.” If yes, surprise, surprise. Only one of the three statements is correct. Students are not as sexually active as people think they are, and they are not having more partners than students from earlier periods. In fact, there might just be more sexually inactive people on campuses these days. However, “hook-up culture” prevails on campuses, as part of bold experimentation by a segment of students. But what is “hooking up,” exactly? Well, it is a sort …show more content…
England’s Online College Social Life Survey found that in the US, by senior year, 40 percent students were still virgins or had sexual intercourse with only one person. Thirty percent students had no experience of hook-ups. However, 20 percent of women and 25 percent of women reported having ten or more hook-up partners. Low achievers and hook-ups The NYT article, like the article in The Guardian, says that unmotivated and troubled students were more likely to hook up than students with academic targets and career ambition. Students from less privileged backgrounds shared an unease about the hook-up culture. In a study with Laura Hamilton, who was a professor at the University of California, Dr. Armstrong found that women students from wealthier families were more likely to hook up than those from less wealthy classmates and more wary of romantic relationships. Hook-up culture is enforced by students who have the most “power” on the campus, the same class of people who form the elite of American society. Their bold and fashionable lifestyle makes it appear as if hookup culture defines campus ethos, an impression popularized by the media. Dating isn’t
Conor Kelly argues in her article, “Sexism in Practice: Feminist Ethics Evaluating the Hookup Culture” that the hookup culture is sexist and disempowers women. Although, he mentions it is difficult to define “hooking up” but majority of the students will agree that it involves “some level of sexual activity without the constraints and expectations of a relationship” (Kelly 65). In other words, when two people have casual sex with no strings attached, when they both finish they both can go on with their lives without
In a society where a collegiate degree is almost necessary to make a successful living, the idea that a student cares less about the education and more about the “college experience” can seem baffling. In My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student, Rebekah Nathan, the author’s pseudonym, tackles the idea that academics are less impactful on a student then the culture of college life. Nathan, a 50-year-old cultural anthropologist and university professor, went undercover as a college freshman for a research project. From her research, she hoped to better understand the undergraduate experience by fully immersing herself in college life. To do this, she anonymously applied to “AnyU,” a fake acronym for a real university,
In the essay by Vanderkam, she says that hook ups “have all but replaced dating at most colleges” (Vanderkam 345). Some support that she uses when proving this was that she said “only half of the women .. had been on six or more dates...a third had been on no more than two” (Vanderkam 345). This shows that this is not just some fad that some kids at colleges are trying to start but rather it is something that is already implemented and has affected most college students. In the short story, Jackson was explaining how all of the citizens were coming together for the lottery when she said “The other boys soon followed his example” after she had saw one boy who had picked up some stones on the way to the lottery. Later in the day after the selection process of the lottery had been completed a person from the crowd yelled “Come on, come on, everyone” (Jackson 1243). Both of these quotes show how quickly the citizens are to listen to and follow the actions of other people. These qualities have even been taught to the children. These two texts show how people are quick to follow the lead of another and that stems down to the younger generation which means that the trait of following will only continue to grow. Also in the essay, Vanderkam said that hook ups have “pervade[d] college culture” (345). This shows
As stated in the book, “college students have much to teach about sex” (8). That is because the values, ideologies, and worldviews of the students are representative of greater American culture. Although flawed, hookup culture on American campuses hold the possibility of accepting a culture of inclusivity, care, pleasure, and freedom while also rejecting predatory behavior, racism, classism, and abuse. Dismissing hookup culture all together is blind to the reality that young adults are going to have sex, and since sex is non-negotiable, one’s aim should be to foster open dialogue and critical thought onto a future where everyone enjoys the ability to freely explore sexuality, sex, and gender on their own
One student even said she would not stay friends with Marcus because people might start to think that she is gay, too. Situations like these stem from the way boys think they have to act at such a young age. They are brought up thinking they have to be strong, rowdy, and play manly sports. As they get older this sticks with them, so when a male tries to break outside of it, they get referred to as gay and homosexual. This continues all their life and it effects many situations, like the way men have hook-ups. In the chapter Orgasm in College Hookups and Relationships the authors discuss how 74 percent of their respondents had at least one hookup by their senior year of college. The data also showed that men are almost always at least twenty percent more likely to orgasm than women. However, this is not true when a girl and guy are in a relationship. I think reasons for this could come from how males learn at a young age how masculinity and sexual orientation correlate. This leads to men thinking that the more females they have sex with, the more masculine they are. Also, the women do not orgasm because it is just about the guy having one, then being
When you are a senior in high school your main focus is finishing your college applications and if your a girl of course prom, you don't realize you are a year away from entering college and the world of "rape culture". It is said that rape culture exists because we don't believe it does. Rape culture is defined as "an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. " We already have an idea that in colleges where sports are glorified that some professors will allow athletes to get away with numerous things from cheating to missing numerous classes, but fraternity events can be high risk for rape. First I will summarize "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous Places for Women?" written by A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Space.
They base their findings on the National Health and Social Life Survey, which found that those born after 1942 were “more sexually active at younger ages” than those born from 1933-42, and the trend toward greater sexual activity among young people “appears to halt or reverse” among those born from 1963-72. In addition to these facts, an English survey of more than 14,000 students from 19 universities and colleges about their hookup, dating, and relationship experiences revealed that 72% of students experience a hookup at least once by their senior year in college, but hooking up hasn’t replaced committed relationships and is not a new concept to young adults. The evidence is convincing and shows that students often participate in both at different times during college (69% of heterosexual students participated in a relationship lasting at least 6 months by senior year as well.) Based on this, the amount of hookups and committed relationship by college students seems to even out over
Sander, Libby. "The Chronicle of Higher Education: Students Try to Break Taboo Around Social Class on Campus." BATTEN CONNECTION. ( ): n. page. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. .
Donna Freitas in The End of Sex gives her thoughts on how hookup culture is affecting specifically college students. Her judgment comes out of a space where she wants, “to empower them (participants in hookups) to seek the kinds of relationships they want…” (16). Though her perspective comes from a good place, her argument has points that are shaming, archaic, dismissive, and one sided. Her argument seems to be that of a pro-woman stance at times, neglecting one of the key feminism ideals of choice. Freitas uses patriarchal arguments to back up her ideas, tarnishing her perspectives that come off as woman empowering. The book, The End of Sex, neglects to be conscious of female independence
According to the article “Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse,’” “People used to meet their partners through proximity, through family and friends, but now Internet meeting is surpassing every other form” (Sales). Jo Sales’ point is that the Internet is overtaking other ways of meeting a partner. In the past, the way of finding one’s potential partner was through family members, but now society is moving in the direction of using the Internet as a way to find their partners. Students in college provided a great amount of information regarding hookup culture, which supported Jo Sales arguments. According to Martin Monto and Anna Carey, “Current research and the popular media have claimed that the hookup culture is a widespread phenomenon that has replaced traditional dating...” (Monto and Carey 606). In making this comment, traditional relationships that were once said to be loving and caring have moved to sexual activity called hookups. Research shows how hookup culture has overtaken the roots of traditional dating and will continue to expand in the future. The study shows how college students were involved in one-night stands frequently knowing that they do not want to build a long lasting relationship. Traditional dating in the past formed stable relationships, and the idea of hookup culture was not even a topic of discussion. Questions
Hooking up on a college campus has its positives and negatives. First off men benefit more from hooking up than women do. Women benefit more from traditional dating. The article “To Hook Up or Date: Which Gender Benefits?” by Carolyn Bradshaw, Arnold S. Kahn, and Bryan K. Saville explains how men benefit from hooking up and how women benefit from traditional dating. It explains the consequences of hooking up and the consequences of traditional dating. Hooking up has become so popular on college campuses that it has become the norm. In the article it explained how both genders have a similar ideas to hooking up as well as similar ideas to traditional dating. Both genders said hooking up is more popular than traditional dating because there is no commitment to continue the relationship. You meet a stranger at a party and if there is alcohol involved it makes the “hooking up” an easier process. You then start flirting with the stranger and engage in sexual behavior whether it is kissing or having sex. Traditional dating does have its benefits as well because you have the feeling of being liked/loved and also your partner is a friend to share happy moments with. The article did mentioned that both genders wanted a traditional date if you knew the other person had the same feelings for you.
In "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture" Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade analyze the social perspective of the gendered relations in male fraternities that add to the high rate of violence against women on many college campuses. They list a host of factors that distinguish higher-risk from lower-risk atmospheres discussing the rates of rape in colleges and state how "1 out of 4 college women say they were raped or experienced an attempted rape" (217). Additionally, "1 out of 12 college men say they forced a woman to have sexual intercourse against her will" (Boswell, Spade 217). In other words Boswell and Spade indicated that the rates were high when it came down to women getting raped in colleges by men who also attended those colleges. In addition, Boswell and Spade specify in how most people are aware of rape but know very little about rape culture (Boswell, Spade 217).
The government likes to pretend that if high school students get taught the “abstinence-only” method they would never think of taking part in sexual activities. Statistically this is incorrect. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “56 percent of high school students are virgins”(Martin). For the 56 percent abstinence only is doing them well, but there are still 44 percent of high school students engaging in sex without knowing the precau...
Paul, E. L., & Hayes, K. A. (2002). The casualties of “casual” sex: A qualitative exploration of the phenomenology of college students’ hookups. Journal of personal and Social Relationships, 19, 639-661.
In doing so, Freitas distinguish between the spiritual colleges and the Evangelical colleges in their move towards sex, sexuality, spirituality and religion. Reitas found that spiritual colleges are governed by a "hook-up" sensation . It’s been evolved into our culture. Usually consisting of parties, alcohol and largely unrestricted sex. Sexual experience is favored over virginity, but students, especially women, walk a fine line between having too little sexual experience, or too much.