Sexual behaviour that occurs today allows for a lot more promiscuous behaviour than would have been acceptable in the past. Among the most modern trends is short-term casual sex encounter. These casual sex relations are defined as a relationship where partners engage in sexual activities without referring to it as romantic, (Grello, Welsh & Harper, 2006). These are purely physical relationships and can occur between strangers but generally develop out of a friendship, (Grello, Welsh & Harper, 2006). The duration of these relationships can last anywhere from a couple of hours to infinitely longer, (Conley, 2010). In a survey measuring the number of people who engaged in casual sex within a year, 70-85% of participants between the ages of 12 and 21 said that they had, (Grello, Welsh and Harper, 2006). Teenagers and young adults are among the most likely to engage in this type of relationship as it is heavily correlated with engaging in risky behaviour such as drugs or alcohol use, (White, Fleming, Catalano & Bailey, 2009). Those who engage in casual sex have a higher possibility of acquiring a sexually transmitted infection, a risk that most women are not willing to take, (White et al, 2009). In addition, there are other gender differences that influence the likelihood that one will engage in a casual sexual relationship. Research has shown that men are more likely than women to engage in these casual encounters, (Conley, 2010). The motivation behind casual relationships lies on basic evolutionary theory that men would want to engage as many partners as possible to spread their genes while women attempt to find beneficial genes as their potential investment is higher (Li & Kenrick, 2006). These motivations influence the...
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...n casual sex relationships. Men engage in these relationships more frequently then women and it is deemed more socially acceptable. The differences in the gender can be seen in the underlying motivations that influence men and women to engage in such behaviour. This paper provides a basis for the evolutionary theories of casual sex and provides a tentative explanation for the double standard in western cultures where it is socially unacceptable for women to be as promiscuous as men. Other studies can be done to look at the effects of age on casual sexual relationships as well as gender differences to isolate causes for this sex difference. In the future, a study that incorporates the he effects of age, alcohol consumption and gender differences would be effective in identifying patterns of casual sex in teenagers, a topic that requires more research.
The process of hooking up does not lend itself well to a city setting where people cannot walk to their destinations. Also, females begin to stress the importance of building connections with their male partners before any sexual interactions occur. This is due to the lack of network connections outside of a college setting. It is harder to determine a person’s background and personality when a one does not live in such a small community anymore. The only similarity between undergraduates and alumni is that the double standard between men and women still exist. The social norm for men is to have had multiple sexual partners; whereas, women are expected to have had a small number of sexual partners. In Bogel’s study, males mentioned that they would never be interested in a female that was as sexually active as a male (Bogel 2008). Beth Montemurro explains, “American media have presented conflicting images of girls and women, images that paint them as either innocent or promiscuous, resulting ‘schizophrenic [ideas] about women’s sexuality” (2006:152). With this confusing representation of women’s sexuality, women do not truly understand what they should consider deviant behaviors. Women only know they have been deviant when a male labels them as being too promiscuous, while they are being just as sexually
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
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
People in society today can find potential sex partners in a heartbeat. In Nancy Jo Sales’ article “Tinder and the Dawn of the ‘Dating Apocalypse,’” she talks about how powerful the Internet and dating applications can be in helping one find potential partners. Jo Sales argues that dating applications and the Internet are not generally used for dating, but they are used for finding instant sex partners that lead to one-night stands. Short-term relationships are increasing due to the Internet and applications and will continue to increase in the future. Scholars have argued that sexual activity has tremendously increased, moving from traditional dating to a new style of dating called hookups. Also, research indicates numerous examples
The two books examined in this paper, Martin Daly and Margo Wilson's Homicide and David M. Buss's The Evolution of Desire, suggest that human mating strategies have an evolutionary basis. The book written by Martin Daly and Margo Wilson supplies the theoretical groundwork and the book written by David M. Buss gives validity and empirical support for the theory. The two books make a strong scientific argument for evolutionary adaptations as the most crucial element to understanding human sexuality and desire. According to this argument, the key to understanding human sexuality lies in the evolutionary origin of our species.
In 1995 a study was conducted to see how many teenagers were sexually active or had been involved sexually in any way. The study revealed that, by the age of sixteen, 50% of teenagers in the U.S have had been involved in sexual intercourse (Oberman, 1994). There was another study that was conducted statewide surveying young girls from 8th grade to 12th grade. The survey asked about what age was the young girls when they first had sex and the age of their sexual partners. The survey excluded intercourse that was by force. Girls who were between the ages thirteen to eighteen did not have a partner that was much older than them. However younger girls between the ages of eleven to twelve said that their partners were five or more years older (Leitenberg, 2000).
Since the dawn of man, sex has played a crucial role in society. Before they learned to read or write humans were engaging in sex and without it none of us would be here. In today’s society, sex has grown to become much more complicated. If I were to ask a group of people on the street what they believed sex was? I bet they would have a hard time answering. The question puzzling society today is how do we define sex? Can we define sex? These are questions raised in Tracy Steele’s article “Doing it: The Social Construction of S-E-X”. This article is about the current questions and issues that have been raised about sex within today’s society. In this paper I will summarize the key points of the article, while sharing my own thoughts and opinions of Steele’s findings.
“So no one told you life was gonna be this way,” and when it comes to television, nothing is closer to the truth. Through the media, we are constantly confronted with images of what society views as acceptable and right, whether it's about work, family, or relationships. NBC’s hit sitcom Friends serves as an example of such a medium and often presents the belief that casual sex and affairs have no adverse consequences. Yet, simultaneously, in a recent episode it has challenged its own stance. This confusion about the message can be detrimental to the audience of teens and young adults and can create false perceptions about sex.
The Broke Female The 60’s was certainly a time of women’s curiosity and venture outside of the norm “homemaker” role. Women not only found pleasure in the world, but in themselves as a whole and as a woman. Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown played an important role here as her intent was to guide women - or more specifically the single woman - in her pursuit of independence and pleasure. Sex and the Single Girl most definitely lead the readers on to believe that it was to empower women; even to break away from the norm and advocate the unattached female. My response will focus on the contradictory nature the guidebook, and other literature like Cosmopolitan, create when advising a woman to do and be something on the one hand while having an underlying message on the other.
Not surprisingly the lack of useful sexual information is one of the reasons of the spreading sex related diseases. According to The American Social Health Association (1998) each year there are near ten million of new cases of sexually transmitted diseases among the teenage...
From a young age , many individuals worldwide are socialized according to their gender and what is appropriate for males and females. Socializing according to ones gender starts from the moment you are born when the nurses give you either a blue or pink blanket to wrap the child in. This allows society to known whether the child is a male or female. The double standard for gender occurs within many areas of development for instance the clothes one wears, the toys that are placed with, the jobs and careers one chooses in their later life. Attachment given by a child's parent reinforces an individual to be socialized and children can also contribute how their parents treat and see them , these are social constructs within parenting (Ambert,2012). All of these things can be gender separated and still are in today's society. Another area where males and females are socialized differently is in the area of sexuality and what is acceptable for males is not always for the female gender. Gender specific norms govern the appropriate amount of partners , when it is acceptable to engage in sexual activity and what motivates ones behavior (Kreager &Staff, 2009). This shows society individuals are socialized according to their gender because males are socialized into behaving a different way than girls but it still be accepted as a norm. Women are taught that it is okay to have sexual relationships but they need a reason, example being in a committed relationship, where as men just need a place. This is a common perception based on ones gender , formed from a western conservative view point ( Fugere et.al, 2008). Gender socialization is a process where boys are seen to be given wings and girls are to be given roots (Myers, Spencer, Jordan...
Evolutionary framework for human mating is based on three elements. First, strategies for mating developed to solve specific problems in human evolutionary history. Second, people behave differently depending on the type of mating involved. There are two types of mating, short term and long term mating. Short term mating is defined as casual sex (i.e. one-night stands and brief affairs). Long term mating is seen as a committed relationship (i.e. dating, going steady, and marriage). Third, males and females developed different strategies due to the difference in problems they have had over the course of human evolution (Buss 241). This paper will examine those strategies specific to males.
Sexuality is a fundamental part of our self-discovery, involving much more than just being genetically or anatomically male and female and it is not defined solely by one 's sexual acts (Ministry of Education 1989, p.79 cited in Gourlay, P 1995). The notion that sexuality is fixed and innate disregards the social aspects that impact ones’ sexualities. Gagnon and Simon (1973) further commented that sexuality is a feature of social
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...
The United States has experienced constant heterosexual change in acceptable social behaviors that evoke sexual relations. These changes expanding from the past half-century, which includes drastic shifts in premarital attitudes and behaviors. Shift changes in heterosexual courtship are seen from 1950’s and early 1960’s, where the standard for sexual interactions was abstinence, and intercourse was only acceptable in marriage (Perlman & Sprecher, in press), to the 1970’s. Whereas, in the 1970’s there’s a witnessed shift to a more lenient social standard, ”permissiveness with affection,” where engaging in sexual behavior was acceptable as long as the partners were fully committed to each other (Perlman & Sprecher, in press; Sprecher 1989). Sexual standards within the 21st century first decade are p...