College Sex: The Consequences of a Drunken Night’s Endeavors We have all heard, read, or been involved with this phenomenon called college sex. It has become an aspect of the whole “college experience” in North American colleges. In one study conducted by Amanda Hollman and Alan Sillars ,with students from a public university from northwestern United States, about “70–80% of college students in some samples reported sexual hookups”. We have now established that casual sex among college students is quiet frequent, but what exactly is college sex? College sex is usually referred to as a “hook-up”. “Hooking up is a phrase used to describe intimate interactions outside of dating or exclusive relationships” (Holman and Sillars); that is two consenting members of the opposite gender engaging in sexual activities without being in a romantic relationship, usually for single time without facing any consequences to deal afterwards, concerning both the parties involved. There are various elements leading up to “hook-up” which includes a combination of “relational (e.g., communication), and individual behaviors (e.g., alcohol and/or drug consumption); thoughts (e.g., expectations, interpretations); feelings (physical and emotional); and a host of contextual or situational factors (e.g., partner characteristics, location)” (Elizabeth L and Hayes). Alas, among all those factors, the predominant one is the presence of alcohol. How many times have the participants in a casual sexual relationship in college describe to have met their partner in a bar or a party thrown in their college? Well it’s almost all the time that a scenario like this is described. ... ... middle of paper ... ...icated to the point of making decisions that will later on be regretted by either one of the individuals or both. Works Cited Grello, Catherine M., Deborah P. Welsh, and Melinda S. Harper. "No strings attached: The nature of casual sex in college students." Journal of sex research43.3 (2006): 255-267. Paul, Elizabeth L., and Kristen A. Hayes. "The casualties ofcasual'sex: A qualitative exploration of the phenomenology of college students' hookups."Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 19.5 (2002): 639-661. Hingson, Ralph, et al. "Early age of first drunkenness as a factor in college students’ unplanned and unprotected sex attributable to drinking." Pediatrics111.1 (2003): 34-41. Holman, Amanda, and Alan Sillars. "Talk about “hooking up”: The influence of college student social networks on nonrelationship sex." Health communication27.2 (2012): 205-216.
Donna Freitas “Time to Stop Hooking Up. (You Know You Want to.)” First appeared as an editorial in the Washington Post in 2013. In this essay Freitas aims to convince her readers that hooking up may seem easy and less stress than a real relationship, but in reality they become unhappy, confused, and unfulfilled in their sex life. “Hookups are all about throwing off the bonds of relationships and dating for carefree sex” personal experience, compare and contrast are a few techniques Freitas skillfully uses to strong convincing essay.
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
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
“80 percent of teen-agers have tried alcohol, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in the top three causes of death among teens: accidents, homicide and suicide” (Underage, CNN.com pg 3). Students may use drinking as a form of socializing, but is it really as good as it seems? The tradition of drinking has developed into a kind of “culture” fixed in every level of the college student environment. Customs handed down through generations of college drinkers reinforce students' expectation that alcohol is a necessary ingredient for social success. These perceptions of drinking are the going to ruin the lives of the students because it will lead to the development alcoholism. College students who drink a lot, while in a college environment, will damage themselves mentally, physically, and socially later in life, because alcohol adversely affects the brain, the liver, and the drinkers behavior.
Intercourse is a sensitive and confrontational decision; most people don’t like to discuss that part of their life. With a decision like this, it can cause many problems for the college and its students. The decision to take this action can cause a financial burden, as the college will be viewed, and take away responsibility from the students. The financial point of view in this situation is beneficial for the college.
College student drunkenness is far from new and neither are college and university efforts to control it. What is new, however, is the potential to make real progress on this age-old problem based on scientific research results. New research-based information about the consequences of high-risk college drinking and how to reduce it can empower colleges and universities, communities, and other interested organizations to take effective action. Hazardous drinking among college students is a widespread problem that occurs on campuses of all sizes and geographic locations. A recent survey of college students conducted by the Harvard University School of Public Health reported that 44 percent of respondents had drunk more than five drinks (four for women) consecutively in the previous two weeks. About 23 percent had had three or more such episodes during that time. The causes of this problem are the fact that students are living by themselves no longer with parents or guardians; they earn their own money; students need to be a part of a group, be accepted; and they have the wrong idea that to feel drunk is “cool.”
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
This is full of family, peers, church, health, and other aspects that are important to the individual. Friends are more likely to influence one 's decisions in college more than anyone else. This is because a student 's life is not with their family all the time like previous years. If their peers are having more sex, then they will do the same. Now with church, students are the opposite. According to a study done by LifeWay Research, 70% of 18-22 year olds stop attending their church (Lifeway). With this, they are trying to find their own morals they want to live with. They are tired of being told what to do. The church constantly says sex before marriage is a sin and thus they go against this principle once they distance themselves. Lastly, college students are always getting sick because of being around so many other students. They are constantly worrying about their health, but when it comes to their sex health, they shy away. They are even afraid to ask their partners about their sex health and history of STD 's. Yes, it is embarrassing for the moment, but overall health is important. According to a study done by Dr. Crosby, 22.5% of the college students he surveyed actually went to go have STD tests done. This shows how students are not protecting their health. More sex and especially more unprotected sex is leading college students to have a higher rate of
We knocked on the door of the off-campus apartment, as it opened we were confronted with the heavy stench of alcohol. A young girl was passed out on the living room floor, a pile of empty beer cans filled the kitchen sink, and the deafening music rattled the window panes. A group of girls managed to stumble past us. They waved goodbye to the host, who was handing drinks to me and my sister. It was not my first time drinking. In fact, everyone there was quite experienced – after all, it’s college. Half of the guests were completely drunk, and I had no problem with it. That is, until later that night when my sister locked herself in a room with a guy she had met only a week before. This prompted me to seriously consider the effects of alcohol. Would my sister have been able to see the danger of the situation had she been sober? Would the absence of alcohol have prevented the events of that night from occurring? These questions, along with the vivid memory of that night, fueled my examination of the complex social problem of underage drinking.
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).
To begin with, high school and college students on average are subjected to sexual acts at least once a day whether on television, in a movie, at school, or with their significant other. For the most part, adding alcoholic drinks to the equal causes other doors of controversies to emerge. Exclusively, teenagers who drink are seven times likelier to engage in sex and twice more likely to have sex with four or more partners than those who do not (Balkin 40). Coupled with the engagement of sex, such behaviors like this can lead to unprotected sex, STDs, increased risk of AIDS and pregnancy. These ‘doors’ are surely unwanted and will remain open not only because communities fail to strictly enforce the MLDA laws, but also because these underage drinkers are not being held responsible for their actions. If the MLDA were lowered, there...
Sexual assaults on college campuses has become a major phenomenon and increases on a daily throughout the United States. 1 out of 4 women on college campuses have been reported as victims in sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults in a study by Koss, Gidyez, and Wisniewski. (Lee, Spring 2003) In majority reports of sexual assaults the victims knew their perpetrator personally and the sexual assault took place while on a date with the perpetrator. (Lee, Spring 2003) Their study also exposed that 1 in 12 college men were involved in sexual assaults but felt that their actions were not illegal. Alcohol and drug use are major components in which sexual assaults are created by. Alcohol and drug us amplified rapidly at the beginning of college
Crawford, E., O’Dougherty, W., & Birchmeier, Z. (2008). Drug-facilitated sexual assault: College women’s risk perception and behavioral choices. Journal of American College Health, 57(3). 261.
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.
As a result of underage drinking, 5,000 adolescents under the age of 21 die annually due to intoxication (taking motor vehicle crashes, homicides, suicides, and other injuries while intoxicated into consideration) (paragraph 2). Later in life, underage drinkers are more likely to develop alcoholism, poor performance in school, and risky sexual behavior (paragraph 43). Although this research is not opposed to my argument, there is an importance to acknowledging it as proof of dangerous, underage drinking occurring significantly regardless of whether it is illegal. More importantly, this research stems from adolescents drinking without the supervision of adults and in uncontrolled quantities. Since adolescents must wait a long period of time to drink legally, I believe they fear they must take advantage of drinking opportunities by excess drinking and risk of safety due to their restriction to alcohol. Based on this mindset, I believe exposure to alcohol at a younger age in controlled environments would not only decrease underage drinking in large quantities, but injury and death related to intoxication, as