http://nypost.com/2016/02/19/are-we-finally-moving-beyond-the-hook-up-culture/
Chelsea Samelson writes for the New York Post in this article regarding how American’s views on sex have changed in the last decade. The article essentially summarizes a study conducted by OKCupid, where both men and women were asked “Would you consider sleeping with someone on the first date?” and “Would you date someone just for the sex?”
The results of the questions revealed that in response to the first question, there was a 19% decline in participants answering yes. For the second question, there was a 10 percent decline. According to Samelson, this says a lot about the current cultural climate we live in, where hook-ups are more common than ever. Samelson hypothesizes that this could be due to feminist declarations of sexual liberation beginning to lose appeal.
The results of the survey could have also been swayed, however. Tinder, a dating app primarily for people looking for a one-night stand, has exploded in popularity. The app lead others to flee to sites like OKCupid in the hopes that they would find a serious relationship.
I would really like to think that the source is correct. I dislike hook-up culture. I think that based on what I’ve heard from my friends, hook-up culture has lost a lot of its appeal and it’s not nearly as popular as it once was. From my own personal experience, I feel strongly that hook-up culture does lead to a lot of heartbreak. I think that some people can pull it off and be successful with casual sex, but I personally wouldn’t be able to hand the lack of attachment. OverallI think that hook-up culture is losing a little bit of its popularity, and I think that people are beginning to see the value in long-term, healthy relationships.
Entry 2: “Breathless: In Defense of Hookup Culture”
http://www.vogue.com/13332301/breathless-karley-sciortino-hookup-culture-casual-sex/
This article was published in Vogue and written by Karley Sciortino, and it was written to defend hookup culture. The article basically says that a lot of the problems regarding sexuality and relationships, like college rapes and being single, are blamed on hook-up culture. Sciortino says that culture condemns hook-up culture and dating apps too much. Sciortino spoke with Dr. Zhana Vranglova, a sex researcher, who said that there are predatory men whose only goal is to sleep with a lot of women, and dating apps can be dangerous. She did mention that casual sex has a lot to do with sociosexuality, which refers to how oriented a person is to casual sex. If you have a very unrestricted sociosexuality, then you’re more likely to enjoy sex and vice versa. The article also says that people who dislike dating apps or hook-up culture don’t take into account the amount of people who meet their long-term significant others through dating apps. Society overall condemns both genders for having casual sex. If you’re a man, you’re a pig for doing it. If you’re a woman, you’re loose and you have psychological issues.
I really feel as though this article made a lot of sense. I agree strongly with the author, which surprised me considering the title comes out and says it’s a defense of hook-up culture. Just because I don’t take part in the culture doesn’t mean I condemn other people who want to. It just isn’t for me, and it’s not something I have an interest in. I think it makes sense when you consider the entire spectrum of sexuality. It’s okay that some people would be more willing to share that part of themselves. Sexuality isn’t just about who you want to have sex with or how often you think about sex. Sexuality encompasses all aspects of your sexual preferences. I think this is an important factor to consider. Overall, this article really captures my own feelings on hook-up culture. I think that it explains the idea of casual sex in a really excellent way.
Entry 3: “Sex on Campus: She Can Play That Game, Too”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/fashion/sex-on-campus-she-can-play-that-game-too.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
This article was written by Kate Taylor for the New York Times, and it basically states that the college dating landscape has been marred by hooking up, and having casual sex interactions. The article focuses mostly on women and how women who go to college are no longer focused on finding a husband. Taylor argues that women are more focused on being as successful as possible. According to the article, women want to have the chance to have sexual fulfillment without attachments. Taylor interviewed women from every corner of the University of Pennsylvania, from sorority members to performance artists. They were from all parts of the country, and the general consensus amongst them was that they are prioritizing long-term relationships less. Some women argued that there is an economic advantage to staying single for longer and being independent.
Overall, I don’t know if I agree with this article. It strikes me as a little judgmental towards women. I think women overall are becoming more independent and choosier with who they date, but I don’t think this is a phenomenon that’s worthy of analysis like this. Female college students, like all college students, just want to have fun and explore as many possibilities as they can. It’s not an anomaly the way the article makes it seem. Women have been trying to become more independent for decades, and in this day and age, it’s easier than ever before. I think women are just enjoying more of the rights they have to do and behave the way they want. I don’t think it’s a consequence of hook-up culture necessarily. I feel like articles like this scare parents and make them wary of their college-aged children, and overall, this article was inaccurate and presumptuous.
Entry 4: “Hookup culture isn’t the real problem facing singles today. It’s math”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/08/26/hookup-culture-isnt-the-problem-facing-singles-today-its-math/
This article, written by Jon Birger for The Washington Post, details the issues with dating apps and gender balances on those dating apps. Birger argues that dating apps, like Tinder, contribute to straight men’s idea that there is a surplus of single women available. Birger also argues that this perception is correct. He says that the hookup culture is a byproduct of shifting demographics; in 2012, 34% more women than men graduated from college in the US, and the gap is expected to increase to 47% by 2023. This has spilled over into the dating scene, where there are more straight, college educated women than men. According to Birger, this is what has caused hook-up culture. Women are looking for more in their long-term partners, including more money and success. Because of this surplus, women have become more sexualized and treated more like objects.
I thought that this article was interesting. I like how the author tries to find economic or money oriented explanations for what is happening in the hookup culture. I don’t feel incredibly strongly about the author’s argument, however. I think it’s a good attempt at finding a reason, but I don’t think it’s the exact reason. I think that there are several reasons as to why hookup culture to become more pervasive, and this is just one of them. A change or shift in culture cannot be attributed to a single cause. Rather, when a shift like this occurs over the course of several decades, there are several different causes that could have potentially been working all together at some point. Trying to pin down just one cause is presumptuous. Overall, while I appreciated the argument of the author, I thought that it made too many assumptions and tried looking into certain aspects of hookup culture too deeply.
Entry 5: “Study on College Hook-Ups”
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126813
This article, by ABC News for ABC News, talks about the statistics behind hookup culture. According to the article, 91% of women in college say that hookup culture defines their campus. 40% of women say they’ve had a hookup, and 1 in 10 reported having done so more than 6 times. 63% say they still hope to meet a future husband at college and 83% say that marriage is a major goal than life. This study was based upon more than a thousand college women who were interviewed nationwide via telephone.
Overall, this article was probably one of my favorites. I think that in the end, when reviewing sources and looking at different analyses of hookup culture, facts are the best possible source to have access to. Most of the other articles beat around the bush and didn’t discuss the actual statistics or facts. Conducting actual studies and looking at peer reviewed, published papers is the best way possible to understand what is happening with people and culture. I think the study mentioned in this article was conducted pretty well; the methods they used were fair and nondiscriminatory. They were able to get reliable fats and information from their targeted demographic of female college students. This article really made me think about the other four that I read and their validity. The people behind the study discussed in this article were trustworthy and reliable. I think that this article in particular has showed me the importance of reviewing sources and the people behind what you are reading. Most of the authors of the other articles were not people who had past science experience. They were writing a brief article about a topic they had not extensively researched. Scientifically speaking, this was the beat article out of all five that I read, and I think the information from this article was the most reliable.
Entry 6
Overall, each article had their own strengths and weaknesses, and I think each article offered a different perspective on hookup culture. Personally, I felt that the two best ones were the second and fifth articles. I think that the second article approached hookup culture in a non-judgmental way, which is something that I really appreciated. To me, if someone can discuss a topic without imparting their own thoughts or feelings onto the subject, then they are fit to write about topic. The other articles were a little bit rude. They seemed to spend more time talking about how bad it is to have a hookup, or the potential negative side-effects than they spend talking about the actual facts of hookup culture or why it happens. I think that too often, people judge each other for their sexual behavior and impart that judgment onto their writing or public opinions. Additionally, most of the articles (3 of 5) did not survey or sample the demographic they were talking about. To me, this illustrates a lot of judgment on the part of the authors.
In regards to hookup culture itself, it’s not something I actively participate in. It’s not something that I have a lot of experience with, but I know a lot of people who enjoy having casual sex. I feel that this is really dependent upon how someone feels about their sexuality and how revealing they want to be. I think that it’s wrong to judge others for what they choose to do with their lives, especially considering that hookup culture really doesn’t harm anyone. I think that when analyzing hookup culture, or anything culture related in particular, it’s important to consider all of the factors behind it. I found that most of the articles and even some of my friends try to attribute hookup culture to just a single cause or a single source. I think that’s a bad approach to take when looking at what caused the culture. In the end, I think that if the authors of all of the articles looked at each other’s articles, they would be able to take all of the factors behind hookup culture into consideration without being overly judgmental.
Works Cited
Birger, Jon. "Hookup Culture Isn't the Real Problem Facing Singles Today. It's Math." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2015. Web. 25 June 2016.
Samelson, Chelsea. "Are We Finally Moving beyond the Hook-up Culture?" New York Post. New York Post, 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 25 June 2016.
Sciortino, Karley. "Breathless: In Defense of Hookup Culture." Vogue. Vogue, 09 Sept. 2015. Web. 25 June 2016.
Taylor, Kate. "Sex on Campus: She Can Play That Game, Too." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 July 2013. Web. 25 June 2016.
