Lesson Two
The Hook-up Culture
Defining the Hook-up Culture
In recent years, what researchers call the “hook-up culture” has emerged as the new norm in dating practices among young adults. As we talked about in our last lesson, dating previously consisted of continual courtship practices, such as going on dates and forming strong emotional relationships, but now dating has changed to a “less committed approach to relationships and sex” (3).
According to Donna Freitas, author of the book, The End of Sex, “‘Hooking up’ has become a mainstay of college life. Sexualized relationships is part of the air Millennials breath. Permeating all facets of social life and discourse, casual sex has become the norm. But with liberation comes a cost; a new generation left wondering if sex is really anything more than a short-lived commodity” (7).
Watch this video to understand more fully what the hook-up culture is and how it has influenced college students today.
Concerns About the Hook-up Culture
Protection is rarely used during hook-ups.
After interviewing a variety of college-age women on their hookup experiences, Meg Lovejoy noticed a significant pattern between hookup partners. Not one of her interviewees reported consistently using protection during a hook-up. In fact, partners were not expected to share anything about their sexual health histories. Lovejoy hypothesizes that the lack of expectation, commitment, and communication in hooking up actually promotes risky sexual behavior which affects future hook-up partners for both parties (4).
Hooking up leads to low-self efficacy in future romantic relationships.
Self-efficacy is defined as how confident someone is in their own ability to accomplish their goals (1). Hooking up can play a major role in the perspective young adults have on their own self-efficacy. When young adults have bad experiences with hooking up, when they get hurt or disappointed by a hook-up partner, feel less confident in their ability to form romantic relationships which in turn can affect how future romantic relationships are formed (6).
One partner will often develop unrequited feelings for the other.
In a hook-up partnership, one partner will tend to develop feelings for the other while the other doesn’t feel the same. Hooking up avoids the notion to form emotionally and physically intimate relationships, and encourages the idea that commitment is not needed. Because hooking up is by definition non-committal, it can be frustrating and disappointing when feelings are developed but the relationship can’t or won’t go any farther (4).
Women are shamed while men are applauded.
There is a major gender difference when it comes to the hook-up culture. When women take part in hookups, they are often perceived in a negative light from their peers and community. Names such as “slut” or “whore” are used to describe these women. (2). Men on the other hand are applauded and looked up to by their peers. The more partners they hook up with the more they are socially rewarded and applauded (5).
Watch this video to understand how college students feel about the hook-up culture.
Conclusion
The hook-up culture is, as mentioned before, the norm in dating practices today. Is this norm good for society? Have the changes in history that have led us to the hook-up culture been good for us? No. It’s clear from the research that most of these changes are not leading us to healthy dating habits. The hook-up culture prevents us from creating strong and healthy dating relationships. But what does healthy dating look like? We’ll find out in the next lesson.
Questions to Consider
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How have you seen the hookup culture play a role in your life?
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What additional concerns contribute to the hookup culture on campuses?
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How is the hook-up culture different from dating practices of the past?
Additional Resource
https://scholars.org/brief/rise-hookup-sexual-culture-american-college-campuses
References
1. Carey, M. P., & Forsyth, A. D. (2019). Teaching Tip Sheet: Self-Efficacy. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/education/self-efficacy.aspx
2. Haas, A. L., Barthel, J. M. & Taylor, S. (2017). Sex and drugs and starting school: Differences in precollege alcohol-related sexual risk taking by gender and recent blackout activity. The Journal of Sex Research, 54(6), 741-751.
3. James-Kangal, N., Weitbrecht, E. M., Francis, T. E., & Whitton, S. W. (2018). Hooking Up and Emerging Adults’ Relationship Attitudes and Expectations. Sexuality & Culture, 22(3), 706–723.
4. Lovejoy, M. C. (2015). Hooking up as an individualistic practice: A double-edged sword for college women. Sexuality & Culture, 19, 464-492.
5. Owen, J. J., Rhoades. G. QIdeas.org. (2015, February 08). “Hooking up’' among college students: Demographic and psychosocial correlates. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 653-663.
6. Shurts, W. M. & Myers, J. E. (2012). Relationships among young adults’ marital messages received, marital attitudes, and relationship self-efficacy. Adultspan Journal, 11(2), 97-111.
7. QIdeas.org. (2015, February 08). Donna Freitas: Hookup Culture. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02kenYkx3F4