A hookup usually lasts only one night and is usually between two people who are strangers or brief acquaintances. Some physical sexual interaction is typical, but it may range from kissing to sexual intercourse. Hookups are usually spontaneous and rarely result in a relationship. Hookups are usually defined by alcohol, physical attraction, and a lack of expectations.
Traditionalists are probably shaking their heads. Sex without commitment — sounds like something invented by men. But women are going along with it. So Holman and her collaborator, Alan Sillars of the University of Montana, came up with their own definition that is anything but ambiguous. It adds that most students "describe hookups as spontaneous sexual encounters fueled by alcohol that usually unfold without communication about sexual health and consent or protection against sexually transmitted infections.
In most cases, they found, hookups begin the same way. It starts at a party, frequently at a frat or sorority house, where there is plenty of booze. As the evening goes on, couples form and eventually move off to do whatever they have in mind -- no commitments, no expectations for the future, no serious thoughts about health or risk, a seemingly carefree adventure fueled by alcohol.
There's more risk than having sex when it's planned. Holman and Sillars recruited students who were willing to discuss their experiences with hookups as defined by the researchers. Here are some of the results:.
There is more talk than action. At its worst, it encourages young men and women to engage in sexual competitiveness and status-seeking while meeting impossible standards of attractiveness. It privileges immediate pleasure-seeking and heightens risks that students will become either perpetrators or victims of sexual crimes. Understanding that the forces shaping sexual relationships on campuses are cultural — that problems lie not so much in particular encounters as in hookup culture overall — is the first step toward clarifying what needs to change.
Because culture is a type of shared consciousness, many people need to work together to make changes happen. And they can. Especially because of the strong ties in student bodies, campuses can transform themselves faster than one might suspect. They are well-positioned to usher in the next new sexual culture. But colleges as institutions must change, too. Institutions of higher education need to put substantial resources and time into shifting cultural norms in two ways: promoting casual sexual encounters that involve an ethic of care, and diversifying the kind of sexual encounters that are seen as possible and good.
Ceding to or resisting that culture then becomes part of their everyday lives. Many of the students interviewed for this story described moments where they found themselves in the arms of a stranger after a night of drinking or partying — particularly younger college students who are still learning how to manage and embrace sexuality.
The potential problems with hookup culture might remind you of a high school sex education class. Hookup culture has been around for awhile. Wade said hookup culture offers a toolkit for embracing casual sex, but it does not offer much explanation for navigating other kinds of sexual engagement — including abstinence. For students who feel ambivalent, she says, many may decide to give hooking up a try.
The average age of marriage for women in was For men, it was In , women were getting married out of college at age 23; men at Since people are getting married later, finding a lifelong partner in college is not necessarily a priority for most.
Regardless, experiences and perceptions of hookup culture are fluid and adaptable.
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