GENERATION seX
Hookups predominant on campuses
By Kim Dishler
Rocket Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 11/19/04 Section: News
In the 2001 survey of 1,000 women enrolled in four-year colleges, 40 percent said they had hooked up with men and one in 10 had done so at least six times.
The decline of dating and rise of hookups is due to many causes, including the fact that there are 100 women on college campuses for every 79 men. Also, students have a tendency to hang out in groups, a social situation which does not facilitate long-term relationships.
"A lot of factors play into the decline of dating, but one is certainly the women's movement which brought many good things, but also increased uncertainty about gender roles - i.e. who should ask who out on a date, who pays, etc.," Marquardt said.
With the broad definition of what includes hooking up, it is hard to tell how many students are having sexual intercourse. But a 1997 survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 79.5 percent of college students ages 18-24 had sexual intercourse, with 55.4 percent having it in the 30 days preceding the survey.
It was also reported that college women have ultimate goals of marriage but their behavior of short-term relationships contradicts this.
"Many women say they know hooking up leads nowhere, yet when they participate in it they still find themselves hoping 'well, something about them is different and this guy will be different,'" Marquardt said.
Marquardt cites movies such as "Pretty Woman" as influences to women thinking a hookup could lead to a future relationship.
"In that movie a hooker is picked up by an emotionless john for another encounter," she said. "But after a sexual interaction with her he sees that, well she's different, she's special, she's not really meant for this hooking thing...By the end, he's literally climbing a staircase, flowers in hand while her long hair dangles below. What a fairy tale!"
Solito added that student perceptions of the media could influence their outlook of real-life relationships.
The decline of dating and rise of hookups is due to many causes, including the fact that there are 100 women on college campuses for every 79 men. Also, students have a tendency to hang out in groups, a social situation which does not facilitate long-term relationships.
"A lot of factors play into the decline of dating, but one is certainly the women's movement which brought many good things, but also increased uncertainty about gender roles - i.e. who should ask who out on a date, who pays, etc.," Marquardt said.
With the broad definition of what includes hooking up, it is hard to tell how many students are having sexual intercourse. But a 1997 survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 79.5 percent of college students ages 18-24 had sexual intercourse, with 55.4 percent having it in the 30 days preceding the survey.
It was also reported that college women have ultimate goals of marriage but their behavior of short-term relationships contradicts this.
"Many women say they know hooking up leads nowhere, yet when they participate in it they still find themselves hoping 'well, something about them is different and this guy will be different,'" Marquardt said.
Marquardt cites movies such as "Pretty Woman" as influences to women thinking a hookup could lead to a future relationship.
"In that movie a hooker is picked up by an emotionless john for another encounter," she said. "But after a sexual interaction with her he sees that, well she's different, she's special, she's not really meant for this hooking thing...By the end, he's literally climbing a staircase, flowers in hand while her long hair dangles below. What a fairy tale!"
Solito added that student perceptions of the media could influence their outlook of real-life relationships.
